before & after: recovered dining room chair

mid-century modern chair: queen anne's lace

This chair was my birthday project this year. For the big quarter-century, I hosted a small, cozy dinner party in my new apartment. Brad was here for the weekend, so we shopped for groceries and cooked and tidied the place. My drop-leaf table expands to seat 8-10 with only minor squishing (also known as bonding), and I corralled chairs from the whole apartment to make sure everyone would have a seat. While party prepping, sitting back while Brad made my Boston Cream Pie Cake, and hosting my first non-college dinner party were worthy birthday pursuits, I wanted to do something on my birthday that was just for me: just something I wanted to do.

So, mere hours before my guests were to arrive, I dismantled one of the crucial 9 chairs, covering the newly cleaned floor in staples and dust.

I had found the chair in the “before” state, above, at an estate sale a month prior. It has good bones, and it was all alone – no mates – so I managed to talk the saleslady down to $8. But the cushion had no padding, and the fabric was ugly, faded, and stained.

mid-century modern chair: queen anne's lace

I had wiped the wood down with my standard vinegar+water solution, which kills mold, cleans, and deodorizes without being too harsh on old things, when I first brought it home. Recovering the cushion was easy, as it is for all dining room chairs: remove the cushion from the chair using the screws on the bottom, remove all the staples holding the old fabric to the wood seat, get rid of the old fabric and foam, add new foam/batting, and wrap your fabric around and staple tight. Even easier than my sewing chair seat cushion swap.

mid-century modern chair: queen anne's lace

The new fabric transformed the chair completely, and I was happy that I took the chance to make something on my birthday. Plus, one lucky guest got to sit in a pretty new chair!

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter weekend!

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