10 Scrap Refabs: Vintage Reupholstery with Colorful Fabric

Forget fabric stores – some antiques are just too boring to bother re-covering with traditional patterns. These hodgepodge pieces use patchwork scraps to create fresh new themes within stodgy old frameworks. (Re)fabric(ation) can be fun. Design by Leftovers takes old and often overly-ornate furnishings that would hardly fit in a modern home, and remakes them to look creative, contemporary and strangely more timeless. While there seems to be much mixing going on, there is a clear set of methods within the madness – each found piece of fabric is stitched into a new whole in a way that is clearly conscious of what appears around it in terms of colors and patterns. Old velvet slipcovers, vinyl patches, leather panels and more are paired for reupholstering with carved-wood chairs and couches, much of which may have vintage appeal but, save for such interventions, is otherwise destined to become discount furniture beyond repair.

belle maison Histoire un-Naturelle Selected works by Ruth Marten In Ruth Marten's remarkable world, Pinnipeds and Quadrupeds must fight off the advances of hirsute Lotharios while foot fetishists with marcelled hair ride side-saddle with birds who collect rare editions of Une semaine de bonté. The statues wonder how long their underarm hair can grow. A nose huffs the upholstery when no one is looking. Hirsute, ink on found print, 2007 (c) Ruth Marten Tress, ink on found print, 2011 (c) Ruth Marten Foot, ink on found print, 2011 (c) Ruth Marten Arm, ink on found print, 2011 (c) Ruth Marten Nose, ink on found print, 2011 (c) Ruth Marten Ladies Goods, ink on found print, 2008 (c) Ruth Marten Les Phoques, ink on found print, 2007 (c) Ruth Marten Native Girl, ink on found print, 2007 (c) Ruth Marten Side-Saddle, ink on found print, 2009 (c) Ruth Marten Vapors, ink on found print, 2008 (c) Ruth Marten Faustina, Moglie de..., ink on found print, 2007 (c) Ruth Marten Propriety, ink on found print, 2009 (c) Ruth Marten The artist's bio