Revive tired, worn, and threadbare furniture with these easy-to-follow lessons in upholstery. So Simple Upholstery offers clear, detailed advice and specially commissioned step-by-step photography that makes this subject accessible for even the newcomer. The book includes an introduction outlining the tools that readers need and explains how to successfully remove old material. From there, projects begin, ranging from a simple music stool to an elegant chaise lounge. Topics cover handling the practicalities of repairing innards, calculating new yardage, cutting pieces to fit properly, and achieving smooth coverage. The emphasis in this book is on practical household furniture - chairs, stools, sofas - as these pieces are used on a day-to-day basis. So Simple Upholstery encourages the reader to use the best materials and the most reliable techniques, so that furniture can enjoy a full and serviceable life!
These two books will give an amateur do-it-yourselfer the confidence to tackle window decorating and upholstery projects. Abbott and Burren, who also coauthored So Simple Slipcovering, own the Cambridge, England-based interior design firm Angel and Blume. Here they've compiled 30 projects for curtains, shades, and accessories, some of which require no sewing, such as swags, as well as more complex projects like lined pinch-pleat draperies. Their step-by-step instructions are clearly written and effectively illustrated with color photographs. Techniques common to the projects are included on the last pages in the same lucid manner. Readers would have benefited, however, from an overview of the materials needed, as is provided in So Simple Upholstery, whose eight projects are more complex than those suggested by Abbott and Burren for window treatments but are similarly described in clearly photographed, step-by-step instructions. Beginning with the simplest project of recovering a chair seat, the projects progress to reupholstering a button-back chair and, eventually, a sofa. Both books are recommended for public libraries. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
