Monday, April 18, 2011

Shhhhh! BEST kept home decor secret!

Get ready for your life to change.  I'm not kidding!  My friend Anna sent me an email a week or so ago saying she has been reading the blog and had something to share.  Little did I know it would be earth shattering!

There's no other way to do this then just blurt it out!
THE PRISON DOES REUPHOLSTERY!!!
And no, "The Prison" is not the name of the newest discount fabric store!
The prison as in, drug dealers & robbers!
And you will not believe the prices!
Club Chair $25
Love Seat $35
Sofa $50

CAN YOU EVEN STAND IT!?  HAVE YOU PICKED YOURSELF UP OFF THE FLOOR YET? 

Here's Anna's info on the thrifiness that is Prison Reupholstery
She also lives in Richmond but I think this happens nationwide.

As a thrifter myself, I have always cringed at the thought of reupholstering furniture because honestly the word just screams $$$.  I always have wanted to take the plunge and have an old piece reupholstered in a hip and trendy pattern and completely design a room around that ONE piece!  

 A few years ago, we were WAY overdue to have 2 pieces reupholstered.  One was a sofa of my husband's from his first apartment that HE had picked the colors - it was fairly basic but definitely did not fit in with my current taste.  The other....a groovy green velveteen club chair, yes I said velveteen!  This was a chair that was my husband's parent's first piece of furniture when they got married 35 years ago. We had had a slipcover on it for a while, but that was not doing the trick.  I swear part of the nighttime routine was to stuff the slipcover back into the chair to make it look right and it never did.  Only guests were allowed to sit in the chair because I didn't want to have to straighten the slipcover unless ABSOLUTELY necessary!

So, I set out on a mission to find the most inexpensive way to have these 2 pieces recovered.  You'll never believe this, but by word of mouth I found out that they are actually teaching reupholstering classes in prisons....yes that is correct - you, too can have your furniture recovered by inmates!  They do a pretty good job, too!  I ended up finding fabric on ebay for the chair.  The fabric was a pkauffman slubby linen - I think I was able to get about 7 yards for $30!  The other fabric for my sofa came from the Williams and Sherrill Decorating outlet in Richmond and I think in total I spent around $100. 

Here are the pics of my items:



Here are the details of the prison...
Haynesville Correctional Center
421 Barnfield Road
P. O. Box 129
Haynesville, VA 22472
804-333-3577


The only kicker to this fantastic operation...you have to have someone who works for the state of Virginia set up the service.  I used a friend who works in the government offices.  Now's the time to get in good with your teacher friends! :) 

 The prices (I think - unless they've gone up in the past 3 years) are $25 for a club chair $35 loveseat and $50 for a sofa!  The sofa they did for me, I wrote pretty detailed instructions of how I wanted it done and they followed those exactly, contrast cording, etc.  The chair; however I simply sent the fabric and chair and crossed my fingers....who knew inmates were good at "tufting"!  When my husband brought the piece home (oh and you do have to physically take the pieces to them) I was so excited to see that they must have been offering a tufting class that day.  The buttons on the seat back are perfect and make it such a current piece.  Happy Reupholstering and Shhh....we need to keep it a secret, I have many more pieces to be recovered and want them to keep their prices down!


You all can thank Anna for revealing this AMAZING secret by visiting her adorable shop Libbie & Winston where she makes custom onesies, kids shirts, wall art and more!


Okay, so now let's play the "which celebrity screw up would you want tufting your ottoman?"
Lindsey Lohan, Charlie Sheen, or Paris Hilton?

I'm leaving Martha Stewart out of this one because that is just plain unfair ;)

Linking up here!

43 comments:

  1. haha! thats awesome. with your prison reupholstery and great antique prices, i think i may be moving down to richmond = )

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  2. Okay, wow!! Thanks for sharing! I'm amazed! I have so many things I need to reupholster!

    ~Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage

    PS Where is Haynesville? My family has been here since 1607 and I've never heard of the place!

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  3. My roommate works there (as a therapist)! I had no idea! I have found several pieces but didn't want to pay to have them redone. Now I can rethink those! :) Thanks!

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  4. I am rolling on the floor!!!!!!!!!! What I want to know is who teaches them how to do that!?!?! We need to enroll in that class!

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  5. Im so glad you guys are all as happily shocked as I was...cant get over it! Anna! We bow down to you!!!

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  6. Mikey- Not sure where Haynesville is but Im going to try to get there as fast as I can ;) Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. Martha is probably teaching the class as part of her release...

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  8. Erin - looks great! Love the addition about celebrities...I think Martha must have been there for my pieces!

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  9. That is crazy! I wonder if the Louisiana prisons do this too?? I might have to look into it!

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  10. hahaha I seriously LOVE this idea...but then start thinking...what if they hide their shanks and files and contraband inside of my upholstery, but that is just where my mind goes....

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  11. I have had several things done there but it has been about 20 years. My parents both retired from corrections so I had that connection. I am pretty sure that you have to know someone who works for corrections to get you in the "door"- I don't think teachers count because they actually are employees of their locality- but I might be wrong. They also used to do refinishing.

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  12. They used to do this up at the Staunton area facility. Haynesville is down near Tappahannock.

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  13. Are you kidding me???!!! I am super excited about this! I live in Mechanicsville, VA. Amazing prices, and great job too! I am gonna check this out for sure! Thanks for the tip!

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  14. I just cursed out loud at my desk in amazement. That is an awesome discovery - lucky for you guys living in VA!

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  15. Emily! I think its nationwide...so get your fanny down to your local jail! ;) and then send me pics of what your inmates made you :)

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  16. My grandmother has always gotten chairs re-caned at the prisons in MA. She is an old yankee and thought that even the prison prices were high :) It took 6-8 weeks for each chair, so, usually one chair was there at a time, sort of a rotation! Such a great hint to share.

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  17. Hi Erin,

    I am your newest follower and I am dying at this post! I am nowhere near this prison but you can be sure I am looking into this at a local prison near me! I will keep you posted on what I find. Stop on by and see us when you get a chance at www.swoonstylehome.com.

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  18. When I lived in MS., I took an adult community upholstery class at the jr. college. It was taught by the lady who also taught it in a local prison. She said that it gave the women a job skill when they were released.
    Here is what I learned in that class: A Big Fat Nothing, except she could recover a chair beautifully, but she didn't know how to teach. We had to ask 'what are you doing now, why are you doing that, where can I buy this, what kind of thread are you using!!! It was hilarious!
    I would have spent less time and money to have just hired one of the prisoners!
    That is if they learned anything!!!
    Rhonda

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  19. I have got to find a prison! Love it!

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  21. HA! Oh no! So sorry you didn't learn anything but that is a funny story! Hopefully she was a very hands on teacher (read: did all the work for her students!) I havent scheduled my upholstery yet but I am excited to do it!!! Just need to decide what to send first! Hopefully your teacher hasnt moved to my local prison!

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  22. Great blog and post. Thanks for the heads up on the prisons, that's great!

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  23. Wow, Thanks so much for the info! I live in Richmond and I'll definitely look into this. I just sold a chair that I loved because having it upholstered was so expensive.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

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  24. That is crazy! Yep, who knew! wow, the possibilities would be endless. That is so cheap. Put those inmates to use doing something productive, I love the idea. Thanks for sharing your thrifty find. I love it!

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  25. Thank you for sharing and project..fabric ,sewing is unfortunate medium for me..I was kicked out of Home Ec!

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  26. That's just brilliant! Too bad I just gave away a chair I've been dying to reupholster for about 7 years. :)

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  27. You are so lucky they do that there. And the price is amazing. I think I would be there every week bringing a new piece for them to redo! Love your chair!

    Just found your blog through Souther Hospitality so now I'm your newest follower!

    Megan

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  28. That is just awesome, I'm in Arizona and I haven't heard of anything like that. But I'm going to check anyway. Perhaps I should send your article to Sheriff Joe Arpio as a suggestion, after all he has chain gangs in operation, why not a gang of upholsterers. I have no clue who I would want doing my upholstery out of those that you mentioned. Hmmmm. My brother is friends with one of the Goddesses so perhaps I should pick Charlie Sheen? But I think instead I will pick Paris Hilton. After all, she might just supervise the others and she does pay attention to detail.

    LOVE the chair and the couch. Just so amazed at the price. I have a great find I need recovered.

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  29. Isn't this just great. I'm in NJ and actually sending out two pieces to the local women's prison tomorrow to be reupholstered. Who would have thought! I know that it will take awhile but for the price...I can wait.
    Marianne :)

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  30. Ugh. I was so excited about this but I called my local correctional facility after seeing they DID do this but they told me the ONLY furniture the inmates are allowed to upholster/reupholster are ones paid for with city/county/state/federal funds.. even city/state/county/federal employees can't bring in their OWN furniture to have done for personal use... >.< saddddd faaace! ugh...

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  31. I just posted about this program in AZ and someone linked me here. They did a fantastic job!! I wish our program was THAT cheap or I'd no doubt be all over it. Awesome.

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  33. Anyone know if Haynesville is the closest place to Richmond? Very interested.

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  34. I just called there and they told me that they don't do it and hung up on me. Is it because I am not a state employee that they wouldn't talk with me? My neighbor who is high up in the state said she would arrange it all I just wanted to get info before I had her get involved.

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  35. Nicole, I know they had stopped doing it at one prison but do have some more continuing to offer this in the greater richmond area. I have a friend who has been getting stuff done at a place that around 45 min away. Ill ask her the prison name and get back to you! You may want to have your friend call who is the state employee, I bet that would help.

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  36. Would you email me the contact info as well? I am a state employee and a few years ago I had a few things recovered at the facility in Jarrett, but I believe they have stopped the reupholstery program there. FWIW, they did a decent job. The corner fabric on one of my sofas has pulled away from the piping, but for the cost it cannot be beat. Anyway, I have an adorable love seat (from Class and Trash!) in my attic waiting to be reupholstered. I'd love to ship that off... thanks so much!

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  37. fantastic idea!!! Wow, who would have thought. We have several projects to do and will look into this. Thanks for the HOT tip!
    Nancy
    Powellbrowerhome.com

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  38. Does anyone have an update on which prisons in Virginia still do this?

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  39. Wow That is absolutely awesome .... It's such a pretty home decorative accessories .

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  40. I just called and they said they no longer do this :(

    Bummer.

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  41. Where can I go to find more information on this?

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  42. No longer do it. Just called :(

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