while we search for our own place to live, there is one thing I cannot stop doing, and that is decorating every single square inch of that future place in my head. I can't wait to decide where each piece of furniture will go, and what colors the walls should be, and adding little accents to each room that will make the entire place come to life. while this is fun, and creating "house wishlist" boards on Pinterest is drastically entertaining, there is one teeny tiny problem- furniture is expensive.
along with every other girl on this planet, I am constantly referring to Target's website for my furniture and decorating needs. while it provides plenty of inspiration, Target is dangerous. Sure, one piece of furniture there is affordable, but who stops at one piece at Target? you find a small bedside table that you like, and conveniently placed next to that table is a lamp that would look perfect on it, and then you turn to the next aisle where you find all sorts of trinkets and doodads that compliment the desk as well. before you know it you are at the checkout purchasing a duvet cover, two night stands, three throw pillows, and a jewelry holder that you simply can't imagine your life without from that point forward... I rest my case.
one of the first things on the list that Kendrick and I need are tables and chairs, and these Target chairs have been taunting me ever since I laid eyes on their gorgeously tufted selves.
but, as most things in life are too good to be true, each of these chairs rang in at $100 each- making it $400 for a set of 4. yeah, my husband and bank account are both telling me a big fat no on that one. however, after stumbling upon this gem of a pin right here, I knew that not all hope was lost... at least not yet. I absolutely loved so many things about this tutorial- the high back chairs, the simple no-sew reupholstering steps, and most of all, the price to do it all.
to be honest, this whole project idea had slipped to the back of my mind for a month or so before I came across these four beauties at the DI.
beautiful, right? Just kidding, I know they are absolutely treacherous. but, the potential! I loved the high backs, the clean lines, and most of all, I loved the basket weaved back because it gave me the perfect stencil for tufting. at $8 a pop, these puppies were sold.
because these all needed to be painted/stained before any reupholstering, I decided to buy only the first-stage supplies. this included:
* spray paint- make sure that it's the primer type
* stain- I did Dark Walnut for mine
* cloth
* paint brushes
the first step was removing all of the seats from the chairs. this was super easy, and only required a screw driver. I was able to remove all of the seats and dispense of that horrible fabric in a matter of minutes.
as for the color of chair legs, I totally stole the idea from the tutorial on Pinterest. basically, what I did was spray paint each chair gray, and once that was dry, I painted on the stain. after the stain dried for about 20-30 minutes, I grabbed a cloth, and rub it off. it ends up leaving behind a weathered wood look that I absolutely love!
before:
after:
next came the beginning stages of my reupholstering!
for this, I purchased:
* full sized bed topper- this is so much cheaper than foam
* 1.5 yards of batting
* 2.5 yards of fabric (we chose a gorgeous cream linen, similar to the fabric on the Target chairs)
* spray adhesive
* covering buttons (we purchased these)
* nylon cording (we purchased this)
I am so angry at myself because I completely forgot to take pictures during the process. but I will explain it best I can!
first, I spread my mattress topper out on the ground, put each chair on top, and traced (with a sharpie) the outline of each chair's back and each disconnected seat. then, I cut out my pieces and with my spray adhesive I was able to attach each each piece of foam onto its coordinating seat, and all of the foam to each chair's back.
next up is the batting! I cut out the batting big enough to cover each seat and each back, with about a 1.5-2 inch allowance (this allowed me to wrap it around and staple it in back). once the batting is stapled on (it should be holding the foam in nice and tight), you're ready for fabric!
covering the chair with fabric is the exact same process as the batting- cut out your pieces in the same shape as your foam, but with a 1.5-2" allowance for stapling. be sure that your fabric is as tight as you can get it- this will really pay off when you start tufting, as it looks so much better.
now you are on to tufting! before starting, I made all of my buttons. I had no idea how to do this, but this tutorial really helped, and button covering ended up being really fun! like I had mentioned before, having the basket-weaved back on these chairs gave me the perfect stencil for spacing out my buttons and ensuring that it all lined up nicely. if your chair doesn't have this, I would suggest a ruler and maybe even sticky notes to mark where you want to prick the fabric each time you thread a button through. tufting my first chair was honestly trial and error- after completing the chair, I realized that one of my rows of buttons was too high, so I cut the cord in back, and started over.
as you thread your buttons through, be sure to pull tight when tying them off in back. if you're using the wax cord that I linked above, this may cut up your hands a bit and make them quite raw. But it's all in the name of a successful dyi project!
once you're done with this step, be sure to get a good look at all your buttons- as this is your opportunity to fix any mistakes! ensure that you like the spacing of the buttons, the tightness of the tufts, or anything else that may look "off" to you. once you attach the backs onto the chairs, it will be very difficult to go back and correct anything.
and now onto the last step- the back! the easiest way to do this is finding a sturdy piece of cardboard, cutting it out in the exact same shape as the chair, covering it with fabric, and stapling it on!
quite the transformation, right?
kendrick and I are really happy with the way the chairs turned out and how they compliment our table. and the best part? it cost less than $100 to make all four.
ready to reupholster and tuft your own kitchen chairs?
No comments:
Post a Comment