Dining Chairs Re-do {Slipcover Love} & My Fabulous Deal

See these dining chairs?

They’re about to get a whole lot cuter! 

I am finally ready to fix-up them with new, made-by-me slipcovers and today I’m going to show you my project inspiration. 

Before I can do that, however, I need to tell you about my fabulous deal. (Because I just can’t resist sharing!)

This spring I scored a fantastic deal on this dining room table and chairs on Craig’s list.  (I’m still doing a little happy dance about it because it was so awesome! No joke!) 

I looked for a new dining room table for several months.  I had specific criteria; it needed to be a bigger table than what we had so it could seat a lot of people, I wanted it to look rustic and charming, and the chairs needed to be comfy — preferably upholstered.  But between the price of new, the dimensions I needed and the look I wanted it wasn’t coming easily. 

And then one day the clouds opened, the angels started singing and I found this set on Craig’s List for $450.  TOTAL.  (Hear the angel choir singing?!)  lol I swear to God I thought I heard angels singing — or maybe that was just me.  Ha!

Of course, they need a little face lift because this fabric color is not my style at all…but just look at the good bones on these babies! 

See any resemblence to this?

Source:  Wisteria
 
Or this?
 
Source:  Pottery Barn

 

Yes, the legs on my chairs are different and, truthfully, a little curvier than I was hoping for but, my God, the price!! 

The PB chair starts at $199 each and the Wisteria chair is $499 each.

Hello?!  Even with the cost of fabric for recovering the chairs I am MILES ahead!

Take a closer look at my table.

Looks pretty similar to this one from Wisteria don’t you think?!

Source:  Wisteria

Wisteria price tag? $1999.00! 

My table has rounded little curves on the ends which I wasn’t sure about at first when I saw it online, but in person it is a very beautiful piece of furniture and looks like it’s brand new. The woman who owned the set was meticulous. No lie. I mean, she helped us load it up as if it were her baby giving us extra blankets to protect it and she even emailed me after we left to make sure I got it home okay without any scratches!

Oh how I love finds like these.  Even my husband, who is often skeptical of my Craig’s list and garage sale escapades, was a little stoked about this deal.  He even called his parents to come over to see it.  No kidding!

Okay…so I digressed a lot here.  The point of today’s post really is to tell you about what I’m going to do with them.  Because if I tell you what I’m going to do with them, then I really have to do it.  (Smile)

I actually bought the fabric almost immediately after purchasing the chairs (it’s a plain white twill — super washable) and I started to make a slipcover.  Then I got stuck. 

I’ve never made a full slipcover before.  I sort of did one once for a small upholstered rocking chair in my daughter’s room but that was a little different.  I was able to tuck some pieces in and do some stapling here and there to make it look like a full slipcover or upholstery job.

Since I got stuck a couple of months ago I have let the chairs sit.  They have waited while I thought, researched, changed my mind, and then thought some more. 

But, today, on Pinterest I found this:

Source:  A View from the Coop 

(Cue the angels singing again.)

When I went to the site where this picture came from and I found more great pictures:

There were no sewing patterns or tutorials on this site but the pictures were good enough for me to get a real sense as to how she pieced this together.  I think my dilemma is solved!  And, how cute is this chair?!  I love the linen and the burlap mix — adorable!
 
So, with a renewed sense of purpose, I’m ready to tackle these chairs again.  This time I bought some muslin so I can make a prototype and not waste all my fabric. 
 
Hopefully, I’ll be posting very soon with an update on my new slipcovers!  Wish me luck!
 
Also, if you’re interested in winning a cute little burlap fall sign made by me, leave a comment on this post to be entered in the drawing.  Winners will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012.
 
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18 Responses to Dining Chairs Re-do {Slipcover Love} & My Fabulous Deal

  1. Anonymous says:

    Very cool blog Julie! Saw the link on on your FB post and really enjoy it! You are so creative and even inspired me to do a little Fall decorating last weekend while i was raining:). Allyson

    Reply
    • Julie says:

      Thanks Allyson, I really appreciate your encouragement! I’ve just gotten started on this venture and am having fun so far. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Angie says:

    You can do it! These are going to look fabulous. There are so many tutorials out there on slip covers OR you can reupholster them. All you would do is carefully take off the pieces of fabric and use those pieces as your pattern. Get some nail-heads for the back. You could always try one and if it doesn’t work out just continue with the slip cover plan.

    Reply
    • Julie says:

      Thanks for the encouragement! I’ve thought about recovering instead also but since I’m going with white, I’ve decided a washable slipcover thinking it’s more practical for now — especially since my cat naps on one of the chairs! Who knows, though..the way I waver and change my mind, anything could happen!

      Reply
  3. Jaye @ Just Trying to Make Cents of it All! says:

    I agree with Angie – reupholstering would be so much easier! I have an awesome Craigslist table too and I have yet to be able to have people look at it without me blurting out “I got it on Craigslist for a hundred bucks!!!” I guess that’ll be what it is called from now on. Really, go take a look at it!!!
    http://www.justtryintomakecentsofitall.com/2012/09/a-functional-space.html You’ll have to scroll through the other pics to see it but just you wait!!!

    Your blog is awesome. Found you through your comment on the Inspired Room and can’t wait to spend some time here!

    Reply
    • Julie says:

      Thanks, Jaye! Isn’t Craig’s list awesome?! So many great finds. 🙂 I saw your table and you got a fantastic deal! Yea!!

      Reply
  4. TidyAwayToday says:

    What a great deal on such quality dining furniture! It looks immaculate – I can only imagine how extra-amazing it will be when you are finished. Good luck, Julie!

    Reply
  5. Stephanie @ Hugs, Kisses and Snot says:

    I LOVE finding a good deal. It will make your special occasions that much sweeter knowing you found the dining deal of a lifetime. I can’t wait to see your finished product!

    Reply
    • Julie says:

      Bargain shopping is the best!! I can’t wait to see the finished product too! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Delloraine says:

    Julie, found you at inspired room. What a score on the table. I like it more than the wisteria table. I too have dining chair slip covers on my list. That pinterest chair is really cute. best to you on your dining room make over. I will check back to see it.

    Reply
  7. Bethany says:

    I’m planning on covering my dining room chairs too. I have to find a fabric I like first. I’m going to use the directions in this book:

    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fabric-by-fabric-one-yard-wonders-rebecca-yaker/1102229260

    Maybe it would help you too. I found it at my library, but will be buying my own copy. It’s full of great projects.

    Thanks for stopping in at my blog!

    Reply
  8. Katherines Corner says:

    How wonderful, love your inspiration too. I look forward to your drum roll…Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. I’m sorry it’s taken me a little while to stop by and say thank you xo

    Reply
  9. michele says:

    they’re going to be fabulous. i love your choice.

    hope you’ll stop by soon.

    michele

    Reply
  10. Laurie says:

    Hi Julie! The slip-covered chair that inspired you was done by me! Thank you for adding it to your post, I’m glad it inspired you. Recently I have been determined to master the art of slipcovers. Making a muslin pattern to start is exactly what you should do. It takes some patience but if you are doing a set of chairs it is definitely worth it. In the end things will go much faster. I recently did a set of eight chairs and they turned out great. You can see them on my other blog here.
    http://worthygoods.blogspot.com/2012/07/barn-house-sneak-peeks.html
    Shoot me an e-mail if you get stuck! Can’t wait to see the finished product 🙂
    ~Laurie

    Reply
    • Julie says:

      Hi Laurie! How exciting to find you here seeing the pictures of your cute chair makeover! Thanks also for offering to help if I get stuck. Don’t be surprised if you hear from me. 🙂 I am going to check out the set of chair you did…I’m sure they turned out beautiful!

      Reply
  11. france pope says:

    Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts.

    slipcovers hampton nh

    Reply
  12. Divena Lachana says:

    Your chairs are gorgeous! I have similar fabric that I purchased to redo some chairs I recently purchased.Discount Beds and Mattresses

    Reply

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