Upcycle Instead Of Buying New: Our Old Armchair Gets Revamped

by Eva Updated: September 29, 2026

Gifted item

Ethel’s Chair have been with us for years. Before that it belonged to my mother-in-law and before that it belonged to Ethel herself. Ethel was my husband’s grandma. She died decades ago, but her favourite armchair is still here and being referred to as “Ethel’s Chair” even by her great grand children who know nothing about her. We don’t even have a photo of Ethel so that we can visually link to.

Ethel’s Chair is the comfiest. It’s big enough for me to spend all morning sitting in it, tapping away on my lap top as I work from home. But Ethel’s Chair was becoming pretty ugly and scruffy for its second upholstery was in the 80’s, that what I was guessing based on the fabric design and the state of it. It looked pretty awful actually and I really wanted to get it upholstered. We couldn’t possibly throw it away and just buy a new one.

Here it is, in its faded glory (and the footstool too):

Buying a new arm chair was never an option. I believe everything should be fixed, mended, upcycled as long as it reasonably can be. I strongly believe in building a circular economy: keeping natural resources within the production cycle, unlike the old ‘take-make-waste’ model. It creates less waste and uses less resources thus it’s better for the environment. So choosing to upcycle instead of buying new is a natural thing to do. (There are of course cases when you need thinking about buying furniture newly.)

Yorkshire Fabric Shop kindly gifted the fabric for this project. It was hard to choose for they have a lot of beautiful fabrics. I narrowed it down to three different ones and opted for this vibrant, elegant oriental print. Freedom Printed Velvet Fabric Pink Colourful Peacock Flower Pattern is what it’s called and I actually fell in love with it for the first sight, this was the first one I picked – and as ever I went with my first thought in the end.

We have a a vague art deco looking flat, so I always try to complement the original features when buying furniture or other home accessories. The oriental pattern of the fabric fits very well to the concept. Luckily, I also love everything Art Deco. Yorkshire Fabric Shop are based in the heart of United Kingdom and they serve local, national and international customers.

The upholstery fabrics that is suitable for sofas, chairs, cushions, curtains, beds and whatever else you can imagine. They have 1000’s of fabrics in stock so they can guarantee you fast delivery where ever you maybe in the UK or the World.

And if you’re on the hunt for outdoor fabric that lasts, you gotta check out Sunbrella fabric. They’re seriously amazing at resisting fading and mildew, which makes ’em perfect for patio furniture, outdoor cushions, and awnings. No matter the weather, these fabrics keep their vibrant colors and patterns intact all year round. Trust me, they’ve got you covered!

I also found a local upholstery service with very reasonable rates (some of the offers were really unrealistic though). Andre Upholstery did an amazing job and if you ever wondered how much work it involves to give an old arm chair a new life, just look at the photos. They strip it down to the bare base and fix every bit again before putting the new fabric cover on. Craftmanship it is.