One of the neatest things about blogging (or being a blog reader) is insight into the way others think, things they do, tips they share. Maybe they don’t really think outside the box, just outside of your box. Some of my blogging sisters are inspiring me to take a few chances to spruce up my home and simplify my life.
We’ve owned our dining room table, chairs, and hutch for over 11 years. The fabric looked dated, plus the color was too light to be practical with kids. Originally my aunt and a friend added plastic covers to the chairs for me, but with time, the plastic had begun to tear.
For a perfectionist like me, The Nester’s “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful” mantra brings relief. In her “Fabric Buying Tips” post I learned that she sets a $7 per yard limit for fabric purchases. Armed with that knowledge, I passed by all the $19.99-$20.00 upholstery fabric at Hobby Lobby, and picked a $9.99 fabric that was 30% off this week. (Kudos to Hobby Lobby for accepting their weekly coupon code that I read from my phone, not printed.) I bought 3 yards of fabric for our 8 chairs.
My husband is a great DIYer and owns cool gadgets like a hand stapler, which attached the new fabric to the bottom of the cushions.
Admittedly, he did the real work. My job consisted of cutting fabric, applying 2 coats of Scotch Guard to the finished cushions, and encouraging comments like “The white balance looks really good on these shots.” At least I know my strengths and weaknesses.
There are no before shots because some things aren’t worth remembering.
Simple Mom shared a great idea for simplifying the gift giving process with kids, 3 gifts each with different meanings: something to read, something to wear, and something to play with make great options.
Since the day I read this post on An Autumn Room at The Inspired Room, it’s been just a matter of time before the inside of my front door is painted a lovely shade of red. The curtains and the rug caught my fancy, too.
What about you? Do you get the itch to tackle home decorating projects at this time of year? We stayed up until 2:30 a.m. Wednesday night getting those cushions (not to mention the 22 lb. turkey) ready before our guests arrived for Thanksgiving.
Your chairs look lovely! We have zero fabric on our dining chairs, and most of our other furniture is leather. My only crazy couch is the white and pale blue fabric one that is in my new room, which has somehow morphed into our new schoolroom. My kids looks at me weird when I tell them to hold pencils while sitting on my couch! It might erase from paper but it makes even a scotchguarded couch look dingy. 🙂
I like the idea of three gifts: one to read, one to wear and one to play with. Genius!
The chairs are lovely – the yellow is fun.
You have refurnished your dining chairs and table in your house. Now, they are looking better than before. Yes, it’s a good idea to repair your households time to time so that they look beautiful and new. Thanks for sharing…