A Project 15 Years in the Making (Avoiding)

     Every year I told myself, I WILL recover those chairs! And then another year would go by and I still hadn't done it. When guests would come over I would just throw a blanket over them and call it good. I'm not exaggerating when I say those chairs were hideous. I wish I had a picture, but I avoided ever photographing them. Suffice it to say, they had been through, a whole herd of small children, a practically feral pet cat, and 20+ years of Seaborn social gatherings. They were dingy, stained, ripped, with strings hanging off, and scuffed wood...just yuck!!

     One summer I got close; I had Tyler take measurements and construct a pattern for buying fabric and properly upholstering the chairs. After he left home (and a year or so later) I happened across his measurements and drawings in a file. He had gotten away before I could make him do it! 

     My mother-in-law had done such a great job of recovering them before giving them to us that I felt any less treatment would be unacceptable (to me) and I didn't know if I was up to the task. I began to consider just buying new ones. At the rate I was going that was going to be the only way to get it done. Then I would find myself at the fabric store browsing through the upholstery fabrics looking at all the colors and patterns and thinking how nice it would be to pick the color scheme and pattern. So back to plan A, recover them myself.

     A few months ago Doug and I were on a date and while perusing Tuesday Morning (yes we do things like that on dates, doesn't everyone?) we bought some curtains for the living room. Upon getting them home I decided I didn't like them for the window, they were too dark. So I laid them across the (hideous) chairs to remind myself to take them back. I thought, 'Hmmmm, that would be a nice color and pattern for the chairs.' 

Last month I was on my way to an errand. I arranged the curtain panels perfectly back into their package just the way I bought them and was ready to make the return when I noticed a sticky spot on one. OH no! Already? How did this happen so quickly? So I did what anyone wanting to return an item would do, I attempted to wash it off. When the stain came off so easily, I realized that if that were the case this fabric really would be perfect for recovering the chairs. 

Upon further investigation I discovered that the length and width of each panel was exactly the right size for covering each chair! AMAZING!

     So a day-and-a-half, some chalk paint, and a dozen or so stray staples later, this is me taking a break from finally wrangling those stubborn chairs...or was that me that was stubborn?

Photo Creds: Naomi Seaborn

     Here is the finished product! I am SO happy with the results. It ended up costing me $10 per chair for the fabric and I'm very glad I didn't buy new chairs because these are very well made with real wood and metal, unlike today's 'fake' furniture.

Beeeyoutiful!