I'm sure you've had just about enough of my Mount Pleasant ramblings, but I have just ONE more. My mom has 8 dining chairs and 2 armchairs that she's been planning to recover for over 2 years. Although the seat fabric was pretty, it had seen better days, and the off-white was kind of drab against her current color scheme. She'd been waiting for a super DIY-er to show up!!! {but since none did, she let me do it.} ;-) Here's how NOT to recover chair seats in 5 simple steps! Step 1: Enthusiastically convince your mom that you can DEFINITELY recover the seats of her 10 dining chairs in about 5 minutes! Easy! No problem! Step 2: Remove the seats of said chairs by simply unscrewing them! Simple, right? Yay! Step 3 {feel free to skip this one}: Borrow a staple gun from a neighbor. Start stapling. Staples look crooked and messy, so remove them. Repeatedly jam the staple gun. Injure fingers trying to dislodge staples. Decide that a kabob skewer is the ONLY tool for the job. Successfully clear the jam, but bend skewer. Apologize to mom and throw bent skewer in the trash. Promise your mom you'll actually start work pretty soon. Turn a previously neat and tidy dining room into a big mess! Leave mess for 3 days. Step 4: Send your dad and husband to the store for a more low-tech staple gun. Measure the seats, cut the fabric {ensuring that there is at least 2 inches of overlap on all sides}. Tell your mom you will probably run out of fabric, so she should probably start planning for some mismatched chairs {didn't happen}. Mom graciously agrees, even as she thinks to herself that she definitely ordered plenty of fabric? Proclaim this new staple gun the BEST ONE EVER! {Did I mention it was $12?} Dance around stapling happily. Chug Diet Cokes and talk trash about this staple gun {even though it probably didn't work because of user error}: Step 5: Mentally plan a trip to a {probably really faraway} fabric store to get some more fabric, because you KNOW there won't be enough {again...there was}. Take WAY too long to cover seats, while ignoring your mom's politely concerned glances. Struggle with the corners, struggle to not cover the pre-drilled screw holes with fabric, and finally, struggle to re-screw the seats onto the chair bases. Drop seats on the floor, on toes, etc. But FINALLY: deliver 10 chairs with recovered seats {and lots of extra, unused fabric} to your patient, flexible, and super-appreciative mom: *Side note: Isn't the paint color beautiful? You should see the ceiling; it's a tray ceiling with varying shades of blue. I wish I would have taken a picture, but you know...
I was kind of busy. ;-) Happy Thursday, everyone! {Shared at AKA Designs, The Shabby Creek Cottage, and Addicted @ Decorating}
4 Comments
6/28/2012 12:12:03 pm
Hilarious! I have said those same words, "Oh, this is so easy, it will only take a couple of minutes." Only, to eat those words and work for hours and run into trouble after trouble! But, the chairs look great and I am sure that your mom is thankful for all you did!
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6/30/2012 10:56:03 pm
I love step #3 - since that would be me! I'd probably need a trip to the ER too. They turned out great in the end - now that calls for a happy dance!
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mom
7/1/2012 04:52:18 am
so entirely grateful!!
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