Secondhand rose - the joy of upholstery !

I love old furniture, with carved legs and arms and soft sprung seats, or if you are less lucky, with springs that pop out to say "hello" to you when you sit on them. I have shared my home with a few of these fellows, but until recently the only make over I could attempt was to make a loose fitting cover, and ignore the springs or sagging foam. That was until last year when I spent a fantastic week at the Upholstery Workshop run by John Maxfield and Annie Topham in Alderbury near Salisbury, Wiltshire. We were a small group of two, and, over five days I learnt how to re-upholster from scratch three simple chairs. We worked all day, enjoyed a home made lunch and afternoon tea and while listening to Radio 2 I managed to stuff and reupholster three classic chairs, from simple drop in to this fine, sprung model you see on the left. This chair belonged to the workshop, but I grew so attached to the thing over three days, stabbing, stuffing, springing, pulling and puffing that I bought it off them and it now sits in the living room, covered in blanket camouflage to avoid the attentions of our aged, but still upholstery- shredding cat.

Now, back in Holland, my eyes are peeled for any vaguely suitable candidate for my new found "skills" - Kringloops found in many Dutch towns are the final resting place for many an old chair, and that is where you will find me on wet windy days, looking for the next challenge !