Chairs re-covered in the Norwood workroom

Upholstery

Bring in the chair you cannot let go of. Rose helps you pick the cloth, and the workroom gives the frame a second life.

Call 513.324.7941 Send a photo of your piece

The piece you cannot let go of

Some furniture outlasts its fabric. It might be a chair passed along from your dear Aunt Milldred, or a quirky little find from an antique shop that would sit perfectly in your reading nook if only it had different fabric covering it. Rose and the workroom at The Sewing Loft in Norwood take those pieces in and give them what the shop calls an enhanced second life.

The line on the furniture page of their own site says it best: “Aunt Millie will be so proud!” That is their wording, and it describes the job. The frame is the part worth keeping. The cover is the part that can change.

Their gallery shows the range: a wingback rocking chair restyled, a mid-century bench re-upholstered in Diane Von Furstenberg fabric, and a skirted cushion for a kitchen chair. Upholstery came to the workroom in June 2021, when the move to 2105 Lawn Ave. gave it the space for the work.

Choosing the right fabric for the frame

A reading-nook chair and a chair that gets sat in every evening ask different things of cloth. Weight, how well the fabric wears, and where a pattern will land on the seat and back are worth settling before anything is cut. A stripe or a chevron reads differently across a seat than it does on the bolt.

The Sewing Loft keeps upholstery-grade fabric on its shelves in Norwood, next to the drapery, bedding and indoor/outdoor cloth. Stop in by appointment or by chance, bring a photo of the piece, and look at the choices against the real frame.

Send a photo, then call

Start with a picture. Email a photo of your project to info@sewingloftllc.com and Rose can see what you have before you make the trip. Questions go faster by phone or text at 513.324.7941.

The workroom also does furniture painting with Chalk Country Paint. The colours on their site include Cream of Wheat, Warm Sand with Dark Brown Wax, Crisp Collar and Santa’s Coal, so a piece can come back painted, re-covered, or both.

Before and after collage of a cane-back chair: striped seat before, chevron seat after

The Sewing Loft, 2105 Lawn Ave., Norwood. Call or text 513.324.7941.

Seats re-covered, side by side

Each print shows a chair as it came in and as it left the workroom.

Before and after collage of an oval-back carved armchair: worn brown seat before, cream paisley seat after — Oval-back carved armchair: worn brown seat before, cream paisley after.

Before and after collage of a carved Victorian armchair upholstered in cream — Carved Victorian armchair: cream upholstery before and after the re-cover.

Before and after collage of an armchair: brown stripe before, pale linen after — Armchair: brown stripe before, pale linen after.

Dark wood spindle-back chair with a cowhide seat.

Pillows and cushions to go with the chair are made in the same workroom: bedding, cushions and pillows. Hours are by appointment or by chance, and the contact page has the address and directions to Lawn Ave.