Furniture {reincarnated} : Mimi's Dining Chairs

One of the easiest DIY projects is the recovering of upholstered dining chairs..... or so I thought! A few years ago, I found this great set of 6 in my Uncle's attic. They once belonged to Mimi (Dad's mom) and from the looks of the upholstery, had been very loved. I snagged them since the wood was a great match for my dining table, which had recently been purchased at an estate sale. Somehow or another, I managed to live with them in their loved state until I "grew up" and got married. Jeff and I decided it was time to do something about them so we took this on as our first project together.

We started at Forsyth Fabrics, a wonderful source here in ATL. We went back and forth more times than Jeff would like to admit I'm sure. We actually got this fabric on sale and it is perfect!


Now, recovering the seat of the chairs was just like any other dining chair (click for how-to video). You simply unscrew, wrap like a present, staple, then screw back on. Easy enough. It was the back that was the kicker. Since it is double sided, there is no easy way to hide the fabric edges. Honestly, I cannot even remember how we managed to make it happen, but it involved a ton of staples and wood glue. It was definitely a marital bonding experience!

Maybe one day we will actually refinish the wood... are you ready for that one, Honey?

Before and after.