Moving out on your own can bring lots of new things. A new sense of freedom, new friends, new experiences, and new/old furniture! Yea, free stuff! But what if these gifted treasures are a little too shabby and not enough chic?

When I moved in with my cousins last fall I was so happy that they had lots of furniture. I didn’t really have much besides things for the bedroom. Most was donated by family or friends and is really quite lovely. The table and chairs were my aunt and uncles first set, and although it is in super condition, the seat was looking a little worn. Kiah and I decided we could remedy this by re-covering the seat with a very sturdy cotton fabric found at Wal-Mart.

 

 

I will admit we had this idea and bought the fabric in the summer. Procrastination is a trait we share, but we got it done eventually and are very happy with the results! this project was also way faster and easier then I thought. After unscrewing the seat and washing the chair frame (very dusty!) we used the seat to make a pattern.

 

 

 

 

There were tons of staples holding the old fabric on the wood so we decided to just lay the new fabric over top. Something that was discovered after removing the seat is that the set was made in Romania! I think this may be why it’s held up so well after so many years (sorry aunty and uncle, lol), good solid craftsmanship!

 

 

We had a bunch of little nails and tacks but most were too long. Also the wood was very dense, another testament to the quality. The solution we devised was to hold the fabric taut with 2 nails on either side and use hot glue to secure the rest. Oh glue gun, what would I do without you!? This may not be what Martha Stewart would have recommended but it worked well for us. I’m more of a “use what you have on hand” kind of girl.  After screwing the seats back on the frames the spiffed up chairs were good to go!

 

 

    

 

 

I think the chairs look mighty dapper now! A huge improvement! With the leftover fabric, of which there is a lot, I think I’ll make a matching table runner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: Perhaps this new facelift will persuade us to eat at the table more, instead of just using it as a catchall for receipts, newspapers, and flyers!