Friday, March 27, 2009

A Make-over! 1 Chair. 1 Sheet. 2 Rubberbands. No kidding.

Let's begin! I found this sweet little petite channel back chair at Monticello. A bargain for $65.00. It's in excellent condition and sturdy as they come. Problem? The color is a little overwhelming (Okay, maybe more than a little..ha!)in the newly painted guestroom. However, I don't want to spend $400-$500 to have it recovered. So, I'm going to employ a trick I learned out of necessity several years ago.
Drape and center one king size sheet over the front of your chair. I've used a sheet with a ruffled edge for added softness and detail.

The next step is to start tucking in the sheet/fabric to allow for expansion when the chair is actually in use. The nice thing about the chair that I've used is that it has the channel back so I was able to keep that detail by tucking the fabric in those channels. I could have just as easily not done that and had it look even more relaxed. After all the tucking, what you have left are fabric "tails" in the front and back.

Gather up those tails, making sure to keep the center back of your sheet in the center back of the chair. If you need to, you can safety pin the sheet in place to keep it centered. Here I've gathered the tails to the back of the leg on each side, wrapped a rubber band around them and stuffed the remaining fabric tails to the inside of the gather. If you've pulled your sheet tight around the backside it will stay stuffed inside without falling out. See how the ruffled edge comes right around the side? Pretty sweet!!

Add your pretty pillows and voila! you have a whole new look without spending a bundle. Yay!! I found this sheet at an estate sale, brand new in the package, for $4.00. Sure beats the price of reupholstery....especially for a person that likes to change decor all the time!!
Note: I used a queen sheet on this chair and was able to eek out just enough to cover side to side. A king size sheet is really the ideal way to go though. The king size will also cover a wing back chair very nicely. A great place to find sheets on the cheap is a discount store like Ross, TJMax, Home Goods or Tuesday Morning. Oh, and make sure you use those heavy duty rubberbands. The skimpy ones just don't do the job and they'll snap your fingers. Ouch!
So, there you go! A little weekend re-do project that will take all of an hour...at most. Unless, of course, you decide to iron the sheet first!
It's a busy weekend ahead for me. I'm taking a class tomorrow on Artistic Wall Finishes! Cool, huh?
Warmest bear hugs, Aleta




11 comments:

Cheryl said...

What a cute idea! I have done similiar using vintage tablecloths on regular diningroom chairs. Thanks for sharing!

Naija said...

lol fast and easy...

Charmingdesigns said...

Would love to know where you are taking the Artistic Wall finishes. laurie

Adrienne said...

A great idea for such a sweet chair! It's perfect. The ruffle makes it just right. ~Adrienne~

Tracy Nuskey Dodson said...

Love the chair, thanks for the tip!
Enjoy your class:)
Tracy

Secondhandrose said...

I'll have to try it! Love the wall color too, especially off set with the white. I have oak trim...yuck....and the browns and taupes that I love don't look right. Come for a visit.
karen

Sammy Girl said...

Aleta --

I quoted you on today's posting of my new blog -- hope you don't mind. Come by for a visit and see my pink princess.

Have a super pink Wednesday ... and every day!

Betty :)

Ginie-Lee said...

Love the chair, I'm all for quick re-dos!!
Hugs Ginie

Laurie said...

Thanks for the chair tutorial! I have a chair that has been waiting for an idea like this!

Karen ~ Cider Antiques said...

Wonderful lesson Aleta! Now I can buy even more chairs at Auction, LOL. My husband may not be so thrilled however. I seem to have a thing for solo chairs and small tables.

~ Karen

susana said...

this is a very flexible solution to have a make over, but i' m not sure how you do the tucking?