She bought them to use as the "guest chairs" in her new law office....
They sat in the Sweetwater garage all summer waiting for a facelift!
Maybe you remember reading my post about A New Way to Fabric Shop!
After lots and lots of discussion....this is the gorgeous fabric they chose!
Don't you just love it? And it was only $8 a yard!
I would love to tell you that this was a simple and fast project.....
I would love to tell you that we finished in couple of hours....
NOT SO MUCH!!!!
We probably spent about 2 hours on EACH chair....but truly it was worth it!
Lots of Mother/Daughter bonding!!!
Whenever I start an upholstery project, it seems to take me a long time to figure out exactly how to proceed!
In this case.....one night the Sweetwater Daughter and I spent one whole evening....(and one whole bottle of wine) figuring out the construction of the chairs....AND...how to work with the design/pattern of the fabric!!!
The Seats came off easily with the loosening of a few screws....
They would be easy to just wrap and staple....
right????
Not so much....but more about that later!
In the case of these chairs it was a bit complicated because of the chair backs....
We couldn't easily figure out how the chairs were actually put together.....and until we figured that out...we couldn't take them apart...
We even got Mr. S. involved and he couldn't solve the puzzle either....
So.....
In true "Sweetwater Style" we started by ripping off the welting that was glued in place!
Then we ripped off the fabric....and this is what we found!
We decided to treat the front and back separately!
First the back! We wanted the large circle to be centered.....easier said than done!!!
After some trial and error we figured out how the pattern worked so that we could make all the chairs look alike!
The circle was cut with a 1/2 inch allowance that was pressed under.
Then we sprayed adhesive on the wrong side of the fabric and smoothed it right over the existing fabric.
Then the edge was simply pushed into the frame.
Almost tooo simple.....but it worked and looks great!
The technique for the front of the seat back was a little "trickier"!
Yikes....look at all the staples that were used....there was just NO way we could remove them.
So...if all those staples stayed there....we wouldn't be able to use the staple gun without hitting them....
EUREKA!!! We remembered how I embellished this little Faux Leather Side Table with nailhead trim!!! This stuff is amazing!
So the project went on hold until the trim arrived in the mail!
So the project went on hold until the trim arrived in the mail!
In the meantime....I used the trusty compressor and stapler to finish covering the chair seats!
What should have been a 10 minute job for each chair turned into a much longer "ordeal"!
Why???
.....the darn pattern had to be matched not just so the circle was in the center....but that the whole thing was straight....
AND
Each chair needed to look the same!!!!
Needless to say....I am awfully glad to have a "mighty fine" staple puller!!!
Once the trim arrived we were ready to get back to work...
When we tried that.....it kinda made you dizzy!!!
Note that the circles are on the sides...
We smoothed the fabric in place and pinned it so that it was straight and then used chalk to go around on the edge.....
I cut it to size with enough extra to fold under.
We used pins to hold the fabric in place and to keep it straight....
We then did the nailhead trim on the seat cushion
and around the front edge of the seat back. It was easy to nail the tacks in and avoid all those staples!! The nails hold the fabric nice and tight!
NO pictures while this was going on....all 4 of our hands were occupied!!!
There were a "few" pitfalls....a couple of redos......but FINALLY the chairs were DONE!
They stayed in the garage until the exciting day when they could move into the new office!!!
Awsome....!!!
We think our time was WELL Spent!
Isn't the Sweetwater Daughter's Office inviting?
If you can't tell.... the Sweetwater MOM is pretty proud of her girl!
Someday soon I will post about recovering the sectional pieces for the office seating area!
In the meantime...Have a GREAT Day!
Link Parties
Kammy's Korner
Kammy's Korner
21 comments:
Wow, the office is amazing and the chair look fabulous. You should be proud. This is awesome. Hugs, Marty
The Sweetwater daughter made an awesome score and those chairs turned out to be so beautiful! Love that fabric too! All of your hard work paid off for sure!
OMGosh, Mary- You are braver than I am. I looked at a chair with a back like that in the thrift store and could not figure out how I would ever get the back "off". I guess you DON'T get them off! I love the way they turned out and while it was a lot of work it was SOOOO worth it! GREAT job! I hope you got dinner out of the deal....or at least free lawyer fees if you need one! xo Diana
I loooove the office. Everything is so beautiful. I would love to have an office like that. The chairs look amazing. Thank you for sharing at my Our Favorite Things Link Party.
So love that fabric, it really look the chairs to an whole new level. Love how you added the nail heads really finishes it off. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!
Amazing!!! You did a fabulous job and I love the fabric choice! I know exactly how you feel...I'm a proud mama too and it's so nice that our children still need us even though they are successful young adults. Hopped over from Sunday's Best and I'm happy to be your newest follower. Would love to have you stop by for a visit. Blessings ~ Judy @ www.vintagestreetdesigns.com
That fabric is beautiful! Great choice! (visiting from my1929charmer)
-Jacque @ theDIYvillage
Those look so amazing! You did such a great job.
Found you on Mingle Monday. I am a new follower. If you get a chance check out my blog!
Megan
http://nicholsfam.blogspot.com/
Those chairs look fabulous! I would've just given up but you made it work and it works beautifully! The office looks gorgeous and the chairs just bring it all together. I would love for you to show these off at my party if you get the chance!
http://kraftykat76.blogspot.com/2012/09/gettin-krafty-with-it.html
Fantastic chairs! I get grey hair just thinking about all that ordeal you went through, but it was definitely worth the trouble! What I'd love to see would be cute throwpillows on the sectional with the same fabric as the chairs =)
I'm so glad I found your site - I hate reupholstering anything but seats - it takes me forever to dig out the staples - your solution is brilliant!!! And the chairs turned out gorgeous - amazing job!
Your newest follower - would love to have you come by and follow back when you have the chance
Hugs,
Suzan
Very nice!
Love the chairs! I have a Queen Anne chair right now that I've repainted, but haven't reupholstered yet because I couldn't figure out what to do about the staples. This is a brilliant idea! Thanks!!! Visiting via Krafty Kat and already a GFC follower.
What a lovely makeover.Gives the office a bit of 'wow' factor.
Wow! They look so amazing ... I think it was definitely worth the time. I am too scared to reupholster - I am not a very patient person. :)
Visiting from Serenity You!
Wow.............Thank you for sharing your lovely blog at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. xo
Just wanted you to know I featured these fabulous chairs! Stop by and grab a button if you'd like!
Wow, just gorgeous! Great job!
Those chairs look wonderful! I love that print!
Amazing transformation!
Thank you for sharing this at #FlashbackFridays!
Great Work!!!! These are so awesome!!! Please come share this on a party I cohost DIY Sunday Showcase! It opens tomm at 5pm.
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