Many moons ago, when life was simpler before children, the King and I…
…splurged on a gorgeous dining set. A post-modern take on Mission style. A dining set of solid cherry. Oh heavens.
The five year plan of kids didn’t dawn on me. Note to the recently married: do NOT buy pricey furniture. It doesn’t hold up.
At least with my boys.
They destroyed everything-well at least anything microsuede.
We could have single penned this book.
You seriously needed a tetanus shot before sitting on our dining room chairs.
Well, no more.
I’ve daydreamed of finding vinyl damask fabric to recover my chairs, so it was 1.) wipeable. 2.) aesthetically pleasing compared to the clear plastic-covered furniture I recall from my Italian grandparents.
I was {this close} to running to Joann and buying clear plastic.
Until, late one night wandering the aisles of Home Goods, I stumbled across a whole rack of summer vinyl tablecloths. $4.99 each. Then the heavens opened and a light bulb appeared above my head.
I bought two. For a mere $10, I could recover all 6 chairs and I wouldn’t have to spend hours a week scrubbing them down! They could wipe clean after every meal and play date.
We could paint and dump oatmeal and never spend wasted hours each week scrubbing!
Yes!
Sweet yes!
My friend Karen over @ Goodbye City Hello Suburbs gave me the downlow on how to do it. {Check out her blog if she’s new to you}
So, here’s what you need:
M A T E R I A L S
-chairs destroyed by ankle-biters
-a staple gun and staples {borrowed from Karen, because the King was taking too long to find his}
-sweet and cheap fabric that is water {kid} resistant
-a rotary cutter
-screwdriver
-patience
I N S T R U C T I O N S
1.) Dismantel seat from chair. My chair only had 4 screws holding the seat in place. Easy as gluten-free pie.
2.) Note the excessive amount of staples used by the manufacturer, and decide to cover right over the old fabric.
3.) Create a template a few inches bigger than the seat. Cut with a rotary cutter because scissors are more complicated. Miter the corners. Wrap the seat like a present.
4.) The key to a taunt fit is to pull as tightly as you can and staple, staple, staple.
5.) Admire a job well done, as your son, Monkey the Terrible, tests out the new fabric.
The secret ingredient in the Iron DIYer this week: chic vinyl tablecloths, people. These aren’t your Nonna’s clear plastic treatments!
Linking up to:
TaterTots and Jello
I Heart Naptime
Remodelaholic
Serenity Now
Blue Cricket Design
These are awwwwwesome! Can’t believe that’s the same chair…!!!
Great, great idea!!
Jo-Anna
Awesome Idea! I love the print!
I just bought my own tablecloth at Home Goods today! Wish I would have grabbed a few more. So many cute ones. And so many projects you can use them for! Your seats look great.
This is brilliant!! I have three boys (ages 6, 5, and 3). I can TOTALLY relate to the demise of your beautiful chairs! What a fanTASTIC idea to use a vinyl tablecloth!! Esp. if you could get one in a chic pattern like that damask. They look so great : )
Jaimee @ craft-interrupted.blogspot.com
Uh oh we have so much nice furniture. I don’t want my kids to destroy it! I’m glad yours was able to recouperate!
I love them! fabulous job!! and you are too funny!! I love reading your posts
you should have seen my couches before I finally unzipped the fabric and washed it!
Oh my goodness, that’s brilliant! My dining room chairs are gross and totally need a redo, but I was dragging my feet because I didn’t want the clear vinyl either. I am headed to Home Goods on Monday.
What a GREAT idea! I have 2 messy boys and that would be a perfect solution for our house! Thanks for sharing!
what a great Idea .. I love the way you write “monkey the terrible” haha
This is awesome. What a fabulous idea!! I am giving you The Versatile Blogger Award for your AWESOME blog!!! http://powellfamtx.blogspot.com/2011/05/versatile-blogger-award.html
Awesome Idea Love the title of that book, and you are beautiful!!!
Hugs Anne
This is SUCH a great idea!!!
That is such a great idea, I am going to write this one down for when I have kids!
AhH! great idea! i have 6 chairs to recover and have been putting it off. This is so great!!!!
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment!
Great idea on the tablecloths! Perfect way to save some money… and elbow grease!!
Such a great idea! I absolutely love the print you chose. Amazing job!
Thanks for stopping by my blog, by the way!
those look great!! good thinking making them out of vinyl so they’re able to be wiped right off! and i love the contrast of the chocolate chairs and the b&w. i just posted today on my chair recovering and am 2nd guessing my fabric choice now… thanks for stopping by yesterday
i’m following you now. andie @ http://crayonfreckles.blogspot.com
So great. I have the same problem with my dinning chairs. When we bought them I looked everywhere for non-upholstered chair that would match the table I wanted. I couldn’t find any so we go the ones we have now planning to recover them in laminated cotton on day. That days hasn’t come yet and my chairs are GROSS.
Wow, that actually seems like a project I could actually do, and I don’t have a creative bone in my body! Looks amazing!
Amy @ A Little Nosh
That is a brilliant idea! I wish I could re-cover my love seat that way.
microsuede is a TERRIBLE fabric for furniture when there are sticky little hands around.
Brilliant! I love that you used tablecloths for seat cushions. I recovered some mid-century chairs recently as well- wish I had thought of your idea! And I wish I had a Trader Joes near my house- I hear they’re pretty awesome!
Great idea & I found it just in time! I was planning on recovering my chairs next week!
ingenious
And I repeat, you are a smart lady!
Wow, what a fantastic idea and they look awesome. Awesome!!
Not only was this post funny, but you had a great Solution! I Featured this today.
Thanks for joining my Weekend Bloggy Reading party.
Hope you’ll stop by Serenity Now again soon! 
You are my hero! I have 3 male ankle biters all under 4. All of our furniture has been DESTROYED!!!! I don’t by anything unless it is from craigslist because really what is the point? Someday right?? Love your blog!
Great job!!!
Cara
http://miscellaneousme.wordpress.com
Just wanted to stop back to let you know I picked up a tablecloth and did this for my chairs! Thank you soooo much for the idea. I love it!!
http://cometogetherkids.blogspot.com/2011/05/dining-room-chairs-re-do.html
Hi Nicolette
I found the lead to this posting on Jenn’s Tater Tots and Jell-o site.
What a fun-tab-u-lous idea!!! Via email, I am sending the link to this posting to a bunch of my friends.
haha. Love your improved chair, yet I don’t know how long it will last as beautiful as this. Your kid seemed so naughty. haha
Cheers,
Cathy@What it Takes to be an Embroidery Digitizer
I’m about to recover my gross chairs, and I’m so glad I saw this! Great idea to use the vinyl…I wonder what designs I can find this time of year?