Friday, June 5, 2009

Do It Yourself: Ballroom Chairs a la Grosgrain

ck bradley warehouse
The CK Bradley Warehouse is FULL of creative projects, new accessories and prints begging to be thought of, drawn up and created. This is our "Cutting Table" courtesy of WKP Construction. I know, it looks a lot like a Beirut Table. But during the daylight hours, before the CK Bradley Warehouse turns into the CK Bradley Nightclub, we call it a "Cutting Table".
ck bradley cowboy hatsCK Bradley by Night: Genevieve Biswas, Sarah Hawkins, Ali Nichols, Camilla Bradley
all in CK Bradley Cowboy Hats
To Order or chat with us, call 401-847-977 or visit us at 28 Bellevue Ave in Newport, RI. Not available at ckbradley.com.

So back to the CK Bradley Warehouse and the project of the day: Weaving the seat of a ballroom chair with Grosgrain Ribbon.
ck bradley grosgrain ribbonYou might find a trip to the CK Bradley Warehouse more entertaining and inspiring than our boutique...that is if you can handle particle board floors and a bunch of cute sail makers upstairs.
We have HUNDREDS of spools of custom and striped Grosgrain, so if you want to get your paws on some overstock, give us a holler...

ck bradley mascot tiggerTigger might even be handling the phone lines...

I started with an unpainted old Ballroom Chair we used to have at our Dining Room table. We happen to have a few dozen of these in barns and garages courtesy of a Dad who saves EVERYTHING. They can't be that hard to come by, although the ones that have caning/straw seats might be harder to find.
Wood is nice, but better with more neutral ribbons. And if you know CK Bradley, 'neutral' is not in the vocabulary. So....I spray painted it silver to suit the ribbons better. Any shiny lacquer paint would look great on one of these classic chairs.
Then I picked 3 colors of Grosgrain Ribbon

ck bradley grosgrain ribbon
Then used a T-50 Staple gun, (which EVERY home should have) and wove my heart away listening to Brett Dennen playing Blessed.


And....VOILA! A woven seat of ribbon emerged....

ck bradley DIY grosgrain ballroom chairAnd a new Ballroom Chair with a Grosgrain Ribbon Seat
ck bradley DIY ballroom chairAll in an afternoon's work. Now to weave the rest and design a room around a CHAIR.

-Ribbon Colors My World Bradley

2 comments:

  1. Omg, I ♥ it...idea in back pocket, check!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love it! These would be so fun as Bride and Groom seats at a wedding!

    ReplyDelete