Chair Renovation

It seems that something is in the air at this time of year because apparently a lot of bloggers are painting their homes at the moment.  I think for me it's because so much of my time has been spent outside supervising or playing with the kids this summer and with the great weather it would have been a waste to spend it indoors.  Now that the weather is turning cooler, we've moved back inside and we can actually get to some of those long awaited projects.  That doesn't keep me looking back outside with some regrets of all the projects we didn't get completed this summer. 

Still, this project is one that I am particularly pleased with.  My husband brought into the marriage a lovely antique oak dining table.  It's nothing spectacular, a rather plain table in all except that it has two leafs and can seat up to 10 people with ease.  I also like it's simple lines as the legs are in the corners where they belong, which no one ever has to sit in front of a table leg.  Kind of a pet peeve with me having grown up with my mom's antique table that folded out.

The one thing I did not like about my husband's table was the seat cushions.  They were well worn and used when we married but after three kids, they became disgusting. I am serious.  I was actually beginning to be embarrased to have anyone sit on my chairs they were so awful looking.  In our old home the table sat in a nook and E always sat in the nook.  Well imagine to my disgust some months later when I discovered she had been wiping her hands on the seat cushion all that time.  The corner was positively turning blue with mould.  Yech. 

So I finally manage to get my hands on some inexpensive material and it only took me a couple more weeks to actually get my husband to find his staple gun for me.  Once I had my tools in hand I was all set and I guess my enthusiasm, or perhaps a deadline of getting the chairs ready for our company dinner, got my husband into the act and he became my champion staple puller.  Of course, I quickly googled "recovering dining chair" so I'd have some idea of what I was doing.  What did we ever do before Google and Youtube?

In the end, it was really quite simple and I am very pleased with the results.  I was more pleased with my MIL's reaction when she came to dinner.  Being the germaphobe conscientious woman that she is, I can only imagine how much she probably cringed everytime she had to sit on my chairs.

I also went the extra step by covering the chairs with clear vinyl so that any spills or sneaky hand wiping by children, can be easily cleaned. 

BEFORE

I know, pretty awful right?

AFTER

Look how nice it's going to go with my new paint colours!

So what do you think?