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Making it in the Mountains

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Dining Chair Makeover

DIY Farmhouse Projects, Kitchen

Happy {almost} Friday!

I am oh so excited to FINALLY share my dining chair makeover with you all today!!!
 
Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains
 
 
You see this project, much like it’s partner in crime – my kitchen table makeover, has taken SO much longer than I had originally intended.

There isn’t really much of a story here to be honest. I wasn’t a huge fan of how dark my dining chairs were so, I hauled the chairs down to the garage and removed the dingy old seat cushions by taking out a few screws. I painted the chairs with my favorite Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in White. Y’all know I love this stuff SO much that I just can’t help but shout it from the rooftops! I probably could should have used a coat of primer to start, not because this fabulous chalk paint needs it, but because I could have saved myself wasting a coat of the more expensive Annie Sloan, not to mention the week I had to wait for a new can of it to come in the mail one chair into my third coat. Ah well, you live, you learn right?

I suppose that unplanned wait gave me a chance to take my time with recovering the chair cushions so I could really make sure to get things right. Luckily, I had planned ahead enough to not only have the fabric ordered, but to have even picked it up from our shipping outlet across the border – have I ever told you how much I LOVE living so close to the States? I chose to use an outdoor fabric to make the cushions as durable to messy toddlers (and husbands) as possible. I was SO tempted to choose something bright and fun and full of personality, but because I’m still not sure what I want to do yet on this main floor, I thought it best to play it safe and went with this outdoor linen fabric. I did a bit of researching online & the whole process of recovering the cushions actually looked pretty simple, so I grabbed my staple gun and got to work.

Turns out I was right about one thing, there wasn’t much to recovering the chairs at all and getting the job done right took only a couple of hours! This part of my chair project proved to be much easier than I had expected, which, let’s face it, NEVER EVER happens! I was sure to snap some photos of the process to walk you through the steps.

How to Reupolster a Dining Chair :: making it in the mountains
 
I started by cutting a rough square of fabric leaving about 5″ of fabric around the entire outside of the cushion – this sounds like a lot of waste (and it is I suppose), but it was really helpful in giving me a good enough grip to pull the fabric tight on all sides. I started by making sure my chair cushion was centered & straight on the fabric – if you are working with a patterned fabric, be sure to pay close attention to where things will fall on the seat, since mine was more boring plain, I really just had to make sure it was straight. I started by putting one staple in the centre of the first side and then pulling the fabric fairly tight & fastening the opposite side. I continued this process with the last two sides.

How to Reupolster a Dining Chair :: making it in the mountains
 
After punching a staple into the center of all four sides (and double checking that all looked well on the top of the cushion), I simply started stapling the fabric tight across all of the edges. I worked at pulling the fabric tight and fastening on opposite sides until I had all of the edges stapled about an inch in from each corner. To finish up the corners, I simply folded the fabric like I would wrapping a gift and stapled it down as I went. I still can’t believe how simple and easy this all was!

Here’s a quick before and after shot to give you an idea of the drastic change – goodbye ugly pinkish-beige seats, hello greige seats! Okay, so it doesn’t look that drastic to you all, but trust me, they are SO much brighter! Plus, no stains!!!

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains
 
One week & one more painstakingly tedious coat of paint later and I was ready to put it all back together. I parked myself in front of the TV, plugged in a Friends marathon and got to work refastening the seat cushions & rubbing in a coat of Annie Sloan’s Clear Furniture Wax over the chalk paint to protect everything.

FINALLY, here’s how it all came together …

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains
 
At least it was all TOTALLY worth it, am I right? I just {love} how much lighter and brighter our kitchen is!

Dining Chair Makeover :: making it in the mountains
 
Do you have any furniture that could use some brightening up in your home? What’s holding you back from taking the plunge?

Wishing you all SUCH a wonderful Thursday!!!
 
 
 
Shared with: Savvy Southern Style, Miss Mustard Seed, Average but Inspired, Saving 4 Six, View From the Fridge, Posed Perfection, From My Front Porch to Yours, Everyday Enchanting, The Style Sisters, Crafty Allie, My Paper Craze, Mostly Homemade Mom, The Blissful Bee, Maison de Pax, SNAP, Crafty Wife, A Savory Feast, OH MY! Creative, One Krieger Chick, Thrifty T’s Treasures, Ducks ‘n a Row, The DIY Dreamer, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Bigger Than the Three of Us, Mabey She Made It, Tiny Sidekick, Kleinworth & Co., Lou Lou Girls, It’s a Ginger Snap, Designed by BH, Epic Mommy Adventures, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Cupcakes & Crinoline, A Stroll Through Life, Lady Bug Blessings, Suburble, Denverista, Elizabeth Joan Designs, A Bright & Beautiful Life, Carrie this Home, Huckleberry Love, My Pinterventures, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Hawthorne and Main, Nifty Thrifty Sunday, DIY Showoff, Delineate Your Dwelling, Flamingo Toes, It’s Overflowing, Denise Designed, View from the Fridge, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Pieced Pastimes, The Sits Girls, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Classy Clutter, The Girl Creative, Domestic Superhero, I Heart Naptime, Snippets of Inspiration, The 36th Avenue, The Bold Abode, My Romantic Home, Love of Family and Home, The Grant Life, The Charm of Home, Tidy Mom, The Golden Sycamore, AKA Design, Redoux Interiors, Jennifer Rizzo, French Country Cottage, Imparting Grace, Krafty Kards, A Prudent Life, Chic California, A Vision to Remember & All Things with Purpose.

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Reader Interactions

I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Comments

  4. Tanya says

    I love the new look! I have some new dining furniture planning ahead as I want to update what I have now. Your project got the creative wheels turning 🙂 Great job, love how it all turned out so bright and clean looking!

    Reply

  6. Leigh Anne says

    They look sooo good! Worth all of the tedious work! Our dining table is on my list for when we get back from vacation in September. You are inspiring me 🙂

    Reply

  12. Leslie says

    I like the pattern on the back of the chair too, how cool. The cushions give the room a more open feel. You did a great job!

    Reply

  16. Christina says

    These turned out so great, Kristi! I love the criss-cross detailing in back!!! (You have no idea how much I wanted to spell that Kris Kross and include a Jump! Jump! reference right then). 😉

    Reply

  41. Nikki says

    I’m so jealous!!! I LOVE the colors! These chairs would be perfect in my house. I’m going to have to set about making my chairs look like this asap!

    Reply

  42. Misha says

    I love how everything turned out! We are working on a similar project for our dining room and I’m hoping you can help with 2 questions. How has the chalk paint wax held up to a lot of handleung of the chairs? We’re thinking of a top coat instead. Also, when you chose to wax the table and chairs, was there a reason for choosing white versus clear wax? I’ve heard the clear can yellow and I don’t want to lose the bright white look. Thanks so much for help! Love your blog!

    Reply

    • Kristi says

      Thank you Misha! I’m so happy you love how they turned out! The wax has held up very well actually, though I have been adding a quick coat over it all every 6 months or so. A top coat is a great idea to avoid that extra wear and tear though – Country Chic makes a great one as it has a pretty matte looking finish still: http://www.countrychicpaint.ca/collections/wax-top-coats-etc/products/tough-coat?variant=4318119237. The wax I used would be considered the clear wax, though it definitely has a white look to it in the jar – I haven’t noticed any yellowing, though I suppose it could as the years pass. I think if you aren’t looking for the chairs to distress too much with everyday use, the top coat is definitely the way to go. Hope this helps, just let me know if you have any other questions 🙂 Good luck Misha!

      Reply

  43. Katie says

    I love what you’ve done with the table and chairs! I’m also considering attempting a similar project but my table base and chairs are currently painted black and I want to chalk paint them white, using Annie Sloan. What do you recommend as I use as a primer (I’d like to cut down on the amount of Annie Sloan). Any tips to getting the paint a real smooth finish (no brush lines)? Thanks so much!

    Reply

    • Kristi says

      Thank you SO much Katie! I would definitely use some primer first (here’s an affiliate link to my fave: http://amzn.to/22ikUwN), that will help cut down on that expensive chalk paint. I find chalk paint difficult to get really smooth as it’s sort of meant to show the brush strokes to look more rustic. The easiest way to get a smooth finish is to use a sprayer (which makes such quick work of paining projects!!!) or a paint extender (I don’t have one to recommend as I haven’t gone this route). Hope this helps!

      Reply

  44. Donna Smith says

    Love your table make over, I just redid my barstool cushionsin a white and black buffalo check, I sprayed 3 coats of Scotch Guard on them, the true test was my 4 yr old grand daughter got ketchup on one, it wiped right off! Amazing stuff!

    Reply

  45. Debbie W. says

    Hello. I also am considering redoing an old oak table and chairs. I have a couple of questions. How has the paint held up over the last 3 years. are the table legs and chair legs getting dinged?
    If you use primer instead of Chalk paint, does that mean you have to sand first? I know you don’t have to prep and sand with the Chalk paint but aren’t you supposed to with Primer?

    Thanks much!!!

    Reply

    • Kristi says

      Hi Debbie, thanks for your questions! The paint held up really well actually and only really wore away on the table in front of my son’s chair because of his buckles rubbing against it. The chairs held up perfectly. If you’re worried about wear and tear, you could use a clear top coat with a low sheen to protect everything. And yes, a quick sand before primer will help it to stick for sure, I’d only recommend it if you’re painting over something really dark (my chairs were cherry wood and the red took ages to cover).

      Reply