I recently inherited my mom's 1973 dining room table and chairs with matching china cabinet - more like nobody else in the family wanted or needed it, so it exited the moving truck right into our garage. It was my mom's pride and joy. The table top hardly ever saw the light of day and every time we ate at it, she had it padded with flannel and multiple table cloths for fear anything might happen to it.
The original seats were covered in a gold damask stripe, which had definitely seen better days, and the foam was disintegrating underneath, so I knew for sure I was going to reupholster them. If it was going to stay in my house,tho...it had to have a makeover.
I decided not to paint the table top - even tho it got marred in the move (sorry mom!), it was just too beautiful to cover up. So I buffed it with some paste wax and covered up the dents as best I could.
I painted the apron edge and legs with a couple coats of creamy chalk paint I mixed myself with some leftover house paint. I accented the inner channel of the legs with a creamy yellow.
I roughed it up with a little sandpaper and finished it up with paste wax - first natural, then dark...another coat of dark because it wasn't quite how I wanted it, and then ended with another coat of natural.
Love it! On to the chairs...
I removed all the seats and took to prying up all the staples. (Yes, I'm working on my kitchen counter...there might be an old movie on and I wouldn't want to miss it!)
I used the same cream paint on the chairs...
...and roughed them up, as well.
I wasn't crazy about the color of the caning...should I paint it cream as well? Make it darker? Live with it?...I had some leftover espresso paint and decided to go darker. I was afraid of not being able to cover well enough with the cream and having a blotchy outcome.
I finished with the same multiple coats of paste wax...1 down, 5 more to go!
I found a great fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby that picked up all the colors of my kitchen...plus the chevron pattern was a little homage to it's 70's roots. Now, I do not claim to be an upholsterer. I know my way around a staple gun and can work the corners just fine, tho. I replaced all the foam and batting, too.
Trimmed the excess...
Phew! Done...and then I had a problem...
The original cushion was boxy with piping on the top and bottom edges. I didn't want it to be that formal, so I didn't replace the piping. But when I went to re-attach the seats, there was a gap at the bottom and I could see the top edge of the wood...no bueno! Back to Hobby Lobby! I found a great hemp trim that fit the bill and 40% off baby!
I reattached all the seats...love!
It took me what seemed like forever to finish this project...but it turned out even better than I expected! I had the red parsons chairs for years, but they were tucked away in an extra bedroom. I just swapped them out for two chairs and yep...that's it!
I hope my mom would be proud. I know she wasn't crazy about painted furniture (let alone her pride and joy!)...but I'm sure she's thrilled that it meant enough to me to keep it and now it will be used and loved by my family for years to come.
Until next time,
~ Mary
