Hickory Chair x Liberty Fabrics: A British Textile House Meets American Upholstery
Hickory Chair's Liberty Fabrics program pairs more than 20 upholstered frames with 11 colorways drawn from Liberty of London's 150-year archive of printed textiles. Sutter & Vale carries the full Hickory Chair collection, where a 115-year-old North Carolina upholstery house and a storied British textile maker share equal billing on a single frame.
What Is the Hickory Chair Liberty Fabrics Program?
The program is a collaboration between two heritage makers with very different kinds of provenance. Hickory Chair, founded in 1911 in Hickory, North Carolina, builds bench-made upholstery frame to finish to shipment under one roof. Liberty Fabrics brings 150 years of British textile artistry, its archive dense with botanical prints, art nouveau motifs, and small-scale patterns that resist being dated. The American craft story and the British fabric story reinforce each other on a single piece of furniture.
Hickory Chair lists Liberty as a first-class fabric type within its fabric search, alongside its other primary programs. That means the prints are not a limited add-on. They are a standing part of how Hickory Chair lets you specify a frame.
Which Pieces Are in the Liberty Fabrics Program?
The program spans more than 20 frames. Editors have drawn attention to a handful in particular:
- Ariele sofa: a curvy silhouette covered in a rose-and-tulip print, where the fabric's scale suits the rounded form
- Boyd ottoman: a zigzagging profile that lets a geometric Liberty print move across the surface in a deliberate way
- Louis XVI dining side chair: an art nouveau reading on a traditional French frame
- Queen Dorothy chair: a swiveling seat with scalloped skirt and velvet upholstery that reads close to the character of a woven pictorial fabric
The Alexander Chair shows the kind of traditional American frame that anchors this program well. Its sculptural exposed-wood frame, drawn from a 19th-century Thomas Sheraton source, gives a Liberty print room to register as the primary design statement. The Alexander Ottoman offers a coordinating surface where a second cut of the same print can work as a quiet accent.
How Do You Choose the Right Liberty Print for Your Frame?
Scale and ground color do most of the work. A few practical considerations:
| Print character | Frame shapes that suit it | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Dense botanical (e.g., Butterfield Poppy) | Tighter silhouettes, tight-back chairs | Avoid very busy skirts or heavy pleating |
| Open geometric (e.g., Floating Pavilion) | Larger seats, ottomans, daybeds | Works well when a single motif can center on a cushion |
| Art nouveau line work | Dining chairs, occasional chairs | Check repeat size against seat width |
Two details matter before you commit. First, request a large cutting. Liberty's repeat patterns can read very differently at 6 inches versus 18 inches away. Second, consider the ground color under your room's light. Many Liberty prints carry a warm cream or aged white ground that shifts between daylight and lamp light.
Hickory Chair's Made to Measure and Made for You programs mean you can specify a Liberty fabric on frames beyond the named program pieces, subject to current availability. Confirm with Sutter & Vale before finalizing a specification.
What Does Bench-Made Upholstery Mean for a Patterned Fabric?
Every Hickory Chair frame is built, finished, and upholstered in a single facility in Hickory, North Carolina. The frame is milled, hand-stained, and then upholstered by the same team, with nailhead trim set one nail at a time. That level of hand work matters more on a patterned fabric. A Liberty print with a strong repeat demands the kind of seam placement and cushion-cut attention that bench upholstery allows. The process runs frame to finish to shipment under one roof, which keeps the decisions in one set of hands throughout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I order a Liberty print on a Hickory Chair frame not listed in the named program?
Hickory Chair lists Liberty as a first-class fabric type in its fabric search, on equal footing with its other primary programs. Whether a specific pattern extends to a specific frame depends on current availability, so confirm with Sutter & Vale before finalizing your selection.
How long does it take to receive a Hickory Chair piece upholstered in a Liberty fabric?
Hickory Chair produces made-to-order pieces in as little as three to four weeks from its North Carolina facility. Lead times for specific fabric programs can vary, and your Sutter & Vale contact can give you a current estimate at the time of order.
Is the Liberty Fabrics program available to interior designers as well as homeowners?
The full Hickory Chair line, including the Liberty Fabrics program, is available through Sutter & Vale to trade clients and residential clients alike. Contact Sutter & Vale directly to discuss trade account access and current fabric availability.
The Sutter & Vale Team
