So your friend convinced you to tag along with them to your local flea market when you spotted it, an antique couch like something out of an old movie or your favorite novel. It’s in terrible condition so it’s cheap. Without thinking, you snap it up. But now what?
Or maybe you inherited a gorgeous antique armchair from your great uncle Pete. The chair is in good shape, but the fabric is a bit dated. Plus it clashes with everything else in your living room. What should you do?
No matter how you wound up with that old piece of furniture here in Colorado, antique furniture reupholstery is a great way to bring those garage sale finds and hand-me-down pieces back to life. While it’s not always less expensive to reupholster furniture, if the item is something that cost you virtually nothing to very little money, it’s definitely worth it.
We’ve assembled a list of some of 2017’s top trends to inspire you in your design decisions for antique furniture reupholstery and everything else.
7 Modern Fabric Trends to Update Your Antique Furniture:
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Green: And by green, we mean the color. It’s showing up everywhere from fashion to cars to upholstery fabric. In fact, Pantone’s color of the year for 2017 is a shade of green, called, Greenery. Top magazines and design websites from Vogue to Elle Decor and Brit + Co, all list Green as a key 2017 design trend and in some cases a new neutral.
Jewel Tones: Of course green also comes in jewel tones and darker hues, but all the more rich tones are also in style this year. Everything from deep purples to rich violets to ruby reds and more is turning up in solid hues and patterns for upholstery, curtains, rugs and throw pillows.
Gray: The gray trend started in 2016, and it’s still going strong for 2017. Plus gray truly is a neutral color that you can easily update whenever the trends change by recovering your pillows in loud prints or brighter colors. It’s definitely an easy color to accent so there’s no need to fear it will deaden your home’s interior.
Muted Colors: We know, we know, we mentioned rich hues and greens, but in addition to those, for the more conservative and careful among you, there’s no need to reupholster that antique ottoman in electric blue or emerald green, because beige, taupe, camel, and light rose tones are in again as well. And you don’t have to miss out on trying brighter colors since you can still indulge your wild side with the next few trends in our list.
Geometric Prints: Today’s geometric prints are vibrant and bright. Covering your newfound sofa in sunny yellow and lime green abstract printed fabric isn’t for the faint of heart or if you’re not going to be able to afford reupholstery again in a few years when you’re tired of it, but you can always choose a solid, more neutral hue for the upholstery and have pillows made in the crazy pattern instead.
Tropical Prints: Tropical prints are also everywhere in design this year. You don’t have to go full Hawaiian either. Today’s tropicals come in more muted motifs and can be as simple as green leaves on a white or other neutral backgrounds. Accent them with pillows in a single tone and your antique couch becomes a gorgeous showpiece.
Fuzzy Wuzzy: If you’re into soft textures and not afraid to be different, you could try covering Uncle Pete’s chair in fake fur, sheepskin or another fluffy fabric in any on trend color. White will go with any pillow, but the fuzzy look is also attractive in deeper hues as well.
There’s no need to fear that you’ve made a mistake if you succumbed to the temptation to purchase an antique piece of furniture at a yard sale or thrift shop and no need to hide inherited vintage items in your attic or storage unit. With the above ideas in mind, you’ll be able to have that antique armchair or sofa looking amazing in no time without your great uncle Pete turning over in his grave.
Have design ideas or questions? Comment below. Found a unique antique on the curb here in Colorado? Come visit us today.