Private commissions
Maybe you have a piece of old furniture or an heirloom that you’re attached to but you need some inspiration to give it a new lease of life, or you have some ideas but you’d like someone to execute them for you. If so, please give me a call.
I’m able to offer a range of creative services from sourcing furniture and design inspiration to upholstery, furniture restoration, woodcraft and decorative finishing.
I usually have a range of furniture that’s on the go, so if you’d like to find out what’s available we could collaborate on an individual piece that’s just for you.
Please get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.
shona.kitson@gmail.com
07738 008776
Edwardian Chaise Longues
Well it might look like I've been lounging about on this stunning chaise longue..... but really, I haven't!
I've been stripping and sanding and polishing and stretching and hammering and stapling and cutting and gluing and sewing to bring this gorgeous Edwardian Chaise Longue back to her Former Glory. I did try to fulfill my reuse, recycle and repair philosophy but in the end the chaise was in too much of a dilapidated state, so I had to take her right back to the original frame. You can see her trasformation in the blog section of this site.
I love my job and I love breathing life back into these vintage pieces. Thanks Nicky for trusting me with your Grandmother's chaise.❤
'I love it so much & the beautiful work you dedicated to it!! We love it ❤️❤️'.
Nicky Williams
Sara’s little vanity chair
This desirable little 1940’s vanity chair is yet another family heirloom that was ripe for renovation.
The chair has been stipped back to its metal frame on the base but I managed to salvage most of the original back. The legs have been sanded back and painted with Farrow & Ball Pitch Black and the sumptuous velvet is from Clarke & Clarke and ordered through Calico in Bedminster. Velvet is actually quite a difficult fabric to work with because it slips and slides against itself so I was pleased that the piping worked out just fine.
This lovely little chair now sits in Sara’s bedroom and compliments her newly decorated home in her newly moved into house in Cotham.
‘Omg shona that looks fabulous. The pink works really well and I love the pink piping’
Sara Brown
Princess Aurora
Long ago in a faraway land a piece of boring brown furniture was born. Eventually, one day a fairy godmother bestowed on it the gift of beauty and light like the dawn, and Sleeping Beauty stirred from the curse of a deep and boring slumber.
Whilst Princess Aurora slept she was adorned with ornate wooden mouldings, soft blended paints of Annie Sloan and Gold and Silver gilding dust. Then, Princess Alison awoke Aurora with a true love's kiss and they lived happily ever after in a beautiful house in Redland!
A true story from Former Glory, Bristol 🧚♀️
..... well actually the brief was Rococo shabby chic and this is what 'Princess Alison' had to say:
'Absolutely perfect - exactly what I wanted - it’s perfect Shona - you do a fantastic job 👏👏 so talented - thank you so much ❤️😘'.
Alison Woodiwiss
Rupert & Lyndsay’s nursing chair
This sturdy little chair has been used as a nursing chair in the same family for a couple of generations. In line with my philosophy of repair, reuse and recycle, I kept as much of the original chair as possible and added new layers of padding to what was a tired little relic.
I love the soft tones of the William Morris style fabric which will sit well in the arts and crafts style family room in Bower Ashton. Perhaps the next generation of little ones will enjoy counting the flowers or to trace the flow of the patterns with their small hands.
Thanks Lyndsay for the glowing Google review.... I'm pleased you're enjoying your rejuvenated family heirloom.
‘Shona has done a fantastic job and we are really delighted with the result. I can highly recommend’
Lyndsay Newman
Jake and Rachel’s chest of drawers
Jake and Rachel were looking for a small size chest of drawers to complete the interiors of an attic room that they wish to airbnb. Luckily I had rescued a little chest of drawers from a neighbours garden. It had been used for storage in their garage and was destined for the tip. It had been languishing outside for a few weeks and became waterlogged and was beginning to fall apart.
The rescue involved 6 months in my cellar where the wood dried out and the drawers drew themselves back into shape. With a little tender loving care, wood filler, generous sanding and a lick of paint the solid little chest of drawers have come good.
The Lamp Black paint from Little Greene matches the sofa and the orange Charlotte’s Locks by Farrow & Ball is picked out from the attic room rug.
‘Shona did a great job advising on the interior design of our attic room from sourcing furniture to making the blinds. We love the little chest of drawers too.’
Rachel Woodruff
Chairman Mao
I don’t normally take selfies….. I was messing around with a mirror in my daughter’s bedroom whilst shooting my just completed personal project (for my daughter) - the Chairman Mao chair.
The wingback chair was originally a dirty pink velour (very 80’s) and taken from a home where the owner had to move her bedroom downstairs due to ill health and I became the lucky recipient for the 3-piece suite. You might think that the flame red of the upholstery fabric looks a bit bright but if you look at my skin tones you’ll see the colour is correct. The fabric is Linoso II, Flame by Clare & Clare. I have plans for the wingback sofa from the set but the other chair is available if anyone would like me to upholster it for them.
Chairman Mao has been designed to fit into my grown up daughter’s oriental room with the red chinese wallpaper and other oriental bits and bobs.
‘Thanks Mum, he fits in just perfectly’.
Hettie Kitson
Louise’s chair
The little chiar was in a sorry state when Louise called me in to give it a new lease of life. It’s been stripped right down to its original frame and built up again from scratch. As well as new webbing, springs and filling, I gave the Oak frame a good polish too.
Louise was drawn to animal prints and so a trip to Bracey Interiors in Clifton soon gave us our inspiration for the little chair. The Cole & Son Versailles Grand fabric was a delight to work with and complements the oak frame completely. I got really caught up in the 18th century inspired French tableaus and managed to capture each and every scene and miniscule detail without a single repeat across the chair.
Thank Louise for allowing me to revive your family heirloom. I hope you have as much fun as I did spotting all the animals and quirky little details.
‘Shona did a beautiful job with my antique chair. She was very generous with her time and even accompanied me to the interior design shop to select the fabric.’
Louise Orchard
Babs’ bounteous buffet
Barbara wanted a sideboard to compliment her stunning gold/tangerine wallpaper with Japanese cranes dancing across the walls. It was a true delight to work with a customer who appreciated my interior design advice and colour recommendations.
I sources the sideboard to order from Marketplace and picked her up from a chap in Newport. She’s been dismantled, sanded to within an inch of her life, filled, primed and painted inside and out. The vintage drawer pulls were sourced from ebay and have been reconditioned and gilded in gold. The top has been lovingly finished in gold leaf foil and coated in Polyine to give a hard wearing surface.
This upcycled sideboard is sure to enjoy living a rejuvenated and colourful lifestyle in Barbara’s home.
‘Thank you for going the extra mile for Babs’ Bounteous Buffet! You’re the Best.’
Barbara Bloomfield
Gaby and Tom’s inherited chairs
This little pair of chairs might not have much monetary value but they offer great value to Tom and Gaby who own them: They are a re-found family heirloom with imagined stories to tell of Edwardian ancestors.
Gaby asked me to recondition the wood and reupholster the little pair using as much of the original materials as possible, in order to honour her zero waste philosophy. Most has been salvaged all except for the base layer which was coconut husk which had gone to dust.
These elegant Edwardian chairs make a lovely addition to Gaby and Tom’s bedroom and have certainly come up well from their original delapidated state.
‘THANK YOU Shona!!! You took a very sad pair indeed and have given them their mojo back’. xxx
Gaby Soley
Rachel’s mid-century desk chair
This is the second commission I've completed for Rachel and my first of 2022!
Thanks so much Rachel for trusting me with your gorgeous mid century teak desk chair. I've really enjoyed learning how to upholster onto a wooden back.... it was a bit of a mind bender at first to figure out how everything was fixed from the inside without being able to get in there. But with a bit of research and fiddling about it all turned out well in the end. The wood has come up nicely too.
I can't wait to take some pics of this stylish chair in situ with the teak desk... and yes I'd be delighted to help restore the desk's top too.
‘Shona, thank YOU for turning what was a sad little desk chair into a mid-century gem. The desk definitely needs your TLC too and I'm on the look-out for more potential projects for you in 2022! 😘’
Rachel Dickinson
Susan’s Christmas delivery
Susan wanted a large sideboard to sit in an area that straddled the lounge and the dining room and would be a focal point in an otherwise superfluous area. The high vaulted ceiling needed a piece with presence and I managed to locate a huge, solid 1940/50's sideboard that fit the bill.
The sideboard has been painted inside and out, with new drawer felt and a copper foil top and vintage knobs to compliment Susan's stunning bubble lights. The Farrow & Ball Imperial Purple ties in with the new sofa.
Not only do I love Susan because she commissioned Former Glory Bristol to find a used piece of furniture but also because she serves a mean Mulled Wine.
‘Thank you Shona, we absolutely love the sideboard. Have a lovely Christmas’ x
Susan Mackay
Fin’s upcycled sofa
I've just had the honor of contributing the upholstery/soft furnishing part of this sofa made from a couple of old pallets and preowned foam. The handcrafted Shepherd Hut is just so snuggly-buggly with a wood burner and everything you need all nestled in the woods of the Frome Valley.
I'm just imagining myself lazing on the sofa listening to the bird song and the breeze in the trees and the ripple of the Frome.
Thanks Fin for commissioning me to add further comfort to your gorgeous home.
Upcycled display cabinet
Lovely Ann picked up one of my leaflets on Gloucester Road and contacted me to find out whether I could help her find a suitable display cabinet for her wonderful collection of china and glass. She had recently moved from a Victorian house to a new build and was looking for a piece of furniture that would fit into her new contemporary surroundings.
I sent her several options of used furniture and we settled on the lovely piece you see herewith. This solid piece is probably about 20 or 30 years old and was originally a dark mahogany coloured wood and had a fabric back wall.
It has been fully stripped, primed and painted in Little Greene Ulla which is a soft white with a hint of green undertone. She now sits in Ann’s kitchen/living area. The cabinet’s light, bright colour provides a link to the expanse of glass windows and glass doors adding to the airy feel of the room and a link to the garden beyond.
‘Shona did a brilliant job sourcing, refurbishing and painting the cabinet in just the right colour for my new home. Her attention to detail is fantastic. Great aftercare as well! Definite recommendation.’
Ann Hannay
Rachel’s Italian chair
This naive little chair was plucked from it’s rural setting and brought all the way back from the mountains of Umbria. Rachel commissioned me to completely restore, renovate and make comfortable what was an extremely pretty but uncomfortable chair.
During the stripping back process I found evidence of a previous ‘make do and mend’ rebuild which consisted of bedsprings, straw and farm type sacking. I’m guessing that the original wooden frame is probably about a hundred years old and at some point later the chair seat was redone using whatever they had to hand.
The brief was to create a look that would fit into a mid century setting without losing the chair’s original identity. It’s been taken right back to the frame with new webbing, springs and padding and the wood has been revived too.
‘All I can say is “wow”. What Shona has done has far exceeded our expectations – the chair looks fabulous and it has so much character. It is also really comfortable, thanks to a complete rebuild. And I can honestly say I couldn’t have found this gorgeous material without Shona’s guidance. All in all, we are delighted that our old chair has been given the Former Glory treatment. Thanks Shona!’
Rachel Dickinson
Campervan upholstery
A very upmarket Mercedes van conversion just cried out for plush red velvet seating to compliment the stylish interiors.
Working to a tight deadline with a difficult fabric to work with is always a challenge but it worked out just fine. Each cushion has a full length zip fastening so that the covers can be removed easily for cleaning. And there are hidden tie backs so that the cushions don’t slip forward with use.
I wish this was my campervan!
‘Really love Shona’s work, all beautifully done and really unique. Thanks for the great job did upholstering the van!’
Becky Firth
North African bedside cabinets
I received a request for a pair of bedside cabinets from the lovely couple who bought the Occasional Monkey Chair. They had met 11 years ago traveling around Arabia and Africa and they wanted something that would fit with the beautiful artifacts they had collected on the way.
I sourced the two brown bedside cabinets from Facebook Marketplace and designed a choice of moodboards, colour options and ideas inspired by the saturated colours and imagery from North Africa. They went with the moroccan blue, vibrant orange and muted gold. The colours and arabian date palm also compliments the exotic monkey fabric which I used on the Occasional Monkey Chair and will sit well together in their bedroom.
The tops of the cabinets have been gilded with gold wax and protected with a sheet of glass so that the light reflects beautifully. I cut a stencil from an image I found on the internet to make the palm tree and used gold gilders wax to make the print.
‘I could not recommend Former Glory Bristol and Shona enough. She has a great eye for colour and textiles and a pleasure to work with!’
Carrie Woo