Dining Room Chair Slipcovers

I'm so excited to have finished my first slipcovers!  Granted, they weren't extremely difficult, but their creation is a new chapter for me. Would you like to see?

My plan was to paint only the two armed dining chairs at the ends of our table.  Remember how they looked originally?

And then how I painted them, much to the shock of friends and family members?  (Painting the other six chairs seems too daunting, but don't underestimate my intent to tackle the table legs next...)

My new slipcovers have ruffles....and pretty grosgrain bows....Just like the ones I've admired for years.  I'm very in love with them. 

It was late as I worked on these, so I did not take process photos.  If you are interested in sewing similar slipcovers for your own chairs, Miss Mustard Seed has two amazing tutorials here.  I followed her basic concept of pinning the fabric inside out (I used paint dropcloth; she used muslin), making my own piping out of cotton cord and drop cloth fabric (first time ever using my zipper foot ~ insert a squeal here when I realized how easy it is to sew your own piping!), and sewing ribbon in 20' lengths wherever my chair had an arm, leg or back panel that broke up the ruffle.

After tying the last ribbon, I had one of those moments where I stood back and felt filled to the top with DIY satisfaction.

In addition to the dining chair slipcovers, I also finished this bamboo table a little while ago and wanted to show the finished pictures.

Originally green, I painted the table Behr's Beige Shadow, a taupey color similar to Annie Sloan's French Linen.

After some slight distressing and a little tea-stain aging with Minwax Dark Walnut stain,

...this cute little table with lots of character has found its rightful spot next to the sofa in our living room, its scale perfect.

As my husband and I walked some friends through our house Sunday evening (they just bought a house in our neighborhood and were having dinner with us for the first time) it hit me once again how many items in our home have been refinished, repurposed, or thrifted.  I found myself sharing all the little stories behind light fixtures, furniture pieces, window treatments, and wall colors. Once again it occurred to me that not only do I absolutely love doing this sort of thing, but the process of creating a home is exponentially more meaningful when each room has stories to tell.  The stories reflect so much more of the real "us" than furnishings could ever do alone.

I hope they enjoyed getting to know the real us :-)