If you find yourself flea-marketing, Goodwill Hunting or garage sale-ing in the dog days of July and August, be on the lookout for the unassuming beauty hiding behind a frumpy skirt. I’m talking about modern furniture legs, of course. One easy way to re-vamp a vintage chair or sofa is to rid it of its leg-hiding skirt. Of course you need to take a peek underneath to make sure you have some attractive gams to work with. Here are some tips to consider before going skirtless.
- Make sure the main fabric comes all the way to the bottom of the frame and attaches underneath–the band I added on this sofa was really to hide the uneven and jagged fabric that didn’t quite make it all the way under the frame.
- Can you be patient enough to remove staples or tacks very carefully, if you yank them out, it could leave a mark.
- There may be some color variance due to the fabric under the skirt being protected from sunlight. Determine if you can live with that.
- Are the legs in good shape, do they need a little polish, filler?
If you decide it’s not going to work, don’t despair, here’s another option to restyle your chair or sofa and elevate it from mundane to mod. I just wish I would have thought of this clever idea.
Many, many retro chairs are available for next to nothing at Goodwill, etc. They’re often overlooked due to the dowdy skirts they wear. While flea marketing or Goodwill Hunting, do a double-take to see if that green velvet chair just might have some shapely legs you could proudly display.
