Ok, so along with many of the decor choices in our house (hello shag rug) we also inherited some furniture from my parents when they left and moved to their new home. Most of which is lovely and very, very useful. Though of course, the dining room table rarely gets dined at, but sn generally the site of all our Lego adventures. One of the things I like best, is the kitchen table, which I should mention is actually on loan only, as one day they may need it back. And also, it is of significance to them as I believe it was a long ago wedding gift. (am I right on this one Mom, or am I making that up?) Anyhow, I really like it. Like it so much in fact that I have the exact same kitchen table myself. Yes, you understand that correctly, we have two, identical kitchen tables. When Hubs and I were first married ourselves, my Dad stumbled upon a kitchen set identical to his own, which he scooped up for us. He kept the chairs for himself, (as you can never have too many chairs) and gave us the table, which Hubs did a beautiful job of refinishing. So the table that is ours is currently my sewing table, and the table that is on loan from my Mom and Dad is still being used as our kitchen table.
Funny how I can go on so long about the tables when this post will end up being about the chairs.
This is what the chairs look like. Though they have had many different seat coverings over the years, not one of which I can pull up into my poor, faulty memory at this moment. It is neither here nor there anyways, as my point is that these chairs, on closer inspection....
...are in desperate need of recovering. They are filthy. And this is not even the worst one. Don't imagine we inherited them this way. My mother keeps a very clean house. I, on the other hand, have toddlers. Who have wreaked their messy little havoc on most of the surfaces in this one time spotless house. And while I can wipe walls and clean tubs (you know, every couple of months as is my wont) I cannot do anything about these sad dirty chairs. Except recover them.
But then the question becomes, what to cover them with? I have an aversion to most 'wipe clean' fabrics as they are generally treated with the most noxious chemicals know to the human race. Even what they call "oil cloth" is really just treated with vinyl and phthalates and all the nastiest off-gassing things you can imagine. And I won't have that stuff in my house if I can help it.
So what to do? I don't just want to choose another fabric that will be soiled instantly, and all the "green" vinyl alternatives were either CRAZY expensive or not available in a pattern I liked. And then Hubs hit on a good idea. Leather. Not new leather, but old leather. Good old, wipe clean leather. Leather that has been around the block. Leather we can get for cheap.
So I hit the Value Village on 50% off day, and found myself a nice, long grey leather coat. And look at the magic that Hubs did.
See that? Lovely charcoal grey, soft and very wipe-able.
And since it was cheap, we don't have to be too precious about it. If the kids manage to ruin these ones too, we'll only be out of pocket $15. Not bad for three seat covers.
On the downside, there are still another five chairs to cover and the odds of getting an exact match are pretty low. But we like the eclectic look, so it'll be fine.
What a difference, eh? I'm very pleased. And Hubs did everything except buy the coat. He spent the evening with a stitch ripper, taking the lining out of the coat, cut it up, took the seats off, stapled it on. I'm quite happy with the result. Now I just have to keep my eyes open for two more coats in at least a grey-ish colour. Wish me luck.
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