Chair Refresh

Shortly after we moved into our house, we were gifted an antique mahogany dining room set, with an expandable table and eight chairs. It fit perfectly in our dining area, and, though it has suffered from the ravages of three kids, it has served us well.

When they came to us, the chairs were covered in green leather, which was worn and cracked. I found some pink and lime and orange upholstery fabric on the remnant table and recovered six of the eight chairs (unfortunately, my remnant wasn't big enough to do them all). After ten years and three kids, they had gotten quite faded and stained, so this past weekend, I covered four of six remaining chairs (I said kids have been hard on them) with this fun, bright orange fabric I bought at Ikea when we were in Colorado the year before last (I meant to do this project last spring, but never got around to it).

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough fabric for all of the chairs (I think I was just going to make a table runner or something with it originally), and you can't order Ikea fabric online. But E was very unhappy with me that I designated the two chairs with the old fabric for him and Z, and he keeps rearranging the chairs, so I guess I better get something for the other two, quick (I'm thinking either this to coordinate, or this to be totally wild and crazy. What do you think?)

The fabric is just a little lighter and brighter than our orange walls, but since the chairs are usually in the shadow of the table, it goes perfectly. I should probably have ironed the fabric first, and waiting until C could help me pull it tight when stapling it to the bottom of the chair (the covers are a little loose and wiggle around a bit), but sometimes I just get something in my head, and I have to do it immediately. You know what I mean?

Back when I bought my red cabinet, my friend Liza teased me with the Put a Bird on It Portlandia episode, and I realized I do have a lot of little birds on things, and this adds another dozen more. But you know, I'm okay with that.