Yup, another craigslist snatching. Again, offered more than asking to ensure acquisition. I've been pining for an Eames (or great knock-off!) lounger for sooooo long. I think....I Think...this Mr. Chair qualifies. You?
But, alas...it does need a little attention. A little love actually! I think I might be the one to give
it! There are three advantages to re-upholstering this chair as apposed to an actual Herman
Miller unit. One...I can use whatever uphostery fabric / vinyl I feel like without suffering the
purist's wrath and rancor. Two...No Buttons!!! I've read that upholstering the buttons is best left
to professionals. I hate paying for the work of others when I think (how ever wrongly) that I
could do it myself. Three...damn wine. I'm having a glass (or three...and I'm a lightweight!) of
Chardonnay and I've already forgotten what number three was. I think it might have to do with
the construction between the seat and the backrest and the fact the REAL Eames lounge chair
occasionally suffers from catastrophic failure in this area. I don't know. If I think of it
and it's something else I promise I'll leave a comment letting you know.
Sadly the ottoman is in Great condition and doesn't need any upholstery work at all! But It'll
have to match the chair when finished so It'll get the Modtomic treatment as well. Sad thing
is...the original vinyl feels kinda cheap. I guess that's a blessing as well since it means I can't
really go wrong with a replacement choice.
I'm kinda on the fence about what kind of upholstery material to use. Black vinyl is kind of the
obvious choice. I do have a "stash" upholstery material to choose from and I still check through
what's available at Old Time Pottery and Garden Ridge. I even spotted some "Chrome" vinyl at
Garden Ridge a while back. Chrome!
The biggest challenge will likely be the armrests. I found a great video at The Pink Of
Perfection on re-upholstering chromecraft type chairs with vinyl and I'm sure it's gonna be a
great help whether I go with vinyl or fabric. I had no idea how the "Piping" was created until I
watched the above video. They almost make it look easy!
Above you can see some of the detail differences in this chair as compared to the Eames
lounge chair. The backrest here on the Plycraft Mr. Chair is actually physically connected to
the seat section where as on the Eames chair it is not. Also note the base legs are covered in
bent wood.
Here are the labels. It's pretty amazing that they have survived intact this long! "Designed by
George Mulhauser"! Luckily I found a great blog with a "how to" Eames lounge chair upholstery
guide to help me along called Red Jet Whistle.
WOW!!! What a great find! I hope that I can find and Eames Chair or a wonderful knockoff like this one someday! I can only hope right? But good score! I cant wait to see how you re-upholster it!
ReplyDeleteI keep saying I'm going to take an upholstery class. I'm eager to see how your project goes!
ReplyDeletewow! amazing find. my husband has a special place reserved in the tiny apartment and wants to put the chair there when we buy it :)
ReplyDeleteI found my plycraft eames knock-off chair out by the trash when i was driving around one day. I've been reupholstering it for awhile (I'm lazy); It's pretty easy, but takes time to do it right. I replaced the foam because I wanted a more firm cushion and that really good foam cost a pretty penny (you can not get really good foam at Jo Ann's fabric). The buttons are also pretty easy; there are kits and the buttons snap together. I am going to have the arm rests done. I'm going to have someone make the piping for the rest of the chair, because I made a hash of my first batch of piping.
ReplyDeleteHave fun! I have a Plycraft chair that I thought was a Mr. Chair but it's not like yours, so maybe it was called something different? It's just as comfy as the Eames lounger so who cares. :)
ReplyDeleteI've really got to find one of these - looking forward to seeing what you do to spiff it up!
ReplyDelete