DIY Project

Almost 5 years ago my parents gave my husband and I their old dining room table and chairs. I was so excited because the table we were using could barely fit two people at it. We had friends over for dinner once and it was very crowded! I have talked about recovering the chairs for a long time but I didn’t have the time/money to work on them.

This year I got my Grandmothers China cabinet and it looked so nice in my dining area that I decided it was time to spruce up the chairs. I looked around and settled on some fabric, to my surprise it went on sale for 50% off the very next week and there was a 20% off your entire purchase coupon! Perfect timing. So I left the kids with hubby and headed to the fabric store…only to change my mind and pick up a different fabric. Once I came home and started taking the chairs apart (made in 1980) I decided that:

1. Maybe I needed to wear a mask
2. They used way too many staples
3. I needed to replace the padding as well

The foam padding was an adventure because you buy it in yards so they were some pretty large pieces of foam. I used a knife to cut them (no electric knives here). Then my mother and I sat down during nap time one afternoon with the staple gun and started to put the chairs back together. The staple gun would not work at first and once we figured it out the staples would not go through the plywood. I had to enlist my Dad’s help and the use of his air powered staple gun. It took a little longer than I anticipated and was more work than I had initially envisioned but it was so worth it don’t you think?

BEFORE

AFTER

Fabric: $36
Foam: $50
Six chairs recovered for less than $100!