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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Recovering Dining Chairs

A new Ethan Allen flyer came in the mail the other day.  When I turned to this page, it was love at first sight.

I loved everything about this room... especially the fabric on the chairs.  So now the hunt for this fabric began.
Image from Ethan Allen
I went onto the Ethan Allen website and typed in "toile" in the search box.  The first fabric that came up was the one from the flyer.  Ethan Allen calls it Andover Chocolate.  I could see enough of the fabric that I would be able to search online to find it.  I went to google and typed in "toile fabric chocolate".  Sure enough I found the fabric.  It is made by Waverly and is called Idyllic Days in Chocolate.  The website I found it on was selling it for $18.99/yard.  I figured I would need 2.25 yards to cover all five of my kitchen dining chairs.  I started the checkout process, but it wasn't until almost the last step when they finally disclosed that shipping would be $10.  My grand total was going to be over $50.  I really didn't want to spend that much.
So, I went onto Ebay and typed in "Waverly Idyllic Days Chocolate".  Ten items came up, however most were valances and pillows.  Then I saw the fabric and they were selling 2.25 yard for $13.00 + $7.00 shipping for a grand total of $20.00!  I love these types of moments in life when you know something is meant to be.  The exact item I was looking for in the exact yardage.  So awesome (I was doing my happy dance at this point).
 Even better, I ordered it immediately and received it only two days later.
It's so easy to recover a chair.  I started by turning the chair upside down and removing the screws.

I'll tell you how easy it is...I had my ten year old daughter removing all the screws and then she would pass me the seat cushion and I would remove the fabric.  I didn't even have to use pliers.  I just pulled the fabric and it came off.  The fabric I removed was fabric I had recovered the chairs with when we redid the kitchen.  I never loved the fabric that much, but the colors had worked.
I needed a large area to work it, so I spread out the new fabric in my foyer.
Using the old seat covers as a guide, I laid them out on the fabric.  Since it is a toile pattern, I took some time figuring out the best configuration to get the most centered patterns I could.
Notice, I cut the fabric into a square (I did not cut out exactly as the old chair fabric).  It's much easier that way.  After I staple it to the seat cushion, I just trim away the excess.  I like to staple in the center of all four sides first, then I work my way to the corners.

For the corners, I pull the corner fabric and staple.  Then I take the other two sides and have them meet in the center and staple again.  I then cut off the excess fabric.
Now this is usually when I would just put the seat cushions back on the chair and call it a day.  Well not this time.  I kept remembering the photo from the Ethan Allen flyer.  It had a welted cord around the edge.  I didn't have much fabric left, but I knew I could make it work.  Sure enough I was able to get all five chairs done, and I only had to piece fabric together for the welting on one chair.
Using my favorite Fabric-Tac, I glued down the welting around the base of the seat.
Voila...new, beautiful chair covers.
I am so happy with how these came out.  It completely transforms the look of the chair and goes so much better with the kitchen.
Don't forget that my Swing into Spring party opens up tonight at 8pm EST.  Hope you stop back then to join in the fun.

Let me know what you think of my "new" dining chairs.  Do you love them as much as I do?

-Judy

33 comments:

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

I love toile in general, Judy, but I love this brown and white one. I have found that I'm also drawn to the brown and white transferware, too. Maybe because it goes better with everything? Your chairs look great. Good detective work tracking down an affordable resource to get the fabric you wanted!

Crystal said...

What a great idea searching for the exact fabric!! I fall in love with ads all the time and it never occured to me to buy the fabric and put it on what I have.....!!!! They look awesome!!!!

Dragonfliez Made said...

love the fabric! What a great deal. definitely need to keep ebay in mind for fabric.

Lisa said...

These look so great!

Debbiedoos said...

Those look Fab Judy! You are so talented. I can't look in a magazine and say that is what I want...I just can't do that. I kinda make it my own twist, and sometimes it really is all twisted LOL!

foreverdecorating said...

Beautiful and well done!

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

Love the toile. I have several toile patterns in my house and love them. I haven't seen the toile in chocolate - it's gorgeous. Very classy! Linda

Poppy said...

Wow Judy, I love the way you found the chocolate toile in ebay.... finding something you adore at a bargain price gives so much satisfaction...and I love how you transformed those chairs. The toile go so wonderfully with the wrought iron against the yellow walls. I love stopping by to see what you have been upto...You are so talented!!! Have a great week ahead...

http://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

Life, Crafts and Whatever said...

Yowzas, those are gorgeous! You make it look so simple!

A Vintage Vine said...

Beautiful!!! The fabric is perfect!

Kara said...

Judy, your chairs look absolutely amazing!! So smart of you to google the fabric...I really love it! You make it look so easy too, they really turned out great. Good job!

Susan Anderson said...

What a great look! I love toile.

=)

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!! Love the print...it even looked good as a rug when you had it lay out on the floor!!

LBB said...

Great fabric! They turned out great!! :)

Tracy Huffman said...

Wow! Judy your chairs turned out AWESOME! What a difference. And the price is spectacular. I love them! Happy Easter!

Jen said...

Beautiful chairs! Also, a great deal on the fabric. I used red curtains once to recover my chairs. Great job.

At The Picket Fence said...

I do! I do love them Judy! :-) You did a fabulous job and they are gorgeous!
Vanessa

Heather said...

I just love toile, and you chose the perfect one for your chairs! I especially like the welting that you added...it really gives a more polished finish!

JS Grame-Smith said...

Nice idea. It looks fantastic.Love it.
-Home theater chairs

{oc cottage} said...

Awesome!!!

m ^..^

Anna said...

Thanks for stopping by, and following, by blog.

This post reminds me that I need to recover my dining room chairs. Yours turned out great! I have a new link party starting on Monday and this would be perfect to link up! There's more info at the bottom of this link: http://www.askannamoseley.com/2011/04/weekend-warrior-backyard-transformation.html

Thanks! Anna :)
www.askannamoseley.com

Judie said...

My chairs are so badly in need of a redo! I know it isn't hard to do, but it still scares me a little. Plus, even though I am an artist, picking out the right fabric is soooo difficult! You chairs look great!!!

KDL said...

Wanna come recover our couch? So creative! And good ideas on how to find the pattern you want at a price you can afford. Love it.

At The Picket Fence said...

Hey friend! Just coming back over to say thanks for linking up another fabulous project to our Inspiration Friday party!
Happy Easter,
Vanessa

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

wow. cute images.
wholesome thoughts.
you rocked.

:)

Vicki/Jake said...

I've done this with chair seats before and it makes such a difference. You did good:)

Jenny said...

I love toile. And I have chairs with seats like that. You make it look easy to recover them with this simple tutorial. And I appreciate the tip on taking extra time to layout the design. It really shows on the top of the chair.

Thanks for another amazing (and budget friendly) transformation.

A+

Crystal said...

These turned out gorgeous, Judy! You are so talented! I am in love with that fabric! I am starting a new Blog Party this week and I would LOVE for you to link this project up! Have a fantastic week! :)
http://www.homemakerinheels.com/2011/04/inspire-me-monday-week-1-is-here-come.html
Blessings~
Crysta

Ginger@cottageonrosewood said...

They look so much better with the toile! Lovely!

Madam Butterfly said...

What a great DIY tutorial! Great idea with hunting for fabric on ebay. Thank you for sharing!

SJ @ Homemaker On A Dime said...

Hi, Judy! Really appreciate you sharing this great post with us at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

plumbing said...

You don’t want dining chairs that look like they’re too small for the table, or ones that are so large that you can’t pull them out all the way, or they dwarf the table.

Home Stars said...

You did a great job, I love it.
Glass Table And Chairs
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