Upholstery with a Designer's Eye
A new Brooklyn-based reupholstery designer is taking on furniture restoration projects in the Catskills and Hudson Valley. Rachael Rosenblum of Double R Design spent 20 years in fashion before shifting her focus to wingback chairs, upholstered headboards, and custom cushions, like the one she designed for my bench seat, pictured above.
I wrote a feature on this vintage furniture fairy godmother for Brooklyn Based, and you can see some before-and-after photos of her work and take peek into my Brooklyn apartment here:
Double R Design combines a fashion designer’s eye with a team of seasoned upholstery craftspeople to save furniture from the landfill and create new heirlooms.
Above, old chairs take on new life with modern fabrics in timeless, neutral hues. Below, I wanted some bright, vintage-inspired, floral patterns to transform a basic white bench seat (built for Archer’s video game storage) into a cozy nook that feels like it belongs in our 100-year-old brownstone. I couldn’t find any upholstery fabric that I loved until Rachael brought me some textile samples, including this pattern from independent British textile designer Abigail Borg.
A basic white bench seat become a perfect teatime nook with an upholstered cushion by Double R Design in a beautiful upholstery fabric by Abigail Borg.
It combines my kids’ favorite colors (bright pink and aqua green) and reminds me of my favorite high school English teacher, who grew dahlias in his backyard and gifted me all his old gardening books when I was in ninth grade. It makes me smile every time I walk into the room.
One of my most prized possessions, a watercolor by illustrator Sophie Blackall, looks especially pretty over this floral textile by Abigail Borg.
On the wall above the cushion, I’m going to hang this original painting by my favorite illustrator, Sophie Blackall. Pete bought for me a while back, and I love it so much that it pained me to leave it at my local frame shop! KC Arts did a great job with the framing, and I love how it looks beside this pattern. I think it’s the perfect little painting for a nook meant for art projects and long talks over tea.
My Great Aunt Ann’s teacup, my mother’s kitchen table, and my new bench cushion from Double R Design already look like they’ve been together forever.
My mom recently updated her kitchen and gave me her old table and chairs and my Great Aunt Ann’s teacup collection, so now I can sit at my childhood kitchen table, enjoy the view from our 4th story window, sip tea out of fancy china, and dream about the days when friends can finally join me up here.
