$3.00 Chair Makeover

Well, so much for spring! We are buried again here in the good old W of I. So all of these great outdoor projects I have been wanting to accomplish will have to wait a bit longer!

But I wanted to share this little tid bit with you all this morning! The easiest chairs to reupholster.

This little project cost me $3.00. Yes, $3.00

The chair was free, and the fun fabric was on clearance at Joann's for $6.00 a yard. It only takes a half a yard for one of these chairs and you can find them everywhere! My Mom and I just found some more at the Salvation Army for next to nothing this past week. You can unify a mismatched set with fabric, or jazz up just one chair for a small accent like I did. This chair sits next to our french patio doors. It's nice to sit down and take your shoes off, or set your garden gloves on when you have to take Dr. Pepper break! :)

On chairs like these, you simply remove the screws underneath (mine only had four), and place the new fabric over the old. I tucked it in tight and secured it with just a bit of fabric glue. You can also use a staple gun, but the frame of this chair was so solid, it is holding the fabric nicely. The glue was simply to keep any scraggly bits from hanging underneath and tempting my cat to tear it apart. :)

I also like to polish up the wood with a bit of lemon and olive oil and make it look brand new. Super easy right? I am a bit chair obsessed but at $3.00, it's a reasonably priced infatuation. I might add one of those adorable coral deco pillows from Target for a bit of color, but we'll see!! And as soon as you get bored with this patter, guess what? You can easily do it again!

Happy chair hunting!

Xo, Natasha

DIY: Louis XV Chair Makeover

Hello, everyone! I am back with a DIY decor project I have been SUPER excited to tackle: recovering some Louis XV chairs I got for a song on Craigslist.

I will briefly give some tips on how I went about this DIY project, but I am not going to go into to much detail because it's pretty straightforward, and let's just be honest: if you're like me, you just browse through the pictures.

So let's get on with it! The before:

Great, right? Eh, not so much. I got a set of two chairs, one is a side chair and the other has arms.

First we need to remove all of those nail heads! Tedious work, but sometimes I like busy work while I listen to Judge Judy,

The fabric should come off cleanly. Make sure you save the inner padding to re-use later.

Then all of the little staples in the cardboard backing need to come out. Save this piece as well.

Do the same for the seat. I removed the ugly floral fabric but was able to keep everything else underneath. it had been upholstered nicely and covered with a plain vanilla covering. Small blessings!

Use the old pieces of fabric to trace your new panels.

Make sure to leave extra around the edges, just incase.

Now drape your new fabric over the seat to make sure you have enough.

Tool time! This is what my husband had, so this is what I used. A little overkill, but whatever.

I started stapling in the back. I simple tucked he raw edge under itself to give it a "hem" and stapled as close to the edge as possible.

Just keep tucking and stapling.

Little pleats will happen, I just try to put a staple in those areas.

If you plan to use nail heads to finish, you do not need to place as many staples.

Next I moved torwards the arms.

Always be sure to keep checking that you still have your fabric evenly distributed. You don't want it to get wonky and end up short on one side. My fabric had a great amount of stretch which helped. I didn't need to pull as hard.

Seat is done!

Trace the back panel next.

Make sure the right side of your fabric is facing out on the back of a Louis Chair.

 Start stapling at the top.

Then down the sides.

After you've stapled all the way around the back, go ahead and place your cardboard and padding back in and staple in place.
Repeat the same process of rolling the edge under and stapling over the back cushion.

Ta da! Now you're ready for piping, trimmings or more nail heads if you choose!

 Isn't she a beaut??

"Black velvet in that little boy's smiiiiillleee... black velvet in that-" ok I will stop there.

This was an incredibly cheap DIY decor prjoect with a huge impact. The chairs were only $30.00 a piece and I got the fabric from Fabric.Com for $3.82 a yard! So go forth and make some ugly chairs pretty!

Fabric Love: Michael Miller

Hello, again!

Are any of you Fabric.Com trolls like me? If not, you should be. They are incredibly affordable and have a great selection. I have used them countless times.

After trolling again this morning I came across some picks from one of my favorite designers they feature, Michael Miller, and wanted to share!

His fabrics are cute, whimsical, colorful, and oh so fun! I have used them for curtains, pillows, bedding, you name it! I also think the designs are perfect for quilting, especially for children/baby minded crafters.

Some of my Michael Miller children's fabric picks:

1. Children at Play On Parade Double Border Multi - This sweet and airy scene would make an adorable bolster in a little girl's room!
2. Gnomeville Border Red - I love the vintage Hobbit feel.
3. Trailer Travel Camp Multi - In the vintage Airstream Trailer I own in my head, this would be used in a quilt for cozy nights camping with the kiddos.
4. Retro Rocket Rascals Multi - I love the retro Jetsons vibe.
5. Retro Candy Shop Cream - Someone please put this in a retro kitchen! Maybe a covered high chair or child's seat?
6. Flamingo Love Flamingo - Flamingos are very trendy right now, which is great because they are PINK!

Michael Miller decor fabric picks:

1. Bekko Home Decor Parquet Navy - Love the graphic blue and white!
2. Bekko Home Decor Pagoda Garden Blue - A very classic-feeling print.
3. Laminates Neon Pink - It's laminate pink fabric. I need it.
4. Rouge Et Noir Freckled White - Very on-trend spots - they're everywhere!
5. Sultana Deco Geo Black - Our home was built in 1937 so I am into all things deco.
6. Kiss Dot Clementine - Polka dots plus this hot color? Yes, please.

These fabrics are incredibly affordable to boot! So become a Fabric.Com addict and get DIY-ing!!