I spotted this chair on the street while giving a walking tour and after I finished went back and got it.

It was painted in purple with a sloppy gold wash and the back was broken into three pieces.

I used the broken seat as a template to create a new seat and upholstered it with a material chosen at random at the fabric store, a bright orange snakeskin vinyl.

Next I sanded the base and applied black primer and 5-6 coats of black lacquer:

The deep curve of the back made it impossible to stretch the vinyl snugly so I decided to pleat the material:

I began by folding the material where the pleats would be, heated the edges with a hairdryer, and clamped it for several days:

Starting in the middle with a double fold I laid it out and stapled it to a piece of thick foamcore:

I then heated this with the hairdryer and weighted it with wood and a heavy box:

This worked quite well and I wrapped the vinyl over a piece of foam and attached it in back:

To hide the back I covered a piece of matte board and fastened it with upholstery tacks:

And attached the seat and back to the frame:

Et voilá:

It’s quite comfortable and looks great.