The Perfect Prayer Chair: 3 Minutes with Diana von Glahn

Lisa M. Hendey interviews Diana von Glahn, founder of Seat of Wisdom Studio: the perfect place to find a vintage chair or kneeler.

Q: Diana, congratulations on the momentous launch of your new Seat of Wisdom Studio. Please briefly introduce yourself to our community.

A: Hi everyone! I’m Diana. I love being Catholic, and, apparently, I have a creative side! HAHA. This is news to me, really. Growing up in San Diego, I attended the School of Creative and Performing Arts, where I was in the choir and played the trumpet in the orchestra. Despite all of our creative efforts there, I really thought I wanted to be a lawyer! So I went to college, where I majored in English, and then I went to law school. Unfortunately, as soon as I began to practice law, I realized that I wasn’t a fan of my new profession. I missed being creative!! Eventually, I quit the law and moved to New York to work in publishing. There, I met my husband, and shortly after we were married, we began creating The Faithful Traveler, a Catholic travel series that is still broadcast on EWTN. That endeavor gave us all sorts of adventures, and while it sort of wound down with COVID, I do have one more series to finish up on the California Missions!! But recently… I started buying vintage chairs on Facebook Marketplace, and the next thing you know, I have a new hobby and a new business!

Q: Most of us know and love you for your work with The Faithful Traveler. What prompted this new interest of yours in restoring furnishings?

A: It all started with a pink velvet wingback chair I saw on Facebook Marketplace for $45. I have always loved a comfy chair, and I’ve always loved velvet. My husband said I could buy it, so I did. Some child had clearly been using it as their secret hiding place, because inside the chair, I found lipsticks, toys, barrettes, and a $50 bill! The chair had paid for itself! Since the ottoman was saggy, I thought I’d reupholster it. How hard could it be, right? I had so much fun doing that that I bought another chair with the intention of reupholstering it, and the next thing you know, I have 50+ chairs in my basement and a new LLC!

Q: In an age when “fast fashion” and Amazon seem to rule, is there a place for giving vintage items new life?

A: Absolutely! Amazon has some pretty stuff, and I have bought chairs online, but most of it is made in China with MDF, not real wood. They don’t make chairs like this anymore. Or if they do, I have no idea where they’re sold. These chairs are made from real carved wood, with springs, and the most amazing fabric. They’re old, yes, and worn out, but with a little love, they can all be beautiful again! I hate the idea of these works of art ending up in a landfill. So, I am trying to save them. I even got some of them for free! Reupholstering can be expensive, and people would just rather get rid of things than pay to fix them. So, that’s where I come in.

Q: You seem to be at work doing more than just reupholstering here. Please share about the spiritual component of this work, but why you want to create pieces for prayer, and how doing this work impacts your spiritual life.

A: I’d say it all started after I read Dan Burke’s book, Into the Deep. In his book, he talks about setting up a prayer space to help carve out dedicated time with Jesus in prayer. I bought a little chartreuse velvet chair from Marshall’s for $50. I put my legs up on a velvet ottoman I got from Pier 1 Imports (now defunct). I loved spending time with Jesus in my little corner of the house. But my two dogs insisted on sitting on top of me, and it got crowded. So I was always on the lookout for a bigger chair that we could all fit into. Eventually, I bought a chaise lounge—a fainting couch, as they call them. I remember my spiritual director laughed at me and said, “Well, that’s not very Carmelite…” And of course, no, it’s not very ascetic. A saint would kneel on the floor, or a rock, I’m sure, but I’m not a saint... yet. I’m trying to be a saint. But I figure, if I spend most of my time in prayer agonizing over my bloody knees, I won’t be spending much time with Jesus, so I thought, first things first. Yes, there is the challenge that my chair is so comfy that sometimes I fall asleep in it. But then I think of St. Therese, falling asleep praying her rosary. I mean, look. Jesus loves me because I am trying to spend time with Him. He gives me grace for trying to meet Him daily. He gives me grace for trying to stay awake. For trying to do His will. But I am human. I am getting older, so my body doesn’t always allow me to kneel or stay awake. I remember during COVID, I had the hardest time staying awake because I got long COVID. Eventually, I was healed of that—praise Jesus—and now I can stay awake with Him in prayer.

So, I LOVE the idea of a prayer chair. A specific chair where I go to be with my best friend. A habit. I thought, well, if I like this, others might, too. So I have this vision of reupholstering these gorgeous chairs, giving them new life. But I would love to make them Catholic, too. To put a little pocket where people can keep their rosary or a book. I have visions of embossing the velvet I use with Catholic designs, like a Marian symbol, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or the St. Benedict Medal. Maybe one day I will learn to embroider and sew beautiful designs on them … the sky is the limit. And at the end of the day, my goal is the same as it was with The Faithful Traveler — to bring people to Christ. I want to bring them to Him, so He can touch their hearts and show them how much He loves them, as He has shown me during my time with Him.

Q: How did you learn this amazing craft?

A: She might hesitate to say this, but God created me so I cannot tell a lie! I learned everything I know about this from the internet — just like I did in producing The Faithful Traveler. There is an amazing worldwide community of generous people online who share their knowledge freely, and I find that to be so refreshing.

Law school was such a competitive environment; people would hoard knowledge to get a leg up on everyone else. People would create exclusive study groups. I invited someone to study with me, but he had already been invited to join someone’s group, and they did not want me to join them. It was such an ugly environment! These days, they call this behavior "gatekeeping," where people withhold special information or knowledge to prevent others from knowing it and gain an advantage over others. But this behavior is so unChristlike, and flies completely in the face of the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

God gives us gifts — wisdom, knowledge, understanding, etc — not for us to hoard and keep to ourselves, but for us to SHARE! Sherry Waddell created the St. Catherine of Siena Institute specifically to help people learn their gifts so they can share them with others. It’s a beautiful thing. Imagine if St. Thomas Aquinas had kept all his wisdom to himself! Or any saint had greedily hoarded their knowledge and gifts like a dragon hoards its gold! It’s unthinkable.

When I bought my pink wingback chair, I looked online to find out how to fix it, and I found a variety of wonderful and generous creators from around the world!

First, I found a wonderful Canadian furniture repairman named Scott Bennett of Wooden It Be Nice. Scott makes himself available for 30 minutes of furniture repair advice for only $50! It’s priceless! So I got on a video call with him, and he helped me figure out what to do with my ottoman. He has many wonderful free videos on YouTube and offers a full course on Furniture Repair at a very affordable price.

Then, I discovered a British upholsterer named Neil Banyard of The Facelift Academy. He shares all his knowledge through individual courses you can purchase, or you can join his community to access everything he has to teach and a whole community of people doing similar things. It’s wonderful!

I found a mentor and friend in Wendy Conklin of Chair Whimsy. She has an invaluable DIY Upholstery course on her website and a Business of Chairs Collective that gives members access to her and other women doing similar work. They meet twice a month and share all sorts of tips and tricks. Wendy and the women of that group are wonderfully supportive and encouraging, and I have learned so much from them and their experiences!

I took a Chair Restoration and Upholstery class from Argentinian upholsterer Lucia Giraudo. I loved listening to her Argentinian accent, which made me think of Pope Francis! I love watching her Instagram videos, in which she shows how she takes chairs from the garbage, turns them into works of art, and helps others do the same.

We live in a world where these kinds of creative endeavors are dying simply because the people who know how to do them are, too. Without someone to pass their knowledge on to, crafts like this will die. Imagine if the Carthusian monks who make chartreuse liqueur died, taking the recipe with them! Or if St. Simon Stock had died before being able to tell anyone about the rosary! We cannot hoard knowledge just to be superior to others. It behooves us to share, and I am so grateful that the upholstery community around the world is so generous and happy to help one another.

I think I will always be learning something new, and I am grateful to all these people who are willing to share what they have learned with others. Yes, I could have gone to school for this, but I am in my fifties. I have a full-time job, and I don’t have the time to go to school. Fortunately, there is the internet. And you know, I didn’t go to school to learn how to produce a television series, either, but I produced four seasons of The Faithful Traveler and created its website, all using online tools and instructions. It is a new world, and the internet is a wonderful resource. I am grateful to God for it.

Q: Please share some of your favorite pieces. What helps you fall in love with them, and is it hard to part with them?

A: Oh. I have so many favorite pieces! I think I have purchased more than 60 chairs, but I didn’t put them all up for sale because I picked ones I wanted to keep, my husband picked his, and my mom picked hers! I am sure the more pieces I work on, the harder it will be to part with them, but knowing they will go to people who love them will make it all worth it.

As for the pieces I kept for myself … let me share!

I drove an hour (50 miles) each way to pick up this chair, which I think is emblematic of everything I love about a beautiful chair. It didn’t even fit in my car, but I drove home with it hanging out the back! I love the carved wood, the velvet, and the cushiness. I love how solid it is, and how I feel like I am sitting in a hug when I am in it.

 This is another chair I absolutely love and am keeping. The leg broke off as I loaded it into my Kia Soul, but I don’t care. I’m going to fix it anyway! 

 Every chair I bought has something beautiful that I love about it. I’m looking at the bones of the chair, because the upholstery will always be replaced. This chair, for instance, is just magnificent, and as much as I love it, I’m not keeping this one. I love the wide seat and the arms. The wood is beautiful. I even love the velvet color, although that will be changed. Where have you ever seen a chair like this in a store?! 

My mom loves Victoria Magazine, a beautiful publication that revels in all things Victorian and Jane Austen-y. That’s the only place I’ve ever seen chairs like this. And at the Vatican!

In my research, I have found that I lean toward Bergere chairs, which feature upholstered backs and arms. They were created to keep you warm in drafty homes. Chairs like this:

 I’m not a fan of this chair's upholstery, but the frame is just gorgeous! I’ve been using AI to generate ideas for what these chairs might look like in different finishes. Look at this! 

That’s the same chair! Isn’t it magnificent?!

Older chairs also tend to have lower seats, which is great for short people like me (I’m 5’3”). Normally, my feet dangle off chairs, and I feel like Lily Tomlin or Gilda Radner, sitting in a huge chair, like a little girl. But in these chairs, it’s like they were built just for me.

Q: How can a lovely chair or kneeler help someone fall in love (or back in love) with the gift of a prayer life?

A: A beautiful, comfy chair is inviting. I think we need as much help as we can find to get us to carve out special one-on-one time with Jesus, because the enemy will do everything he can to prevent us from doing it. If we can find a beautiful, comfy chair that gives us a place to settle in and just forget about everything except how much we love God and how much He loves us… wow.

Q: Let's talk logistics! Do you take custom orders? How do you ship your bulkier items? What else should a buyer consider?

A: I do! All of my orders are custom.

The starting place is my website, SeatOfWisdomStudio.com, where I have a curated selection of chairs and kneelers that are just waiting for someone to buy them, and then tell me how they want them reupholstered. If you find something you like there, buy it, and then I’ll get in touch so we can design the chair or kneeler to your tastes. You can choose the fabric or provide it. I can help you pick one. There are all sorts of bells and whistles you can add to a chair to make it your own. You can change the wood's stain, or we can paint it! The sky is the limit.

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs, so if you’re nearby, you can come pick up your piece for free, or I can bring it to you (for a small fee, now that gas is so expensive!). If you’re further away, I will ship the chair or kneeler via white-glove delivery. Every other means of delivery is so unreliable, I’d hate for the piece to break before it gets to you. When you buy your piece, I will provide you with a shipping estimate.

If you have a chair or kneeler that needs reupholstering, you can fill out a form on my site and send me photos, and we can discuss how to get it to me and what the estimate would be.

At this point, I don’t do pieces other than chairs or kneelers, although I do have a couple of little tables on my website.

I hope people will keep this endeavor in their prayers.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my joy with your audience!

A question for you:

Do you have a favorite piece of furniture in your home that you’ve refurbished? How has giving this item a new life blessed you? If you could “redo” one item in your home, what would it be? 

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Copyright 2026 Lisa M. Hendey
Images: copyright 2026 Diana von Glahn, all rights reserved.

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