have the upholsterer do the braid part [only] over using a black braid????

Thanks for the quick response, MsJay.

Well, that's one solution only I'd be the one doing it on my now tapped out budget. Removing all those tacks and stripping off the braid, hoping I didn't pull up or damage the fabric, and hammering in all new tacks is an awful job and the thought of it makes me want to cry. I remember the physical pain of pounding in all those tacks the last time I reupholstered those pieces. The couch alone takes up about a kazillion tacks. And it will leave a whole new set of holes. I wish I'd thought of using black braid before! Where were you? lol! I wish he'd called me and said the braid looked crappy with it before he did the job, but I can't blame him. Wish, wish, wish. This may be my only solution in the end, but I'm really hoping not to have to do this. I need Samantha to twinkle her nose or Jeannie to cross her arms and blink!

Why not buy the upholstery tack strips that have fake tacks, and only a real one every so often to nail in? It would cover most of the gimp, and actually I think more tacks would be better for the look anyway.

What a lovely chair and what a gorgeous fabric choice for it!

But I totally feel your pain because I just did something just like that with clashing gimp but in green. Why, oh why, does gimp only come in limited colors? And I perpetrated my mistake in an upholstery class, no less! On my instructor's advice (FYI, he did not seem to see it looked as awful as I did )I went the paint route that you have already suggested. I mixed fabric paint to "match", tested it in scraps of gimp, and then VERY, VERY carefully touched up the gimp on the chair to blend it in. I did not want to risk any holes in my project.

It now looks OK, by my standards, but I'm not sure how long the paint will last.

Looking forward to seeing other and better solutions on this thread,

Gillian

It doesn't appear to be clashing a whole lot in that photo, at least on my computer. Beautiful chair, regardless! I was also thinking redo in a color that works better, but I can see that would be a lot of work and would make more holes and risk damaging the nap of the velvet fabric, as you said, and that might be more of a distraction than the present braid color. I honestly think the chair is gorgeous and the braid doesn't detract from that impression, at least to my eyes. I know we've all encountered details about something that kind of nag at you, and you wonder if the the 'fix' may present its own problems. In this instance I think it would.

Les ~~ that beats the heck out of nailing in every one of the tacks. You are so smart! I knew about that stuff but had forgotten, so thanks. It still requires me to pick out every tack that's in there, but it might be a viable solution. Although if I go as far as to pick out all the tacks I may as well switch the braid out for black? It's only hot glued on at that point so it will come off easily with a warm hair dryer, I'm thinking. I will keep your idea in mind if I can't come up with an easier alternative.

~

Kim ~~ thanks. I love the chair. I really don't want to damage the fabric. It's fabu stuff. And to be honest, I'm not up for tons of work if I can avoid it. Maybe I need to live with it for a while. It bothers me even worse since that was the first thing out of my son's mouth and he's not what we'd call "decor sensitive." I think I need to show it to some friends and ask them to be totally honest with me about it. I'm sure I could paint it without making a mess as I've done a ton of precision painting.

Gillianma ~~ Thank you about the chair. I'm very happy with the fabric, and with the job the guy did. The chair and matching sofa are more comfy than before, too.

I feel your pain too. I'm astounded and pleased that you got that advice from your upholstery instructor.

Please tell me exactly what kind of paint did you use? Are you talking Michael's Crafts type paint? I have the Plaid acrylics in tons of colors, but is that the right stuff or do I need something different? Did your braid get stiff and scratchy after you painted it? What makes you think it won't last? It lasts on teeshirts through a lot of washings. I'm really interested in what you did and glad to hear you're happy with it.

Oceanna, that chair is gorgeous! Maybe it's my monitor, or maybe I'm just odd, but I actually LIKE those two reds together. I'm wondering if you could add a small rectangular decorative pillow (I think needlepoint would look great) that has BOTH shades of red in it to tie everything together? Then try to live with for a while and see how you feel.

Oceanna, The chair looks great on my monitor but I think asking a couple of honest real life friends is also a good idea. If you do decide one day to change the braid, I think black would be a good choice, or perhaps you can be on the lookout for a multicolor braid maybe with a little red and a couple other colors from your room.
ok - just thought of this and it may be perfectly crazy, but then, you just never know .... could you add a very small braid in black between the two reds. Perhaps if there is a little separation between the two reds, maybe just maybe, they will play together a little better.

You could increase the frequency of the "French nailing" to cover the present gimp (I don't care for the color, either). But that doesn't strike me as in keeping with the style and spirit of the piece, a purely personal reaction.

You might also look for something in a contrasting color, a brown to match the wood and make the gimp recede (use gimp tacks and lose the "nails")? or maybe a more ornate gimp/trim in a color to truly highlight the graceful curve of the top line and the arms... gold? silver? a pattern with graceful filigree in appealing colors? I would jettison the decorative tacks if you opt for any of those options.

Oceanna,

That chair is so sharp.

I tend to agree with Chelone regarding contasting color. The first thing that came to my mind is black for the trim as Msjay suggested. It would make the chair look richer.

Add a leopard throw pillow with gold trim.

There should be a term for what you are feeling, as all of us have been there so many times. That "oh no" alarm that goes off in your head. The thing is, quite often it goes away, and is usually only suffered by the person who has so much invested emotionally in whatever project is going on. Honestly, I think it looks fine the way it is, and I would wait until your room (and fainting couch) is further along before you do anything. If it still bothers you after a few weeks (or months) then it's probably worth pursuing. But for now, you are so focused on the details of your project that you're not seeing the big picture. My immediate thought, if the shades are different, is to find a print, check, or plaid for a pillow that has both shades in it, or a woven throw with lots of different reds, put it on the chair, and see how it looks then. Also, if you're still looking at rugs, orientals are known for having lots of shades of reds in them, and they will often serve as great mediators for colors that aren't getting along. Please just leave it for now and concentrate on other areas. You might actually grow to like it. Your room has an eclectic feel to it, with older pieces, and they will always have things that are a little quirky. I'm sure you know best, but to my eye it looks like this could be something that will work out in the end. Whatever you decide to do, rest assured, you are well on your way to a wonderful room.

I wonder if it is the newness that makes it "stand out" as being such a different color. I just wonder as time goes on if you will notice it that much. I have had items that had a sharp contrast when they were new but as time went on, either the two blended better or my idea of what they should be, blended better. I don't see that well, so I don't see what you are talking about but you have had some good suggestions here.

Ihad to laugh-- I was given a chair with a similar issue--- and my friend and I darkened the (white, in this case) trim with a pencil! It worked beautifully and never came off on anyone's clothes, we rubbed it on and then rubbed all along it with a washcloth to take off any excess.... YMMV. I would aos consider the accent pillow with both reds. And honestly I think the chair looks great as-is, too.

Oceanna,

That chair, even with the color gimp that you are not too happy with, is all I'd need --- the chair, a good book and a glass of ice tea and my house would never get cleaned again!
What a scrumptious chair!

This won't help you now but if anyone else ever comes across the same problem --- yes, I've painted gimp for the same reason as you.
The darn stuff, the colors I had available to me, just wasn't going to cooperate with my DIY terracotta roller blinds.

And not for lack of hunting for the perfect color on my part.

The curve on the bottom of my DIY Shades was enough (to me) of a detail. I wanted the gimp to blend, not stand out.
But try finding the perfect shade of Terracotta gimp ---wasn't gonna happen.

After a couple months of searching for the perfect match to the Shade fabric, I bought natural gimp and painted it.
Yep, count me in with the confessors.

I thinned down Fabric paint in a plastic margarine tub, added a little fabric medium just for good measure. Dunked the gimp in the tub and let it set.
Rinsed and then put in the dryer in a pillow case with a dryer sheet.
The heat of the dryer set the paint color and also made the gimp soft again (my practice piece of gimp got a little stiff after drying).

So yes, in this case, necessity is the mother of invention.
That, and I'm cheap. *s*

{{gwi:234134}}

{{!gwi}}

Some great ideas here for blending the colors. In fact, I took just a plain graphite pencil and ran down the edge of a granite seam to make it less obvious.

I have used a magic marker when there was an 0.001-inch seam separation in wallpaper to make it blend.

Since you have some extra, try this...

Brew a pot of very very strong coffee (try three stregnth) and let it cool. Carefully (with a tiny brush) paint some on your gimp extra and let it dry. A very thin layer (you don't want dripping). See how it "takes". If it rubs off with a cotton cloth, than paint it again and let it dry, then carefully paint with a low sheen finish shellac (very very very thin). It will fix the color if it's not holding.

If it holds with the first try, and it's not dark enough, try another layer and another to see how it looks until you're at the "fix" you want.

If it immediately beads up and won't take at all, try to thicken up the coffee somewhat and give that a shot. (Follow above directions again to see if it holds).

Gimp can be all kinds of materials, but are often polyester based. Some take this treatment well, some don't. (Cotton will take a dye very well). I've done this more times than you can imagine (I make crazy quilts and often don't want a gimp that's too "new" looking) and they hold quite well if you follow the above instructions. The shellac fix if done very thin works just fine.

Put some painters tape on both sides of the surface you're working on when you do the actual piece, and try to work with it on it's side as much as possible, but not on the long end (they're not typcially structurally sound enough for that). Experiment on those scraps first!!! And good luck :)