Polly Granville

Polly Granville www.pollygranville.com Directors: Polly Chetwynd Stapylton & Sandy Reay

lovingly restores and reinvents old pieces of furniture, using innovative detailing and beautiful fabrics we turn unusual frames into extraordinary pieces.

18/08/2026

This royal-ish and cheerful fabric had all eyes on it at the workshop. The client came to me with her French Louis XVI style window bench and a great idea for giving it a fresh new personality. She chose this wonderful screen-printed fabric inspired by the Florentine Giglio - the iris flower that features on the flag of Florence and grows wild around the city 💚🤍💛

There’s something wonderfully joyful about the combination of the classic bench and this lively botanical pattern. We finished it with a double piping detail , which gives the whole piece a lovely tailored finish.

I have a feeling this one is going to get plenty of compliments from the her guests.

30/07/2026

Sometimes the smallest chairs have the biggest personalities. This lovely vintage barrel chair has such a cheerful, tulip or cupcake-like shape that it was impossible not to fall for it!  Small in size, but beautifully reupholstered.

The chair belonged to the client’s grandmother, so they really wanted to save it. It was brought to us in a very well-worn and damaged condition, luckily Richard, who is part of our community here at the studios, is a metal worker so he fixed the framing and replaced the missing metal struts. Given the heavy octagonal metal framing running along the bottom, the chair likely dates from the post-war era.

Tom restored this one using traditional materials, rebuilding it from the inside out. Underneath the cover, there's no block of foam, but a carefully built structure of webbing, coil springs, cotton wadding, cotton wool, hessian and ginger coir fibre - the sort of craftsmanship that has supported comfortable chairs for well over a century.

For the finish, the client chose Cove in Sunflower by - a wonderfully joyful linen inspired by choppy waves. The pattern nicely wraps around the curved shape, giving it movement and variation from every angle, while the warm golden tones bring a lovely sense of sunshine.

A beautiful reminder that the best upholstery isn't just about the fabric you see. It's about everything that's carefully rebuilt underneath it too.

11/06/2026

Red often gets a bad reputation for being bold, but looking back at some of our favourite little red one-offs from recent years, I've found it can be surprisingly cheerful, cosy or classic – all depending on the shade, texture and pattern.

Deep berry velvets, soft corals, rich plums, warm terracottas and everything in between. Somehow this colour keeps finding its way into our workshop and into our clients' homes.

Perhaps it's because red has a wonderful way of making a room feel alive. A little warmer, a little more welcoming and a lot more memorable.

Now I’m wondering what our next red upholstery project will be ❤️

07/04/2026

Only Fabrics & Horses :) When you think of fabrics, do you think of horses? Neither do I.

Last week, Tom and I had such a wonderful time at in Castle Cary. Founded in 1837, this remarkable factory is one of the last places in the world still weaving horsehair fabric, using original looms and techniques passed down through the generations. Sadly we couldn't photograph inside as the looms are patented, but it was just extraordinary to see looms designed in the late 1800's that had the ability to pluck a single horsehair from a tail and weave it in the fabric. The warp is made of linen and the weft is the horsehair, meaning that the fabric can only be 54cm wide as that's the length of a tail. Truly we were all agog at the precision of such old machinery that hasn't needed to be updated in all these years.

The horsehair comes from all over the world and is turned into beautiful and incredibly durable textiles, used for upholstery, wall panelling, fashion and even handbags. Proper craft, proper heritage and a joy to see it up close. Tom has worked with them for some years now, helping them set up their stands at design shows.

I’d love to work with this fabric on a future project, it has the most incredible sheen to it and will uplift any piece of antique furniture, as long as it's small enough! If you’re curious to learn more about this stunning material, DM me.

Fabrics and projects
Handbags

Fancy a sofa like this?We really love this sofa by in Josef Frank fabric and can totally see it as an inspiration for t...
26/03/2026

Fancy a sofa like this?

We really love this sofa by in Josef Frank fabric and can totally see it as an inspiration for the sofa in the following images.

A friend asked us if we can salvage this gorgeous sofa. Can you share our vision for this original Victorian double drop-arm sofa, full of character and just waiting for the right home and a bit of care?

A 19th-century design of this sofa is known for its elegant symmetry and adjustable arms, created to shift between formal seating and a more relaxed lounging position. Its deep seat, scrolled arms and traditionally tufted back reflect the period’s focus on comfort, craftsmanship and grandeur.

It’s currently here in the studio and available as is  to collect for free, or we can upholster it to perfectly suit and uplift your space. Always happy to chat through fabrics and finishes to make it feel just right.

I’m sad to see it go, so if you, or someone you know, has been looking for a truly antique piece to bring a bit of presence into a room, this could be the one. Contact us.

Cover image is for reference only!

19/03/2026

A little look back at some of my favourite occasional chairs and stools we’ve had through the studio.

Playful, colourful, full of texture - each one completely different and made to suit its home and its owner. That’s always the joy of bespoke work, no two pieces ever quite the same.

So many lovely projects, wonderful clients and truly beautiful fabrics to work with along the way. I feel very lucky to be part of these little transformations, watching each chair find its place and bring a bit of character into a room.

Which one would you have at home?

05/03/2026

Behind the seam [sic] today… 8 metres of kitchen banquette coming to life!

This rather magnificent kitchen banquette has completely taken over the studio. Eight metres of it. When the client delivered the wooden structure, Tom got straight to work and the whole place quickly started looking like a very ambitious game of upholstery Tetris.

We are bringing you some atmosphere from our workshop today: fabrics being cut, foams carefully shaped, pieces sewn together, plenty of pulling and stapling, and then the final fine-tuning to get everything just right.

The banquette will come together in three sections, each one carefully built and upholstered before being transported and assembled on site.

It’s going to be wrapped in a soft dark rust-brown fabric, adding the perfect balance of warmth and depth to the space.

Projects like this are always a bit thrilling. Big scale, lots of fabric, and the satisfying moment when something enormous starts to take shape.

Stay with us for the reveal of the final banquette!

Often a sofa doesn’t need replacing. It just needs creative rethinking.The lovely Uns Hobbs .hobbs_interiors, came to us...
03/03/2026

Often a sofa doesn’t need replacing. It just needs creative rethinking.

The lovely Uns Hobbs .hobbs_interiors, came to us with a clear brief: her client’s sofa felt too modern, too clean-lined for the new direction of the apartment in Canada Water. It needed warmth, softness and a proper English cottage feel.

So she came up with a new design and after lots of chats we reimagined the shape of an existing sofa. Can it be done? Yes, it can.

A fully bespoke cover made from scratch, adding a box skirt and newly shaped arm caps, just made all the difference.

It completely transformed the style, feel and colour of the existing sofa. We used a washable linen in a rich pink tone and finished it with contrast piping to give it definition and charm.

Same bones, entirely new personality. Could you tell from the photos?

It’s one of my favourite kinds of projects. Nothing thrown away. Just a fresh perspective and a bit of upholstery magic.

I’m a bit curious – do you have a piece of furniture you’re tempted to get rid of simply because the style no longer fits your space or renovation project?

Interior design .hobbs_interiors
Photography .hearne
Upholstery
Fabric

First hint of spring projects at Polly Granville, and I’m pleased to report we are officially done with Christmas trees ...
24/02/2026

First hint of spring projects at Polly Granville, and I’m pleased to report we are officially done with Christmas trees in the feed until the end of the year hhh.

This cute banquette is part of a full house renovation for a wonderful client with fun, exuberant taste who curated the entire space, right down to the Matilda Goad blind mechanisms.

The kitchen and dining area are all about warmth and cosiness. Soft pinks and rust reds flow from the kitchen cabinets through to the dining nook. A pink chandelier hovering above, pink-toned artwork over the fireplace and that very cute little pouff on the other side, all sitting alongside the newly made entrance hall window, which gives the space a whole new layer of light.

The banquette, upholstered in Malabar cut velvet,  was created with a lovely arched shape so we decided to make the blinds relaxed rather than Roman so they would mimic the curves. The Ian Mankin ticking in gentle pink and white stripes layered with the gorgeous Thibaut cafe curtains make the whole space warm and inviting.

Any precious offcuts were turned into small matching cushions because it felt rude not to. A joyful project, bold choices and a dining spot that was made for friends hanging out and nattering whilst delicious suppers are rustled up.

 

Banquette fabric
Banquette frame
Relaxed blinds
Claremont Trellis

19/02/2026

How cute is this? The reveal of our handmade aprons is here, along with the entire behind-the-scenes.

From blank cloth to finished colourful aprons, screen printed by the Polly Granville team, Polly and Koni, using Christopher Farr patterns. We started with colour experiments, paint buckets and squeegees and finished with imperfect edges, plenty of laughter and just enough muscle to get everything right.

Seeing how designs come to life by hand was so inspiring. Thanks for opening your doors and showing us how the print fabrics we admire are made.

Watch the process and tell us what you think of our aprons.

Address

Arch 16, Valentia Place
London
SW98PJ

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

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