Chair Fest Weekend – Upholstery & Painting Workshop - Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th February 2027 10-5pm approx

Chair Fest Weekend – Upholstery, Upcycling & Decorative Finishes

Transform a Chair in One Weekend

Learn upholstery and decorative techniques in a small, hands-on workshop and leave with a completely transformed chair you’ve created yourself!

Spend two inspiring days in the Lavender Grove Cabin learning how to transform a chair using upholstery and decorative techniques.

This immersive weekend workshop is designed for those who love creativity, craftsmanship and the satisfaction of making something truly unique. With a very small group of just 2 people, you’ll receive plenty of individual guidance while learning new techniques in a relaxed, supportive setting.

By the end of the weekend, you’ll not only understand the structure and process of upholstery, but you’ll also leave with a beautifully restored and personalised chair that you’ve created yourself.

No experience is necessary — I’ll guide you through every step.

What You’ll Learn

Over the weekend, I’ll guide you step by step through the full process of transforming your chair.

You will learn how to:

• Safely strip upholstery and understand chair construction
• Prepare and rebuild the seat using upholstery materials
• Work with foam, padding and webbing
• Apply fabrics and decorative trims
• Paint and finish the frame
• Create a beautifully finished chair you’ll be proud to take home

NEW! Choose Your Chair Back Finish 🎨

You now have two options for your Chair Fest experience!

Option 1 – Upholstered Fabric Finish | £525

The original two-day Chair Fest experience, where you’ll learn the full upholstery and upcycling process, finishing your chair with a beautifully upholstered fabric back.

Option 2 – Decoupaged & Blended Finish | £650

Fancy taking your chair transformation a step further?

Alongside learning the full upholstery process, you’ll explore the art of decoupage, transforming the front-facing chair back using beautiful decorative papers.

You’ll learn how to carefully apply your chosen design, blend the edges into the painted frame and build up a beautifully smooth, sealed finish that can give the appearance of leather or hand-painted artwork.

This is a more detailed process involving additional preparation, blending, finishing and sealing, so this option includes an extended workshop day to allow plenty of time for the extra techniques.

Whichever option you choose, you’ll still learn the full upholstery process and take home your very own transformed chair!

What’s Included

Everything is provided — you simply turn up and enjoy the experience.

Your workshop includes:

• A practice chair to learn how to safely strip upholstery
• A chair to fully transform and take home
• Premium fabrics
• Foam
• Jute webbing
• Calico
• Dacron
• Burlap
• Cotton linings
• Decorative trims
• Paints and finishes
• Use of all tools and equipment
• Two days of hands-on tuition

For those choosing the Decoupaged & Blended Finish, additional decorative papers, materials and extended tuition are also included.

Choosing Your Fabric

A beautiful selection of fabrics will be available for you to choose from, all included in your workshop price.

If you have a particular fabric you’d love to use, you’re very welcome to bring your own!

Just let me know beforehand so I can check that it’s suitable for upholstery and advise you on how much you’ll need.

Please note that the workshop price remains the same if you choose to supply your own fabric.

Workshop Details

📍 Lavender Grove – The Cabin, Layer de la Haye, Colchester

This is an intimate workshop with a maximum of just 2 attendees, ensuring plenty of individual guidance throughout the weekend.

Standard Chair Fest: 10am–4.30pm on both days.

Decoupage option: Extended workshop hours to accommodate the additional decorative techniques. Finishing times will be confirmed before your workshop.

Investment

Upholstered Fabric Finish – £525

Decoupaged & Blended Finish – £650

Please select your preferred chair-back finish when booking.

All chairs, fabrics, materials and tuition are included in your chosen workshop.

Booking

Full payment is required to secure your place.

Workshop bookings are non-refundable. However, spaces may be transferred to another available date with sufficient notice, subject to availability.