Wednesday, March 3, 2010

It's a cover-up

We've got three slipper chairs sitting in our Florida room (yes, a Florida room in Canada. Sun room?). And it's killing me to see them looking like this:


Especially since I've been trolling Target's sites for ages oggling their slipper chairs.

Product Image
So in the spirit of cheap-or-free DIYness, I got to work. I had a couple HUGE drapery panels that I was going to use at the New York Stationery Show last year, but I changed my mind at the last minute. I had gotten them on sale for about $9.99 (I think) for the pair. I took a look at the existing upholstery job on the chairs and it was in really good shape. Just ugly as sin. And sin's pretty ugly. Sometimes. If it's the bad sin....

Anyway, I decided to just cover over the current fabric because with two little monsters running circles around me, it was just the easiest thing to do. Plus, I didn't really want this project to take more than an hour.



As always, I had 'help'.


After a few coronaries involving a potential shortage of fabric (I only wanted to use one drapery panel per chair), this was my result:




Not bad, eh? I fancified it up a bit and nailed in some upholstery tacks, too.


And do us both a favor and don't mention how out of line and wonky they are, okay? I'd still like to stain the legs a nice espresso color and possibly do the third chair in a funkier, more colorful fabric - like the background in this photo:


But for now, I'm pretty pleased.

And while I was on my psychotic covering spree, I decided to do our oh-so-nasty dining room chairs. The kids have an incredible way of getting every. piece. of. food. they eat on these chairs so I needed a way to camouflage it.

Before, in all of its stain-y glory:



And side-by-side:




What do you think? Too busy? I think they'll cover up most of the garbage that gets dumped on them every day.

What about you? Any cover-up jobs of your own?




2 comments:

Tara said...

They look fantastic! You shouldn't tell people that your studs are wonky because I would never have even noticed.
Upholstery is one thing I've not tackled. I'm skeered.

Carol said...

Thanks! I'm afraid to sit on it. I just have this vision of all of the staples and tacks popping out. I feel like I wrapped a present, not a piece of furniture.