Since I (finally) shared what I did in the dining room on the walls, I thought it was about time to share what I did with the dining room chairs: new fabric! Recovering the chairs was a way simple switcheroo that totally changed the vibe in the dining area, and it only took me about an hour!
Here I am getting started. What was originally on the dining chairs was gold diamond fabric I put on a few years ago (and pretty much immediately disliked):
- see ya later, yellow fabric!
All I needed was my new fabric (purchased from the Premier Prints bricks-and-mortar store in Jackson), a screwdriver, scissors (for cutting the fabric and popping out the staples), and a cheapo staple gun.
I flipped the chairs over, one by one, and removed the seats (Stella was very interested in what I was doing):
starting on chair #1
Off came the gold fabric, to reveal the chair’s previous incarnation, some “Wow I’m from the 90s!” flamestitch fabric that my mom used before my parents gifted us the dining set:
holy 90s
[Sidenote: I do realize flamestitch is all over the place right now, and I definitely think it's cool in some applications, but the colors in this particular fabric screamed 90s! Just wanted to put that out there for all you flamestitch trendsetters! 
]
Beneath 90s fabulousness was a totally 80s rust/cream/pale blue stripe fabric (which totally brought back memories of “fancy” dinners in the dining room when I was little):
- hey decade of my birth!
I pulled that layer off and discovered the original gold-ish, textured pleather, which I gather was the original fabric on the chairs from the 60s (I think?):
- definitley kid-proof but so dated!
I decided to reattach the striped fabric since a layer of batting was beneath it, adding a little cushion to the otherwise hard seats.
So then I used the flamestitch fabric as a template to cut my new fabric:
- cutting out my new fabric
Finally, I stapled the new fabric onto the seat, reattached, and voila! A whole new look!
- first one done!
Rinse, wash, repeat on the other 3 chairs, and I was done in no time!
- the completed chairs put back in the dining room
It was such an easy change, and, to me, made a huge difference to me! I like that it’s a neutral color in an interesting pattern…not too flashy but just works.
Have you done any high impact, low effort projects lately? Do tell.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
love the new look, that fabric is so pretty!
Oh, that looks excellent! I think neutrals often are the best choice for dining chairs. How cool is it that you had all those old fabrics to peel back, like time travel?
Another great job and I did enjoy the journey through the past fabrics! The wall mirror looks good also. Keep going strong…
That’s awesome to find all of those layers under neath. If those chairs could talk… I love the final fabric you have chosen.
Love that final product! What a funny discovery process through the layers of fabric. So happy to find your blog via Mrs. Limestone. Can’t wait to read more!
All those layers of fabrics cracked me up! Your “new” chairs look awesome!