Creating My Otomi Chair Design

Just this past week I finished up a set of 6 Otomi embroidered dining chairs for a client. You may be wondering, what exactly goes into a design like this? Well, there’s a lot of planning to get this just right. One shade off of blue and it might not look so great. The fabric placement has to be thoughtfully placed. And if you have younger children, then you have to be careful to get durable fabric for the seat. Here’s the process that I went through to get the perfect boho look.

It begins with getting the textiles from Mexico, which I found on Etsy. Each one is unique and has amazing colors. But this butterfly was my personal favorite…I’ve never seen an embroidery like this before. My client loved the blue/turquoise paint because it went so well with the embroidery.

Once the chairs were painted and waxed, the fabric playing started. I call it “playing” because I move the textiles around quite a bit until I get the best look. Then, I staple in place. For these, we chose a yellow vinyl for the seats. That makes the seats easy to wipe off and super durable. But, that also meant we had to go with nailhead trim because I can’t attach double welt to vinyl.

Each one is hammered in place. It’s a long process, but well worth the final result.

There are six total chairs, all with unique textiles. I’m showing them outside at my home, but I can’t wait to see how they will brighten up their new home.

I worked really hard to get each textile to show it’s best scene. Maybe a flower pokes in from the bottom or an insect from the top. I had a blast deciding what to showcase on each chair. The yellow seats work great with everything!

I had a blast deciding what to showcase on each chair. The yellow seats work great with everything!

As you can see, these would be great for outdoor dining.

It just so happens yellow and blue are complementary colors, so they worked great together!

You could even throw in a fun bench, just to mix things up, and seat people that way. This makes me want to throw an outdoor dinner party!

The real key to getting a great Otomi dining chair set is to be open to the variety of textiles. Then, work in a color for the paint that comes from the textile itself. Finally, choose a complementary color from the paint and let that be the seat color. Then, you can sit back and have a fun dinner party in boho chic style!

Wendy

I'm Wendy Conklin, The Chair Stylist.

What brings me joy is helping others live more creatively. I design antique-inspired, boutique chairs, and I teach others how to do what I do. Check out my shop, services, and courses to bring more whimsy into your home and life!

Check out my online courses to spark your creativity and upgrade your joy, starting today!

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