Behold the lovely before picture. Yes, though I'm ashamed, I will admit that this is what my barstools have looked like for waaayyy too long. I know, yuck! And I'm sorry to any guests who politely sat down on these beauties while secretly cringing inside.
The green fabric was actually microfiber that my husband bought to recover the barstools and surprise me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Sweet thought.....not so sweet fabric (sorry hon). Microfiber is supposed to be very easy to keep clean, and some types very well may be, but not this stuff. Water stains it. Seriously.
So I've been wanting to recover these for a really long time, and I finally did it!
The first thing I did was remove the old, yucky green fabric, then I measured out my new fabric by placing the seat onto it and cutting around it, making sure to leave enough fabric to work with on each side.
To attach the fabric to the seat, use a staple gun. Start by stapling one side, pull the opposite side tight and staple it. Then do the two other sides the same way until you have one staple holding the center of each of the four sides.
Then you'll want to do the corners. This part can be a little tricky. It's a little like wrapping a present, just a lot more difficult :) No, it's really not that bad, you just have to give it some practice. The most important thing is to make sure you are pulling it TIGHT. Tuck one side under the other, pull them tight, straighten and tighten, staple, pull again, tighten again, staple and.....voila! You've got it perfect, (or dang close to it).
Now, some perfectionists would have to have it looking as pretty on the bottom as it does on the top...not me. Who cares what the bottom ends up looking like as long as I've got enough staples in it, and the top looks nice and smooth.
So are you ready now to see the result? Drum roll please...........
Before:
After:
And here's a picture of all four chairs together. Don't they look happy now?! I just love the way they turned out. It's amazing how such a small change can make such a huge difference. My kitchen just looks so much cuter now!
For anyone who might want to know, I purchased the fabric on Joann's website. It was a special order fabric made for indoor/outdoor use. It's supposed to be a lot sturdier and easier to clean than regular fabric....and I think it will be.
Tropix Outdoor Canvas is the brand name and the fabric is called Maxime Thyme (Waverly Sun N Shade also has some really nice prints, I ordered some for another project I'll be doing.)
The reason I ordered my fabric online as opposed to in the store is because not only was the shipping price cheaper online, but it was also much quicker. It was on sale for $8.99 a yard, and I purchased 2 yards. I paid about $4 for shipping, so my grand total was about $22. Pretty good bang for my buck, don't ya think!
I'm linking to a before and after party at Thrifty Decor Chick
