Victorian Rocking Chair

"Joanna"

Why did I name the chair?

I am always trying to find inspiration for each project. Sometimes, its in the project itself. I found this gorgous victorian rocking chair on social media being sold by someone I had met briefly. I had to have it, even if it meant driving an hour away to get her. I packed up my 3 kids, and my older sister...and took the beautiful ride through the country of Eastern North Carolina to claim my prize.

While driving through the country, I thought about how I was going to flip it. It wasn't until I saw the beautiful detail in the wood, I decided that her new outfit would be plain. Then I thought about a plain white or cream canvas..then I thought about Joanna Gaines from the show "Fixer Upper". Yes, my mind wanders around a lot while I am deciding on what I will create. On the ride back home, with this incredible piece of history sitting in the back of my van..I decided to name her "Joanna".

Picture I saw of "Joanna" when she was posted for sale.

The Shop Owner

Ms Willow...one of the sweetest southern ladies I have met! She and I had met briefly while she was searching for treasures herself, to put in her gift shop. She was so excited to be opening her store, and I just could not help but be tickled with excitement for her. I promised her I would make my way over there one day to visit.

If anyone would like to make a trip to see Ms Willow's gift shop..the address is

130 W Jones Street in Trenton, NC
Hours are
Monday-Friday 11am-6pm
Saturday-Sundays 1pm-6pm

Mrs Willow Faye Shaw sitting pretty on "Joanna" proudly in front of her new store!

The Transformation

"Joanna" before her makeover

"Joanna" had a lot of wounds and flaws that have shown her age and wear. There was nothing structurally wrong, just a lot of surface imperfections, which I found to be intriguing. I only had to do minimal fixes. She mostly needed a bath and a new outfit.

Both arms had complete wear all the way down to the frame. You can see the hay stuffing, a common method of cushion stuffing in furniture decades ago.

Discoloration and damage to the veneer was throughout the chair. The worst of it was the bottom of the seat. The wooden veneer was peeling and separating, so I had to pull it off.

Picture before veneer removal

I pulled off the wooden detail with a screw driver and then used a scraper to removie all loose and peeling veneer

I sanded off all the glue and smoothed out the surface

I JUST SO HAPPENED to have the right shade of stain on hand! Money saved!

Reattach the wooden detail with a brad nailer. Easy! This was the extent of repairs needed on "Joanna".

After fixing the bottom of the rocker, I then pulled off the trim that covers the tack nails holding down the fabric. This trim is called "gimp".

I wanted to make sure the "guts" of the chair were in good enough condition before I ripped off all the fabric. The cotton was surprisingly clean and in great shape, so to save time, and the integrity of the chairs shape, I decided to leave the existing fabric on it, and upholster right on top of it. In order to do that, you still need to vacuum and sanitize the old fabric. I did this by mixing laundry detergent and water in a spray bottle. I lightely misted the chair and scrubbed the fabric. I then sprayed with lysol.

After cleaning the fabric, I grabbed Old English furniture polish and gave the frame of the rocking chair a deep clean. You can see the difference in the picture of what a proper wood cleanser and polish will do for your furniture. Amazing, isn't it?

I ironed out all the fabric. I choose a natural canvas upholsety grade material from Hobby Lobby. USE YOUR COUPON! I then measured each section of the rocking chair and made my cuts.

Thankfully, the seat of the rocking chair lifts right off, not bolted or screwed down! I draped the fabric over the existing material and stapled it around the frame. I trimmed off the excess materal.

Due to the size and weight of the chair, I upholstered the back, and then immediately glued on the new trim. I normally save the trim for last after the whole piece is finished, but since the chair was flipped upside down, I figured it was faster to do it this way.

The front and back of the rocker were the hardest to recover. The arms were covered by tacking the fabic under the lip of the cushion. Same with the seat, very easy...I just pinned the fabric and sewn the corners, the stapled the fabric up underneath the board. I finished off the rocker with a tan gimp trim to cover the staples.

Flipped Fantasia

Victorian Rocking Chair

"Joanna"

Why did I name the chair?

Picture I saw of "Joanna" when she was posted for sale.

The Shop Owner

Mrs Willow Faye Shaw sitting pretty on "Joanna" proudly in front of her new store!

The Transformation

"Joanna" before her makeover

Both arms had complete wear all the way down to the frame. You can see the hay stuffing, a common method of cushion stuffing in furniture decades ago.

Picture before veneer removal

I pulled off the wooden detail with a screw driver and then used a scraper to removie all loose and peeling veneer

I sanded off all the glue and smoothed out the surface

I JUST SO HAPPENED to have the right shade of stain on hand! Money saved!

Reattach the wooden detail with a brad nailer. Easy! This was the extent of repairs needed on "Joanna".

After fixing the bottom of the rocker, I then pulled off the trim that covers the tack nails holding down the fabric. This trim is called "gimp".

After cleaning the fabric, I grabbed Old English furniture polish and gave the frame of the rocking chair a deep clean. You can see the difference in the picture of what a proper wood cleanser and polish will do for your furniture. Amazing, isn't it?

I ironed out all the fabric. I choose a natural canvas upholsety grade material from Hobby Lobby. USE YOUR COUPON! I then measured each section of the rocking chair and made my cuts.

Thankfully, the seat of the rocking chair lifts right off, not bolted or screwed down! I draped the fabric over the existing material and stapled it around the frame. I trimmed off the excess materal.

Due to the size and weight of the chair, I upholstered the back, and then immediately glued on the new trim. I normally save the trim for last after the whole piece is finished, but since the chair was flipped upside down, I figured it was faster to do it this way.

I had some ticking fabric left over from another project and it went nicely with the natural canvas, so I made a quick throw pillow!

The Beautiful Joanna

Just like the real Joanna Gaines, this rocking chair was beautiful in her natural beauty.

I just gave her a "Fixer Upper"

Thank you for stopping!

Victorian Rocking Chair

"Joanna"

Why did I name the chair?

​

Picture I saw of "Joanna" when she was posted for sale.

The Shop Owner

Mrs Willow Faye Shaw sitting pretty on "Joanna" proudly in front of her new store!

The Transformation

"Joanna" before her makeover

Both arms had complete wear all the way down to the frame. You can see the hay stuffing, a common method of cushion stuffing in furniture decades ago.

Picture before veneer removal

I pulled off the wooden detail with a screw driver and then used a scraper to removie all loose and peeling veneer

I sanded off all the glue and smoothed out the surface

I JUST SO HAPPENED to have the right shade of stain on hand! Money saved!

Reattach the wooden detail with a brad nailer. Easy! This was the extent of repairs needed on "Joanna".

After fixing the bottom of the rocker, I then pulled off the trim that covers the tack nails holding down the fabric. This trim is called "gimp".

After cleaning the fabric, I grabbed Old English furniture polish and gave the frame of the rocking chair a deep clean. You can see the difference in the picture of what a proper wood cleanser and polish will do for your furniture. Amazing, isn't it?

I ironed out all the fabric. I choose a natural canvas upholsety grade material from Hobby Lobby. USE YOUR COUPON! I then measured each section of the rocking chair and made my cuts.

Thankfully, the seat of the rocking chair lifts right off, not bolted or screwed down! I draped the fabric over the existing material and stapled it around the frame. I trimmed off the excess materal.

Due to the size and weight of the chair, I upholstered the back, and then immediately glued on the new trim. I normally save the trim for last after the whole piece is finished, but since the chair was flipped upside down, I figured it was faster to do it this way.

I had some ticking fabric left over from another project and it went nicely with the natural canvas, so I made a quick throw pillow!

The Beautiful Joanna

Just like the real Joanna Gaines, this rocking chair was beautiful in her natural beauty.

​

I just gave her a "Fixer Upper"

​

Thank you for stopping!