Design Bleuprint: How To Design A Dog Gone Chair

Well first you need to really really love DOGS!

I mean you need to be just a tad bit dog crazy to want a dog chair and even crazier to design one and think everyone will want one! Ok, welcome to my crazy life!

But if you were to design a dog gone chair, I’d suggest starting with an inspiration fabric! No problem, for me! I have a fabulous local home decor fabric store, The Fabric House, that has a number of super cute and whimsical dog fabrics. (They do ship, by the way!)

The Original Design

My original inspiration for this dog gone chair was this fabric.

I love the gray background with the whimsical mutts in more shades of gray with all the bright orange, yellow and red pops of color. As I glanced around the store, I spotted this fabric.

It has lots of fun colors and is a little on the whimsical side as well. The question is not ‘Do these go together?’ but rather, ‘Do these work together?’ 

For me, I think its fun to not necessarily use fabrics that coordinate, but kind of push the envelope a bit. So home I came to put all the fun together. I had a few scraps of orange check left over and I decided this chair definitely would have a flirty skirt! 

Next up was to begin painting. I had some Fusion Mineral Paint in Lamp White, which is a very light gray/white. Once I had the first coat on I decided to try highlighting the carved details with some Annie Sloan Barcelona, a vibrant orange. Glad I tried it at this stage cause I wasn’t digging it. 

Plan B

I needed to rethink my plans. Out with the multi-color fabric and in with a gray buffalo check.

Next, I grabbed my Annie Sloan Graphite and the Fusion Lamp White and mixed up the two paints till I had a mid-tone gray! Yes, this plan is working just fine. 

So I proceeded to paint the chair frame gray and hand line it with the bright orange. Next up, the buffalo check on the seat had to go on the diagonal.

This definitely breaks some upholstery rules and causes some raised eyebrows! But I think it works just fine! Remember, I like to push the envelope! 

As you might have guessed, the fun part was deciding how to place the doggos on the chair. I mean, which ones should be front and center.

And which ones should be peeking out from the edges?

They are all so cute, so bottom line, it doesn’t really matter. Just play and have fun with the fabric placement!

Third Times a Charm

My original idea for the flirty skirt was to have the pleated skirt across the front of the chair to the legs.

Then pick up the skirt on the sides and around the back of the chair. Once again, this just wasn’t working for me. So I changed the plan again and carried the skirt up over the front legs. Much better. 

Sometimes thats just the way it rolls when designing a chair. Keep an open mind and if you don’t like what you see, head back to the design board. Or in this case the fabric and paint stash. I love having lots of options on hand to play with. And don’t be afraid to break a rule or two. Have fun, dog gone it!

P.S. If you love this chair and want it to be yours, just go to my Etsy shop!