While I love to decorate my apartment primarily with vintage and secondhand finds, Lulu & Georgia has long been one of my favorite websites to explore when I’m in search of some newer furnishings and accents for my space. Not to mention, the site is chock-full of major design inspiration in general.

I’ve been loving designer Sarah Sherman Samuel’s collection for the brand, which is full of all kinds of beautiful, contemporary pieces including plush bouclé seating, dramatic, sculptural light fixtures, luxe wooden case goods, and more. As a longtime L&G fan, it’s been fun to watch their offerings within this collection expand year after year; I’m always checking back in search of newly released items that will complement my space. 

Over the summer, I was browsing the newest Sarah Sherman Samuel for Lulu & Georgia arrivals and was thrilled to see that there are a number of fabrics available for purchase by the yard. I quickly fell head over heels for the Striped Velvet Fabric in black and olive and knew that it would look adorable in my dining nook, where I would use it to recover a fun, wavy chair that I had just purchased on Facebook Marketplace. 

A quick note on reupholstery: About a year ago, I found an amazing upholsterer located near me in New York City and have since been enjoying working with him to recover some of my favorite thrifted finds. The concept of reupholstery was previously extremely daunting to me, largely because I had always understood it to be a luxury service. However, I’ve found that when paying to recover secondhand finds that I’ve sourced affordably, I’m definitely saving money in comparison to ordering a similar piece brand-new. 

Once the fabric arrived, I delivered it and the chair to my upholsterer, and within a week, the finished product was complete. I couldn’t be more obsessed with how the striped fabric looks in my space, and I love the piping that my upholsterer added to really play up the shape of the chair that I found. The velvet is comfortable and chic, and the green hue is very current but also timeless. I really enjoy mixing both vintage and modern styles in my apartment, so having this fabric as an option couldn’t have been more ideal.

If you’re considering taking on a similar project, keep in mind that there are so many other great fabric choices in the Sarah Sherman Samuel collection that are most definitely worth exploring. My top two additional faves are the Painterly Stripe Linen Fabric (again, so stylish and on-trend!) and the High-Lo Checker Velvet Fabric, which I particularly like in green. 

I picked up the vintage chair on FB marketplace for around $150 and paid a $300 upholstery fee to get the chair redone. All in all, it was still cheaper than a brand-new designer chair and I had much more creative control, which I consider priceless. Shopping for fabric and a chair separately could be a great way to put a personal touch on your own space if you want to invest in a piece you’ll have for years to come.