Parsons chairs progress

So after all the fabric ripping & staple pulling (like two hours worth of prying with a screwdriver & needle nose pliers) this is what I was left with. Cheap wooden legs that are too ugly to stain & some blistered fingers.

I decided that my only option for these legs was a good coat of paint. I began by sanding down the uneven layers if wood (notice how there are several thin pieces of wood glued together instead of one solid piece-even cheaper) next I filled the tons of staple holes, there were about 150 per leg, with spackle. Yep I couldn't find my wood filler so I used spackle. There was so much filler that the legs looked white after I was done, we'll see how this holds up with normal wear & tear but I think it'll be fine.

This is what I wished the chairs looked like - a stretch from what they were when I got them but it could serve as a good role model. This isn't the exact fabric I would've chosen but I like the heavier weight, I would've gone with something a little more Mediterranean looking as far as the colors, reds, golds, or greens.

These are the fabrics I went with in the end, although my main deciding factor was price, these will be a lot more practical with kids. Also, because the chairs will be slipcovered & not re-upholstered, I can remove these & toss them in the washing machine. The red & linen floral print I found at Joann when I went to visit my sister in Ventura. It was only $9.99/yd but my sister found a 50% off coupon in their add so I snagged this up for $4.99/yd! I only needed 4 yds total so it wasn't too bad.

The green print I had seen on another blog, Mustard Seed Creations. She had made some beautiful curtains out of the same print only in blue, I liked it so much I almost ordered it for my bedroom but I decided that could wait. I didn't even think of covering the chairs in it until I was out looking for fabric for my 2nd set of covers & I saw it in the moss green. Like Miss Mustard Seed had said in her blog, it went for $37/yd or something ridiculous like that. She was nice enough to include in her post that she had found the outdoor version of it on sale for $9.75/yd at fabric.com(it's Waverly the print is called Tucker Resist & is based on an old block print from Williamsburg)! Not only does the outdoor fabric come in a larger width, it's coated in Teflon so spills can be wiped right off. In addition to that it's fade resistant so I don't need to worry about having the chairs right in front of my dining room window.-By the way, the UPS truck just pulled up as I was typing this with my green fabric & I am IN LOVE! I want to use this all over my house. I thought about just making one set of slipcovers & using this for drapes but for some reason it kind of reminded me of the curtains they made the kids clothes from in "The Sound of Music". Besides, you can see the print better if it's spread smooth on the chairs. Ok, it's back to work for me.