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Expressive Designs by Jody

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United States
Elk River, MN
Expressive Designs by Jody

In my one-woman upholstery studio, I work with the utmost care and respect when bringing life back to your most treasured furniture pieces! 🌸

03/11/2026

This vintage swivel rocker came to me in its original form. Throughout its years, it rocked generations of babies and hugged countless relatives, and while the exterior may be worn out, the interior is strong and resilient! With a solid oak frame, it took everything that came its way and only needed some new screws and a bit of glue. With a frame refresh, all new materials, a new swivel base, and fabric that is stain resistant and pet friendly, this beauty will be rocking many more generations of babies to come!

I am so honored to have been given the opportunity to work on this very precious family heirloom. What a delight to see her transform!

Thank you Charlotte Fabrics for offering such gorgeous fabrics like this D3528 - mushroom!! 😍

02/11/2026

Friends! I'm so excited to share that I'm finally back to work! I have so many incredible projects on my schedule that I feel like the luckiest upholsterer ever! The chair I'm currently working on may just be one of the biggest transformations I've ever done, but you'll just have to wait and see! It's coming soon! 😍

In the meantime, here's some photos of a recliner I reupholstered while my husband was on his cancer journey over the last few months. Those of you who have been through it yourself or with a loved one probably know what I mean when I say that the exhaustion is unexplainable some days. His treatments required 5-day hospital stays every other week, so I didn't always feel like coming home late at night to work. During his weeks off, days seemed to run together with various appts and all the other day-to-day stuff that adulting demands. So, I worked on it every chance I had, finally finished it the end of December, and absolutely love how it turned out! It went from overstuffed and frumpy to sleek and modern!! The broken cardboard arms were replaced with a strong fabric foundation covered in layers of foam, cotton, and batting. The reclining mechanism was repaired to strengthen the footrest after it started to sag from decades of use. Additionally, after years of sitting on cheap foam and poly filling, it now has comfortable support for its owner. And, the owner happens to be my dad who is also a cancer survivor and deserves all the comfort in the world! 🥰

Do you have a piece of furniture that you'd like to transform? Send me a message today and let's chat!!

01/12/2026

My last post was on September 27th, and less than one week later, we learned that my husband has brain cancer. To say that our world changed that day is an understatement. I immediately paused all of my work to focus on his journey back to health. His treatment has been aggressive and quite time-consuming, but he is doing incredibly well and is feeling great!

His treatment is coming to an end and we are looking forward to pressing resume on our regularly scheduled programming. ☺️ I hope to be back to working on your beautiful furniture pieces sometime in February. I will start posting more often again and I hope to engage with more of you as my page continues to grow. Nothing would mean more to me than if you shared my page with your friends and family.

A few left when they didn't see any posts, but most of you stayed and hung in there with me when I gave no explanation for my absence. You'll never know what that means to me. 💕

Thank you for supporting my little business!!

09/27/2025

Throwback to one of my very first jobs that reminds me so much of my favorite season!! 💛🍂🧡

This dining set went from basic dark faux leather to bright, warm, cheerful fabric! Its owner says that people thought it was a whole new dining set when they saw it! 😃 That's a testament to how great a transformation can be when we revitalize your favorite pieces of furniture!!

09/18/2025

I love Facebook memories!! It's fun to go back into old files and look at all the photos I've taken of upholstery jobs. For this one, there were many!

These were the very first wingbacks that I'd ever done. I was beyond intimidated. Still getting my feet wet, I had no idea the challenge I was facing by using a fabric with stripes AND a pattern within the stripes. I grew up in the flooring industry and watched my dad match carpet patterns for many, many years. He didn't settle for less than perfection, and I'm pretty sure I took that with me. With these, there came a point where I had to realize that because of the wing design, I'd have that one spot that I couldn't match exactly. I got the rest lined up and let it all go!

These chairs were a huge learning curve for me and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to do them. There were many moments of disbelief that I'd actually done them. I would just stand back and look at them with the most incredible feeling of pride. I did it!! 💙

The owner of the chairs was so pleased with how they turned out, that I had the honor of doing three more pieces for their beautiful home!!

Take a look at the journey of transforming these now unique wingbacks!!

09/09/2025

Back to summer we go with this week's temps climbing back into the 80s! ☀️ That means more poolside relaxation for these folks who needed custom upholstery on their footstools. Having already outfitted the seats with navy blue cushions, this designer allowed me to find a coordinating fabric to bring a little color and pizzazz to this backyard pool area. I love this combination!

08/30/2025

These chrome-framed barrel chairs were an incredible find on Marketplace! With their curved design offering a hug each time you sit down, their owners might find themselves getting lost in a good book for hours!

The old velvet fabric had become dry and brittle, while the elastic webbing was tearing apart at every fiber. These chairs needed a complete rebuild. The wood frames come together with dowels, but had never been glued together. This is important for a strong, secure hold. I glued the frames, created a sturdy, long-lasting base with jute webbing and burlap, then added layers of foam, cotton, and batting to provide comfort and support for many years to come.

One of the many great things about custom upholstery is the opportunity to be unique. With endless fabric options, you don't have to settle! We'll work together to find exactly what you're dreaming of for those special pieces. For these chairs, the tufted peachy look was replaced with a bold, handsome navy blue and a touch of blue and gold weave. They look absolutely stunning in their new home!

08/20/2025

This 1950s dining set was in desperate need of a makeover. Once again, I was trusted with selecting fabric for the project! I received a photo of the room/decor, and ultimately chose two fabrics that compliment each other, giving this area of the home a bright and cheery vibe for all to embrace!! 💙🧡

I had so much fun putting this all together, which at times, required high attention to detail. After deciding to use contrasting welt, measuring out perfect placement of tacks, and finishing off with new caps on all of the legs, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing the end result. I was so thrilled with how it came together and am so honored to be chosen to work on such special pieces!

08/17/2025

When you're hard at work and don't have time to cook, this hearty meal from Tater Top Food Truck is the perfect solution! Delicious tater tots and protein-packed chicken provide the perfect reset! Check out their menu to see all the varieties of potatoes and toppings!

Visit them until 7pm today at Ripple Effect Brewing Company in Rogers!

08/15/2025

On this HOT 🥵 summer day when the meteorologists say that it 'feels like' 100+ degrees, I thought I'd give a little throwback to a piece that looked gorgeous against a snowy backdrop! ❄️

This armless chaise lounge was hiding a few weak points that I discovered during teardown. I added a 1x10 solid board in the back to prevent the top from bowing, screwed down several spring clips that hadn't been, pulled each spring tighter by one 'notch' to help provide better support, and replaced the few pieces of loose, stretched-out elastic webbing with strong jute webbing that covered the entire area in a woven pattern to provide lasting comfort and support.

One of my favorite things is when the client tells me that I can select the fabric and surprise them. 😍 After sending me a photo of the area it was going in, I knew that I'd found the most perfect one! This black geometric chenille brocade fabric turned this chaise into a stunning masterpiece. It looks incredible in its space and will always be one of my favorites! 🖤

Do you get overwhelmed by too many choices? Would you trust someone to make the decision for you and enjoy the element of surprise?

08/10/2025

Throwback to my very first upholstered chair(s)!! I was SO nervous to put my hands on these and couldn't believe that I was actually going to get paid for it! 🤯 I had no idea where to begin or if they would even look nice once completed.

I never could have imagined how much I would fall in love with the art of upholstering just from doing these chairs. I did them (all by myself!), worked through challenges by trial and error, and loved every single moment of tearing them down and putting them back together. It was like a new discovery every step of the way and I was immediately addicted!

I still think of these chairs often and remember the intimidation and excitement I felt taking on that first job. They gave me so much confidence and I never imagined they'd turn my curiosity into my profession! It's incredible to look back at all of the furniture pieces I've reupholstered since, and all of those yet to come!

I'm so thankful for the opportunity given to me then, and to all those who have supported me on my journey! I am honored to work on every single project that I'm trusted with. 💕

08/07/2025

I just realized that while I'd posted tidbits of this pink fabric a while back, I never shared the completed project! These custom cushions now reside in a beautiful 1960s teardrop Shasta camper surrounded by complimentary decor. This was such a fun job! 🩷

This soft, velvety, textured performance fabric is from Charlotte Fabrics Shades of Wild Rose collection. It offers stain, soil, odor, and fade resistance, permanently repels liquid, and is pet friendly! Perfect for all of the adventures of a camper!!

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