Tag: chairs

Making it Yours 12: The Lincoln and Dhurrie Armchairs

I asked last week which would be more helpful to see in a new edition of my Making it Yours series: the Lincoln Upholstered Armchair from Pottery Barn or the Dhurrie Chair from Anthropologie. Basically it’s a blank slate vs. a statement piece. It was pretty even at first, but the dhurrie chair did win out in the end.

A few comments suggested doing both, which sounded like a fun challenge! I typically split the series into three designs, showing a piece as the owner’s life and decorating taste changes, and I’m going to stick with that format here again. Rather than do six posts between the two chairs, I’ll create a short narrative and present two options per post. It’s a good exercise in obtaining a similar design through different pieces, and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have been while working on it.

And in related news: I bought two of those dang Lincoln chairs, which I wasn’t planning on when I posted about them last week. I had been considering them for the house, as I’ve been perpetually on the lookout for a pair of matching chairs for the back parlor. At more than $2000 with tax and delivery for two of them though, I was far from rushing to make a purchase. Then two things happened. First, I noticed that American Express was running a sale on a bunch of their Membership Rewards points gift cards, which included instant e-gift certificates to Pottery Barn. Second: I saw the chair marked down about 35% off as a floor model at the Oakbrook PB when I was out that way over the weekend. I hadn’t cashed in my Amex points in a long time so I had enough to buy the floor model outright with some leftover to buy the matching chair at retail, but I still wasn’t sold. Then the sales associate mentioned that some of the other stores in the area might have theirs marked down as a floor model too. She called the Lincoln Park location, confirmed that they also had one, and that solidified the deal. After using my free gift certificates, they ended up costing only $180 each. That’s like them being on sale for 85% off! I brought one chair home with me that day, and we got the other one yesterday.

So now I have extra incentive to see how much mileage I can get out of them in different design scenarios!

August 13, 2014
The Lincoln or Dhurrie Chair?

I’m starting to put together another of my Making it Yours posts, this time around a chair. I’ve been looking at so many recently that I realized the Lincoln Upholstered Armchair from Pottery Barn is nearly identical to the Dhurrie Chair from Anthropologie. Depending on fabric, they’re roughly the same price, too.

So which is more helpful/interesting to see featured for a few different room designs? I’m inclined to go with the Anthro version, because I figure it’s harder to envision multiple ways of incorporating a crazy pattern than it is a neutral fabric, but which would you prefer to see?

August 6, 2014
Let’s Have a Seat: Affordable Velvet Kitsch
The chairs could go more sophisticated, and the pillows could make a serious space more playful. Together though? Quirky. Kitschy. Way too much fun.
1. Fuchsia Nina Chair, Cost Plus World Market, $230
2. Fjälltåg Cushion (reverses to #8), IKEA, $10
3. Gopala Toss Pillow, Target, $38
4. Button Up Round Pillow, CB2, $20
5. Bailey Accent Wing Chair wit Nailhead Trim, Target, $280
6. Caper Elliott Wingback Chair, Cost Plus World Market, $230
7. Cat Eyeglasses Pillow, ModCloth, $60
8. Fjälltåg Cushion (reverses to #2), IKEA, $10
January 29, 2013
New Marais Chairs in the Dining Room

New chairs provided in part by Industry West.

I recently wrote elsewhere about the evolution of my dining room. Everything is always changing a little around here, and the latest big difference is that the dining room has new chairs. Woot! I switched out some of the pieces in my built-in hutch too. So long, all white; hello, pink and coral.

I still have the other chairs down in the basement because it feels wrong to break up the set. I love my vintage dining table, with its beautiful wood grain and modern trestle base, but the chairs weren’t working well for us. The kids were getting food all over the upholstery, and the wood was getting dinged up from too many run-ins with a toy stroller, a toy shopping cart, and too many toy cars. The cats were equally to blame for the chairs’ downfall too. The seats were constantly furry because they slept on them, and breaking out the vacuum every time you’d like to sit isn’t terribly practical.

I’d been considering new chairs for a long time, but hesitated because I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I like Eames chairs in a dining room, but I think my house has reached its Eames quota. I figured it was time for either plastic, bare wood (like these spindle/stick-back chairs), or metal.

I had contacted Industry West ages ago, with a proposal to work together on my basement studio. They provided four of their Marais A Side Chairs, which I’d intended to use as seating around my faux-Saarinen tulip table. I brought them up to the dining room on a whim one day though, and I really liked them around the wood dining table.

The chairs are narrower than the wooden ones we had, so I was able to add some additional seating around the dining table. I bought two more side chairs for the sides, and two arm chairs for the ends.

Yep, we like ’em. The chairs are good for crawling around between too, and for putting on puppet shows. You know, the important stuff.

November 28, 2012
Black Spindle Back Windsor Chairs
I’ve been hankering for a change in the dining room lately.

I’m going to paint the wood trim white (it’s on my 30 Before Thirty list), and I’d like to paint the ceiling too. The wallpaper is staying (I’m going to have to be very careful when painting the trim), and so is the rug. Now, while I do love my vintage dining set, I have been pining for new chairs.

I like Eames shell chairs (especially with the dowel legs), but doesn’t everyone? And I already have two Eames chairs elsewhere in the house. I still have eight stackable plywood chairs in the basement, though we should probably just go ahead and sell them on Craigslist. And I could just change out the pink fabric on the chair seats for something else (faux-leather?). Or there are always the cute oval back dining chairs that I’ve long admired. But do you know what I’m really into lately? Black spindle back chairs. Like these…
1. Family Chairs (available as a mixed set of four, or individually), MOMA
2. Salt Chair, DWR
3. Thatcher Side Chair, Room & Board
4. OLLE Chair, IKEA
I can sell my current dining room set on Craigslist, and then use the money toward new furniture. I know the OLLE chairs are affordable, but the other chairs all have more graceful lines. OK, or I could just see how my vintage set (which I do not want to alter other than seat fabric) looks in the room once the trim has gone white.

What would you do?
August 31, 2010
Urban Chairs

Did you notice our backyard patio among the pictures from Eleanor’s birthday party? Just in case you missed it, here it is again.

We were able to get four of the chairs through Craigslist (thanks to some helpful readers!), and we picked up the other four Urban chairs at IKEA. They’re working out nicely.

May 25, 2010