Fabric, finally.

So, I did it.

I finally decided on a fabric, purchased it, and recovered my chairs.

I stressed and struggled over choosing a fabric, and I ultimately ended up choosing something a bit different  from what I expected.  I originally wanted something with much less white.  In fact, the majority of fabrics I looked at did not have a neutral background.  I was also struggling to find something that included all of the colors I wanted (which was, um, all of them).  Because I wanted to include so many colors, many of the fabrics I was looking at were very…intense.  And I knew that wasn’t the look I was going for.  Once I stumbled across this fabric, I felt it was the perfect color combination, and the neutral background didn’t make it seem out of control.  Also, it has a great nubby, burlapy feel to it, and I just love that!

I’m not going to lie.  I didn’t use a tutorial or anything to recover these babies.  If I would have, it probably would have saved me a little stress.  I stapled the fabric too far over the back on my first chair pad.  I didn’t think that would matter…and then I realized I had covered the holes for the chair screws to go into.  Whoops!

My mama gave me a staple gun, and I pretty much just went at it.  I was able to get a few extra yards of this fabric at remnant price, so I had plenty and could afford to be picky about which pattern I wanted to be on each chair.

Honestly, it was an incredibly easy project, and I couldn’t be happier with the end result.

I really had not taken into account how dark my chairs are.  If I had gone with a fabric with a darker background, the chair would have been lost in the dark color.  I really love the contrast between the dark wood and the light, neutral background.

If you’re thinking about recovering any chairs…DO IT!  It’s such a simple task that can really change the look of a room.

Happy Monday!

The fabric decision…

I’ve done it!

I’ve made the decision to re-upholster those dining room chairs.  Now, I just have to find my fabric.  Easy, right? Ha!

I do believe, however, that I’ve narrowed it down to a brand–Loulouthi from Anna Marie Horner.  I absolutely love her use of color.  It’s modern and vintage all at the same time.

You can purchase her fabrics at fabric.com or on her website.  On her website, you can buy Fabric Stacks, where she will group coordinating fabrics for you!  Perfect for accent pillows or if you’re a master quilter.

I’ve narrowed it down to nine fabrics (for now…), and I don’t see how I’m going to make the final decision.

I know some of the patterns are a bit crazy, but my chairs only have the seat upholstered, so I feel like that gives me some freedom to do something a bit funkier.

Am I crazy? Thoughts?! Comments?!

Dining Chair Re-Do

I’ve been trying to decide what to do with my dining room chairs for about two years now.  Whoops.

I love our dining room table.  I happened across it at Ballard’s Backroom.  If you haven’t been there, go now.  They have some seriously amazing things at seriously amazing prices.  I ended up getting our table (with TWO huge leaves, making enough room to seat 14!) for $150.  It needed some work.  There were a few deep gouges, so I had to sand the whole table down and stain it.  I was going to paint it, but I ended up loving the natural look of the wood.

I can’t remember how much I spent on our 6 chairs, but I know it was less than the table…and they were brand new!  They came upholstered with a linen-y type fabric.  Obviously, they were meant to be covered immediately.  Apparently, I’ve been in a bland mood for the past few years, but now I’m ready to move on.

I’ve got a few ideas, but I kind of feel like I’m all over the place.

My first idea was to paint the wood of each chair a different color.  I love that look so much.  I may eventually end up doing this, but I have decided to work with the fabric first.  I love painting furniture, but it’s a major undertaking.  I feel like I could re-upholster my chairs in a weekend, and get this project finished quickly.

Next idea?  Painting the current fabric.  I’ve seen lots of blogger-types who claim it is easy and amazing and fabulous.  Liz at It’s Great to be Home has a great tutorial on painting fabric chairs.  Seriously, how perfect are those chairs of hers?!

Next idea?  Just re-upholster the darn things.  I happened upon this website the other day, and I just can’t help but be obsessed with fabric.  The problem here is trying to pick a fabric.  I’ve always been drawn to bold, geometric prints like this and this.  However, I can’t help but think that–with the little amount of fabric that is on these chairs–a big, fun, vintage-y floral fabric might be amazing.

So, I need your help.  What are your thoughts on what would look best with my table and chairs?  Would you lean more geometric or more floral?  If you like the geometric look, would you try your hand at painting, or would you just spring for the new fabric?

Happy Friday, y’all!