Leather!

No real advice but the shape reminded me a bit of a Crate and Barrel chair I was looking at recently so I thought I would share the link in case it is helpful as inspiration.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crate and Barrel Tess Chair

darken the wood, mohair would be cool. Something rich and substantial. It isn't right in a lighthearted, lightweight fabric. It has such presence and needs a worthy strong fabric to go with the appealing shape of the chair. I love that chair! I agree a bourbon color leather would be nice, too.

If you are thinking of doing it yourself, leather will be difficult for a first project. It would look spectacular though as would a mohair or other wool. I agree you need something with substance for it. Can't wait to see the finished project!

Honestly, I think it's a tough first project all the way around. My upholstery experience is limited to pieces with straight lines and I'm trying to wrap my brain around how I'd do the back - not the back back, but the front back, the part you lean against. Maybe you have more guts than I do, though!! Regardless, I absolutely love the chair and think it would look good with many different interpretations. It could get all dramatic and serious with darker wood and a lush mohair but it could also be beautiful with a painted frame and a lighthearted retro print. Great piece.

This is a beautiful chair. And a good chair for a first time
DIY upholsterer. I agree on a durable upholstery fabric.

Although I agree leather would be wonderful, it's not for a
first time upholsterer. We have upholstered two chairs in
leather for our den, the latest one was this past August.
Leather is not the least bit forgiving. When upholstering
you need to pull out the wrinkles tugging like all heck, leather
doesn't give in all directions like fabric does.

Tufting is also difficult for the first time upholsterer. The ottoman
for our new leather chair, we made several years ago to match
the chair that we did in leather. So, naturally we did the ottoman
in leather as well.
Tufting the back of a chair is more difficult than tufting a footstool.

So, I'm Just warning you that you need much more experience
in upholstering with leather, that being said you certainly can do
a great job on your chair with upholstery fabric.

When you remove the fabric, do so carefully, as this will become
your pattern. Also, after carefully removing your fabric mark each piece
by writing on a piece of paper -- what the piece is, along with arrows
in what direction the piece goes...pin this information to each piece.
Also, the back of your chair has double welt, think about using nailheads.
I love nailheads.

I can give you a link to my wood working forum, where I posted lots of
pic's ( as we went along) of the leather chair that we did in August.
Joann

I am new to diy upholstery. I started out with chair seats & then went on to a high back office chair. Currently, I'm finishing up a love seat and sofa.

The fabric I've used for the office chair, love seat & sofa is a herringbone pattern that reads solid from a distance. It comes in many different colors & is considered heavy/durable (abrasion factor : 50,000 double rubs).
It's called Jumper and is sold at several places. The best price I've found is at Mary Jo's Cloth Store. Calico Corners sells it, too. At Pottery Barn they sell it (by the yard) in two color choices and it's called Chunky Herringbone. At Ethan Allen they call it Turner (& carry several colors).

I have yet to do anything with a real pattern to it...that will be my next challenge (lining up and matching patterns).

That is a beautiful chair you purchased! Please keep us posted on the this transformation : )

Laurie

No upholstery experience here but PLEASE ... have we not seen enough leather to last us for the next 2 centuries? Once it is sold at Wal-Mart and Costco, you know, you just know that it ain't what it usta be.
I would go with very good upholstery fabric, a great tapestry, an ikat or flame stitch unless this is something you are going to use a lot and if that is the case, then get leather and if you have small children, get that naugahyde which will cost less if you have to replace it from punched holes or small gashes. Yes, leather is tough, albeit so overused. If this is an accent chair, make it pretty with a good fabric.

GWlolo, have you purchased the chair and do you have photos of the room it's going to be used in? When I buy a chair to re-do, the first decision is whether I am keeping or selling it. If I'm keeping it, as I am my latest purchase, I look for fabrics that will coordinate with the room's other pieces.

I have to disagree with the above poster, though. The leather furniture that one would find at Wal-Mart is nowhere near what you'd find by Hancock Moore, Bradington-Young and others of that ilk.

Gosh! I should have specified that I am planning to get it professionally upholstered. I was not planning a DIY. Sorry about not being clear. I meant to say that I have never had any furniture professionally reupholstered. My furniture buying has been limited to buying new.

Leather idea is interesting but for this chair, I would be doing fabric. Leather feels cold to me when we first sit. As for the space, I would like it to be flexible.. Living room or an occasional chair in a bedroom. This chair feels very nice to sit in. It fits a petite person well. I feel furniture these days is way oversized and many people who have a smaller stature often have no comfortable place to sit.

Get lots of recommendations, perhaps ask at a reputable fabric store - I've seen Calico Corners mentioned on other threads as a good place to find competent folk to do the reupholstering.

I had a very distressing and expensive experience using someone who had done good work for a friend. Turned out one recommendation was not enough. I have learned a lot since then about what I should have asked, such as: how they will handle rebuilding the furniture? what type of seams will they use? I suggest spending time online looking at how chairs are assembled and what makes a good chair so that you can ask good questions. Don't assume that because an upholster knows how to upholster one type of furniture she or he knows how to do it all.

I think you have the basis for a beautiful chair. I'm in the camp that suggests looking at fabric rather than leather.

Check out Norman S Bernie fabrics in San Mateo. They can help you with the fabric and finding a good upholsterer on the peninsula. I haven't been there in a very long time, but they get great reviews on yelp. My all time favorite decorator fabric store is Sal Beressi Fabrics in San Francisco. I'm including a link just in case you want to drive up here.

http://www.salberessifabrics.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/norman-s-bernie-co-san-mateo-2

Here is a link that might be useful: Norman Bernie

I suggest using two fabrics - one for the front, seat cushion and arms. Another for the back and sides.

What is your decorating style?

I would not vote for leather. This chair is too pretty for leather.

A beautiful solid velvet for one of the fabrics, and then a coordinating pattern would be beautiful.

You could even do nailhead trim - instead of welting.

Here is another:

Janice - thanks for the pix. I really like the second chair with the patterned fabric in the back and the plain in the front. Seems to add a quirky touch that I love. Our style is more eclectic than traditional and I want to make sure that this chair is flexible enough to use in the living room or the bedrooms.

I simply LOVE the chair - and I think using two fabrics is fun & fresh & interesting.

There are some really pretty velvets out there...

This one looked interesting. It appears to be textured - and it's neutral enough. You could coordinate a solid with it quite nicely. The brown is really nice.

Here is a link that might be useful: fabric

Here is another - it's a stripe, but the color options are nice.

Here is a link that might be useful: velvet stripe

How about velvet? Does velvet type of fabric wear well? I thought with tufting, the velvet type fabric will give a cozy but luxurious feel.