Copycat $1500 Gold/Fur Chair DIY for $215

I wanted to share a quick DIY I recently did…that may be the easiest DIY you’ll ever do in your entire life.  (Maybe this is more of a hack? That’s trendy to say right now. Decor Hack! Chair Hack!)

I was recently staying at the Hotel Allegro in Chicago, and I fell in love with the most beautiful chair of my entire life.

See those guys on the right? The white fur and gold metal arm chairs?

I. Was. Obsessed. (Well, legit, I was obsessed with this entire hotel. It was the perfect mix of Art Deco and Hollywood Regency that dominates my Pinterest boards…and my home….and my life. And, no, this isn’t a sponsored post. I JUST LIKE PRETTY THINGS. I’ll actually share a bunch of pictures of the gorgeous decor here at the end of my post because they’re THAT inspiring.)

I’ve been slowly redoing my living room, since the last time I decorated, I was a new baby, fresh out of college and too excited to make design choices that would last me a lifetime. (I literally picked the first couch I saw in RoomStore. It was super comfy, but it wasn’t winning any design awards. I tend to get excited and make quick choices.)

Anyway, I picked out a baller couch and gorgeous paint, but I couldn’t stop thinking about those white fur and gold chairs.  I mean. Let’s look at more pictures and drool a bit.

So I emailed the hotel to ask where they were purchased, and someone emailed me back within the day.

Introducing the Ansel Brass Chair with Tibetian Fur. And it could be mine for the low low price of $1520!

….yeah.  That wasn’t happening. So, my hunt began. I was sure I could find a gold chair with white fur. Positive.

And I did!  This guy from TOV Furniture was a bit cheaper, coming in at $725.  But still…I was already dropping serious  money on a new couch, and I didn’t want to spend that much.

I also found this Shag Puff chair from Anthropologie, but that was $750. Still a bit more than I wanted to spend.

So, I figured I’d get a little creative.

I found a great gold metal chair with cool details here for only $190.

What I liked about this chair is that it was a reproduction of a design by Harry Bertoia, who was an Italian designer who did a beautiful series of metallic furniture in the 1950’s. (The real version of these chairs can go over $500.)

I took that chair and ordered a sheepskin off of Amazon. (I picked this one from Ikea. It’s not the kind of fur that will make you die of happiness, but it looks nice and full.)

Combine the two and…voila!  A $1500 chair created for about $215.

Ignore the cat who has decided this is her new throne. Mine looks a little different–no side arms, and I liked the design of the back of the chair so much that I didn’t want to cover it up. (Although, I learned that the back of the inspiration chair is just a big pillow, so it’d be easy to add in at some point.)

It’s also not as full at the base as the original, BUT I love the juxtaposition of architectural metal with the luxe-looking fur.

My truest confession is that I still might save my pennies and buy the real version one day.  But I think this is a great substitution while I wait for that day to come.

So there you go. I just saved you like $1200 AND you go to see a picture of a spoiled kitten. (insert heart eyes emojiis)

And before I leave you, here are a few more pictures of the Hotel Allegro. I took a thousand pictures on my phone, but obviously, the real promo pictures are WAY better.