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Sorry for the delay in getting these photos posted, my camera is having issues. (Which figures since this is the week I decided to launch a blog!) Anyway, here's a quick and not-so-precise tutorial of how I reupholstered my dining room chair cushions.
In case you've forgotten, here's a reminder of the chair and cushion before:
The cream color really didn't stand up well to two toddlers learning how to eat independently and only succeeding about 50% of the time. Plus I just didn't love it anymore. Since we rent our home, I have focused more on making changes to the things that are ours (furniture, etc.) to help make the space more of my style. Anyway.....back to the chairs.
1. Buy Fabric. Because I'm a DIY-newbie (and total, total fabric newbie) I literally unscrewed one of my stained cushions, threw it in my bag and took it to the Hobby Lobby with me to find a fabric. I probably looked ridiculous (I stopped worrying about that a long time ago!) but I found a fabric I liked (I knew I wanted a toile, I love me some toile) and asked the lady working to help me figure out how much I needed. It was SO NICE to bring the cushion, because they aren't exact squares (more on that later) so we were able to be very precise in the amount of fabric needed. I got it all for $10.00 (on sale).
2. Since I knew we had measured the fabric correctly at the store, I brought it home and cut it into 4 squares (for the 4 cushions). Then, since the cushions were already unscrewed from the chair, I just started wrapping the cushion. You should start with the two sides that are most parallel to each other, so in this case, I started with the top and bottom because they are most closely parallel when compared with the left and right sides.
3. You just pull snugly (but not too tight) and start using your staple gun to hold the fabric in place. The corners are a bit tricky, especially for my shape cushion. I just folded them as neatly as I could. I knew it would look pleated and not perfectly taut, but that didn't bother me. I knew once the chairs were screwed back in, it wouldn't be that noticeable and really it looks kind of neat and tailored that way. But what do I know? I also trimmed the excess fabric after the cushion was completely stapled.
4. Just make sure when you do subsequent cushions that your fabric is all facing the same way - if you are using a striped pattern or something else, you'll want to make sure you start each cushion on the same stripe (or maybe you don't need to, it's totally up to you)! That's another reason why I loved the toile for this project, because it has so many things going on in the fabric, that as long as it all faced the same direction (I did towards the chair) it looked similar enough to be cohesive, but different enough to add some interest and variety to the table.
5. Because this is real life and not a show room, I sprayed the new cushions with this amazing fabric protector I also got at the Hobby Lobby. It has to set for 24 hours, but it is like super Scotch Guard, and any liquid that lands on the chair now beads up and slides off. MAGIC!
And there is my definitely not precise and definitely not perfect way of reupholstering my dining room chairs! If you try this, please share your results!!!
Hello Living with Lindsay readers! I'm so glad you're here. Read on to get the specifics of my table re-do, but make sure to click over here to enter a small little giveaway!
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We have had the same counter-height dining room table for the last four years. But with two toddlers, the table has taken a beating. Plus the shiny, brown veneer just is not my THING anymore!
Because our table was cheap not solid wood, I had been hesitant to change it to something I loved. Then this post from Living With Lindsay (such a fun site, you must visit) on how to paint laminate furniture (what??!?) inspired me. I CAN DO IT! And you can do it, too.
First, though, I must give you the before pictures (in all their embarrassing glory):
It's just so wrong.
Oy.
This picture makes the table look lighter than it really is, but I used my flash so you could really see the table and all of the scratchy loveliness. Okay, that's enough of that.
After a lot of work and patience, here's what my table looks like today!
OK, not really - here's what my table really looks like today (just keeping it real, here. Have I mentioned I have two toddlers in my house?)
So.....here's the step-by-step (based off the instructions from Lindsay in post I linked above. I'm telling you check her out)!
1. REMOVE cushions by unscrewing them from the chair and gag as you see the stains.
2. LIGHTLY sand the table, being careful to not sand into the particle board if your table isn't solid wood. I used a palm sander for the flat surfaces and legs, and then hand sanded the harder to reach crevices. (Those cross backs on the chairs were KILLER.)
3. PRIME the table and chairs. I used Zinnser BIN Primer and was very pleased with the results. In the interest of imparting lessons learned (I'm a NEWBIE, remember?) I did NOT have the primer tinted (DUH!) and so covering the white was a bit....tedious. If you are planning on painting your piece a darker color, see if tinting the primer is a possibility.
4. PAINT the table and chairs. The hubby and I used a foam roller for every part we could and used bristle brushes for the chair backs. I did three (or four) THIN coats of red (Ralph Lauren Hunting Coat Red) allowing lots of dry time between coats. Then I did three (or four) thin coats of black (Ralph Lauren Black Truffles) again allowing for lots of dry time between coats. I wasn't AS careful to get in all of the crevices with the black paint, since I had planned on distressing it to show some of the red underneath anyway. (Plus I was REALLY sick of those cross-backs, have I mentioned that?)
5. DISTRESS the table and chairs. This was the fun part (for me). I used a fine-grit sandpaper and lightly sanded the edges of the surface of the table and the legs of the table. I also did the edges and legs of the chairs. Just wherever it felt right. In THEORY, the black was supposed to sand away to reveal the red underneath, like so:
In actuality, sometimes the red was sanded off with the black, revealing my non-tinted (see step 3) white primer. It still looks fine, I just wanted to share what REALLY happened during the distressing process! (This is all about sharing and learning, remember?)
6. PROTECT the surface by using a polyurethane top coat, applied with a bristle brush NOT a foam roller (don't ask how I know this). A top coat was especially important for my project because it was a dining room table that would be used heavily (see above pictures) and wiped frequently. I used a semi-gloss poly, because I didn't want the look of the shiny veneer back.
7. ALLOW ample dry-time before moving the piece back inside and using it daily.
So, what do you think? Are you inspired to tackle some of your not-in-love-with-it-but-can-I-paint-it pieces? If you are, PLEASE send us the results!
Up next: recovering the chair cushions (easy peasy).
I'm (attempting) to link up to Kimba's DIY party at A Soft Place to Land. If you've never visited her, you must! And take a look at other great DIY projects!
