Making due with hand-me-down dining chairs

Sturdy chairs from our garage replace our crumbling set

The dining room chairs that I reapholstered a few years ago (documented here) have been slowly disintegrating. The legs were loose despite several attempts to glue the joints, and after adding metal brackets for support. Recently, pieces started to snap off; the wood was too dry and brittle. Still, I was not comfortable getting rid of these chairs because they belonged to my father in law's aunts. I also liked their shape -- they made me think of a hacienda.

Then my father in law refused to sit in them. They squeeked and wobbled so much that he was afraid they would collapse and someone would get hurt. I started browsing online for alternatives. None were a great fit, and even a set of inexpensive new chairs would cost a thousand dollars. I would rather spend that on contractors to deal with improvements that I can't hack myself. So it made sense to turn to our garage, where a set of hand-me-down chairs had been lurking for the past year.

The first thing that needed to change was their seat covers. My mother in law had tried to freshen them, but the fabric she chose would not last a week with my kids.

These cushions needed an overhaul with durable fabric

I rooted through my fabric scraps from other projects and found a few pieces that could work. These were quickly cut to size and stapled over the seats. (For more instructions on how to redo this type of seat cushion, see my earlier post).

Scraps big enough to cover the seat cushions

New fabric wrapped around the seat and stapled underneath

Now all that was left was to screw the seats back onto the chairs.

Mismatched seat covers felt cohesive enough

But I did not love the finish on these chairs. A little of that tone would be ok, but it was too similar to our cabinets and floor. Also, I didn't care for the shape of these chairs. They are too curvy, too fancy. Hmm... I could not DIY my way out of the shape, but what if I lightened up the wood?

Color of the wood was too similar to our dark cabinets and floor

I made a quick trip to our friend's store in town, Stylish Patina, to grab a can of Annie Sloan chalk paint. I chose Paris Gray because it was a good neutral, much lighter than the current stain, and when I held it up against the seat cushions it looked nice.

Paris Gray chalk paint by Annie Sloan

As usual with chalk paint, the transformation was a quick one: the first coat looked sloppy but the second touched up all of the smears and imperfections. Also as usual, I ran out of patience. It was a very windy day but I pushed through this tedious job, picking leaves off of the damp paint, and returning to the job after dark so I could finish in one day. Half finished jobs have a tendency to stay incomplete for some time in my house -- I've got to use the momentum of a new project while I still have it.

Painted chair frame, waiting for a seat

To seal chalk paint, there are two waxes: one light and one dark. I already had a tin of the dark wax leftover from my mudroom wall project a few years ago, so when the chairs were dry I blotted it on. Then I flipped each of chairs over and screwed on their seat cushions. The chairs were done.

They're ok but still not my style

I was hoping for that moment of satisfaction, knowing that I'd solved a problem. Unfortunately, it didn't come. The chairs look decent enough, but I'm not thrilled with them in my kitchen. The lighter color seems to clash with the warmer tones in the room. And the dark wax accentuates their shape -- maybe I should have sprung for a tin of the clear wax. Oh well. My father in law sits in them, and my mother in law does not seem offended that I repainted chairs that she picked out years ago. Good enough.

Cohesive lounge area in family room made from existing bits and pieces

Finished reapholstery job plus custom bench (which almost matches!)

Our small house does not have a great room. All gatherings take place in the kitchen. We'd love to have people over for movie nights but until recently our small family room has only had enough seating for 3 people at a time. Theoretically our sofa should accomodate 3 people, but who wants to brush up against the person next to them? Also, it has 2 cushions so someone would end up in the crack. The myth of loveseats eluded me 15 years ago when I bought it: while the salesman will tell you it seats 2, only people in the first 6 months of dating want to be that close!

Old vs new

The sofa is still in good shape, but the loveseat was worn, had marker scribbles and other embarrassing stains. I hadn't been able to throw away because, (a) it has a pull-out bed, (b) it's the heaviest thing in the world, and (c) our kids are not quite finished destroying it.

Sketch of idea for basic box (we deviated from this a bit)

After fantasizing about buying a sectional for years, and worrying that there was no way a large piece of furniture would fit down the stairway, I had a brainstorm. My mother was visiting, which usually helps, as she's the most handy person I know. What if I was to build a simple bench to match an existing ottoman, then apholstered that bench, the ottoman and the loveseat so they looked more or less the same? I'd never apholstered more than a simple cushion, but I saw my Mom recover dozens of intricate sofas and armchairs. I could do this!

Raw materials are ready for assembly

I did an inventory of the odds and ends that I had not yet donated to Goodwill, and found a toddler bed mattress and bun feet taken off of the kitchen benches. These would come in handy.

We did a Home Depot run with some measurements for a new box with a lid, and came back with plywood cut to our dimensions. We also bought a pack of drilless screws. I perused the sale options on fabric.com and found a cheerful geometric HGTV pattern (Tribeca) that had the right colors and scale for the surroundings. It was important to me that the fabric be durable and busy enough to hide spills and my sewing mistakes. I ordered several yards (more than my mother, an experienced apholsterer, recommended... but I was not experienced and wanted extra so I could recover from a mistake).

HGTV's Tribeca fabric found onsale on fabric.com

While my Mom was still in town, we constructed the box. As usual, I measured wrong. I had an idea in my head and sketched it several times, but I did not account for overlap. The pieces of wood overlap, but my measurements went corner to corner. So the box was slightly too big. Oh well. I'm not looking for perfection, I'm looking for progress. I was not about to stop and get a new batch of wood. We carried on.

Box is more or less complete... Old loveseat is in the background

After my mother left, the next step was to wrap the box in batting so it felt cushioned. I had a few leftover strips from when I recovered the kitchen chairs a few years ago. It was just enough to staple around the box.

Scraps of batting were added to the outside edges of the new bench

Now to create a cushioned bench top. The toddler mattress would be attached to a piece of plywood, but would it be firm enough? It felt thinner than the cushioning on top of the ottoman, which it would sit next to. I put a scrap of 3" foam under the mattress; it was a bit narrower than the mattress so it filled up the center without making the edges taller. How to attach these layers to the box lid, before struggling with the fabric? I had no batting left, but I had fabric from a shower curtain I made several years ago that was starting to fray. I cut off the ragged edges and plowed on. It felt good to upcycle the remnants of a former project rather than throwing them out.

Fabric was pulled over the mattress and foam and stapled in place (avoiding the hinges)

Pull and staple, alternating sides, with staples approx. 1" apart

Cushion with extra foam is now affixed to the new bench top, ready for apholstery fabric

It's easier to work with a heavy piece like this if it's up in the air (this is balanced on a small table)

Now that the new pieces have taken shape, it's time to start covering everything in the apholstery fabric that arrived in the mail. I start with cushions, because I've done that before and it's as simple as wrapping a present -- with a needle and thread rather than tape to keep it shut. I knocked out all of the cushions with a curved needle, which is the way to go when you don't have access to both sides of the fabric you're sewing together.

Cushions are coplete, plus the new bench and the ottoman

It felt good to see progress. I attacked the new bench and then the ottoman, both rectangles that mostly required stapling. Now all I had to tackle was the body of the loveseat. The most complicated apholstery was saved for last.

Critical mass! Most of the apholstery is done.

Because the loveseat has curved arms and much more surface area than one piece of fabric could cover, I had to decide where to start. I chose the rectangular portions first. I draped the fabric over those areas and thankfully it was wider than the loveseat. I flipped this heavy bohemoth so I could wrap the fabric around a full side and staple both ends.

Loveseat is flipped so the fabric could be pulled taut over the back portion and stapled

The arms were the last and trickiest piece to deal with. But in the end, they weren't so bad. I trimmed the fabric and slowly made my way down the curve, tucking and sewing the fabric as I went. Again, the curved needle was a lifesaver.

Not as hard as I had thought

The end was in sight. I finished the arms, screwed in the bun feet, sprayed the first layer of Scotchgaurd, and called my family in to take a look. There were some mistakes, and these will get trashed too someday, but this was a very thrifty way to rehab the seating in this room.

I did not think through how this cushion front would look. I'll probably re-wrap it one of these days.