Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Outdoors Chairs For An *Indoor* Dining Room

And now for a little chair-related riddle: What sucks more than buying eight chairs on craigslist only to realize that they’re really really not working after a year and a half of trying?

A: Buying eight chairs on craigslist only to realize that they’re really really not working after a year and a half of trying while you blog about it to the world at large. Haha. But you know we like to keep it real, so here’s the unfortunate chair lesson that we had to learn through trial and error. And boy were there trials. And errors. But you win some and ya lose some when it comes to making your house a home. So if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again. And again. Haha. The good news is that this whole journey into home-making has a happy ending, so let’s skip to the fun part:

Dining Chairs2

But wait. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. First let’s flash back to the whole struggling-to-make-our-original-eight-craigslist-chairs-work rundown:

  • First we found our $25 craigslist chairs and snatched them up – even though we hated the crazy hotel fabric
  • Then we hunted down some inexpensive slipcovers at World Market (score!) but they were too big (boo!) so we tossed them into the dryer and they shrunk up and fit a lot better (score!).
  • Then we dyed them a nice mocha color in the hopes of letting the dark teal backs of the built-ins do their thing (the original off-white tone clashed with all of the white trim and the built-ins in person).
  • Then we lived with them a bit and learned that they got baggy and messy looking after a week or two of washing them (boo!). Although they snapped back into shape whenever we washed them again, it was more maintenance than we initially thought (boo!).
  • So I actually tried painting one of the chairs a happy apple green using textile medium (epic fail!).
  • Then I tried spray painting them (knowing I could just toss the brown slipcovers back on if it didn’t work out, so I didn’t have much to lose). They were sleeker than the baggy slipcovers thanks to the tighter lines, but the swirled pattern showed through in texture, which was a little less than ideal.

Chair Changes

I actually ended that spray-painting post with this somewhat deflated statement: “As for how we feel, we’re still sort of on the fence. They’re definitely better (muuch better) than the green painted chair debacle. And in person we think they’re marginally better than the baggy slipcovers. But we’ll probably recover or replace them someday down the line. There’s probably a lesson in here somewhere about how $25 craigslist chairs might not always be the answer if they have a crazy pattern and don’t fit typical store-bought slipcovers. Ah well, live and learn.”

In other words I took all of my crazy out on those poor hopeless chairs. Then I gave them the silent treatment for a few months while slowly growing more and more frustrated with them. Eventually we faced the they’re-just-not-working music and said things like this and this to folks who asked about them. And the good news is that the fifth (eighth? I’ve lost count) time is the charm! The key wasn’t saving those chairs and desperately trying to make them work, it was setting them free.

Dining Chairs8

We’re planning to craigslisting the old guys in the hopes that someone who is much better at reupholstery than we are will be interested (they’re a great classic shape, but the fabric has to go) so we’ll keep you guys posted on what brave soul wants to keep giving these chairs a chance at survival.

But now let’s talk about the new chairs! They were actually a really good deal (just $62 a pop) and best of all, we love them just as they are. No more chair-speriments. At least in this room. The larger/cozier chair idea actually hit me one night while thinking about casual and super comfy dining room setups like this one from West Elm and this one from Ballard Designs:

Dining Chairs Ballard

Why do our chairs need to be tiny and why do there need to be eight of them? What if there were six big armchairs around the table? We still have seating for an additional four people at the peninsula (literally three steps to the left of the table) and if our family gatherings eventually get so big that we need to seat more than nine or ten people, we can always set up a kids table in the office since the middle of that room is clear (and that’s just three steps from the dining table in another direction). Plus seating for six in our first house’s dining area worked for the 4.5 years we lived there, so even just the four extra spots at the peninsula will be gravy.

So then I was on the hunt for armchairs, but because I worry about kiddos (& even adults) with a whole bunch of fabric + food, I had this very specific hankering for something wicker or woven. Just to add more texture and not have fabric that I have to worry about staining. The only bummer is that most wicker armchairs are in the $200-300 range a pop (like these $319 options from Ballard Designs, and these $299 ones from Pottery Barn). And then I found these. Four of them for less than the price of one of those others! And angels sang. Wait, that was just Clara in the background doing her Katy Perry impression (in case you’re wondering, if you ask her who her favorite singers are, they’re listed as follows: Katy Perry, The Chipmunks, Adam Levine, and Barney).

Target Chairs

Guess why they were so marked down? They’re actually outdoor chairs! And it’s the end of the season so they were on super clearance. I was really nervous to buy two 4-sets of them sight unseen, but I read that:

  • I could return them to any Target store instead of having to pay to ship them back if they didn’t work
  • By using our Target credit card the shipping was completely free
  • Also by using our Target card we’d score an additional 5% off (wahoo!)

So it felt pretty risk-free. Thank goodness, because at this point I’m suspicious of chairs having unforeseen issues. Haha. Oh and getting eight of them would mean that we’d have two extra chairs we wouldn’t need, so we could craigslist them, hopefully for $62 each since they’d be new/in the box and there are far uglier outdoor chairs on our local CL for $75 (so although we’d have to buy eight, we hopefully won’t lose any money getting those extra two by reselling them, and the per-chair cost will stay at $62). Update: Lots of folks are suggesting that we keep the other two for our deck or patio, which was definitely our first instinct, but we tried them in a few places and felt like we were forcing them, so we’d rather sell them and save up/wait for something that could work better in those outdoor spaces :)

Dining Chairs3

Then we crossed all of our appendages and knocked on wood while waiting for them to come (which makes Burger bark enthusiastically, btw – more on that here). And huzzah! They’re awesome! They make me want to sit cross-legged at the table for hours and draw with Clara (done!). I think they’ll be great for doing homework with her and stuff (they’re kind of cozy like an armchair) and I can’t wait to have a big family dinner with the grandparents and John’s sister so we can all sit and chat for a nice long time in them (who am I kidding, I have a toddler, I’ll be running around while they sit and chat).

Here’s a shot of John relaxing in one. We’re so happy they’re comfy and the right height for the table. Whew.

Dining Chairs12

Another great thing about them being outdoor chairs is that they have these great little durable seat cushions (they’re made to work outside, so they definitely can handle spills and wipe-downs – they actually feel impervious, like most things should bead up – which’ll definitely come in handy).

Dining Chairs9

I’ll keep you posted when it comes to how these babies wear – and how they work for homework, drawing, and hosting bigger dinners with the fam. So far they’ve been awesome for our little crew (they’ve already passed the Play-Doh test). The coolest thing is that because they’re outdoor chairs we can literally bring them outside and spray them down with a hose if need be.

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And I sort of love how everyone gets arm rests. It’s like we’re all sitting at the head of the table, which is kind of fitting since a round table doesn’t have a head.

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We’re so thankful. Seriously, I thought we’d never crack this chair code and in 2040 we’d still be blogging something like “so we cryogenically froze the chairs and we think that’ll work! Fingers crossed!” Why is it that failing a few times sometimes makes the simplest accomplishments feel monumental? We finally got dining chairs we love almost two years into living here! Somebody strike up the band!

Here’s the view from the kitchen. We love how the slatted wood stools and the woven dining chairs work together without feeling too matchy. They both bring a nice texture and warmth to the rooms without feeling overwhelming (since having so many seats in two adjoining rooms could easily get crazy-competey-looking).

Dining Chairs11

And so ends the epic 2010-2012 Chair Olympics that we hosted at our house. Sure, we lost the first six events (and you have to hand it to us, we really bombed a few of those times) but I might just be found standing on one of these chairs raising my fake gold medal up and happy-crying at the crowd. So it pays to keep at it until you finally get those “this is IT!” butterflies… even if they don’t come easy. In the end, we’re just happy that we didn’t have to spend 1K on a bunch of chairs, which was definitely our fear ever since we got our big ol’ table – but even with the loss that we took on those first ones (including all of our desperate attempts to save them) our total spent is still a few hundred less than that… and will hopefully be even less when we craigslist them. I think we just had to try the parson’s chairs and live with them to learn that we didn’t want to live with them. Haha. It’s like how you have to get that glittery purple eye shadow to learn that no (NO!) it’s not gonna work, and you should probably try something else.

What oops moments have you guys lived through lately? Any other furniture switchouts or upgrades going on? Between our new kitchen stools and these guys we’ve deemed this phase of home-making: “turning a corner.” It seems like we’re finally refining things, working out little nagging issues, and bringing in more texture & natural tones (which we loved in our first house) to mix with the pops of color that we’ve fallen more in love with since moving into our current house. It’s actually pretty normal for us to take a year or two to get our bearings, so needless to say, it’s pretty fun to be making those “that’s it!” tweaks in a few rooms that we use all the time. We knew we’d get there someday. Never mind those five other untouched rooms that we have yet to start. Haha.

Comments

  2. Moriya says

    OHMYGOSH — you must be thrilled… they look amazing! I don’t know if I would’ve had the courage to put such big chairs in a dining room, but you guys totally pulled it off. Such a dramatic change, and improvement. You guys are constantly an inspiration!

    Reply

  3. Sara says

    LOVE them. I’m a huge fan of using outdoor things inside. And the best part is that they have plenty of room for your extensive pillow collection!

    Reply

  6. julie g. says

    Love the new chairs!!! And you know what – we have the same problem and up until reading your post I could not put my finger on it. I am so obsessed with fitting as many folks around the table as possible that I have 10 doll-house sized, uncomfortable chairs and the 4 – 6 of us that actually use the table 360 days out of the year are the ones that suffer!

    Reply

  7. Julia @ Chris Loves Julia says

    I love these and I think I’ll love them even more when the floor gets a darker, richer stain on them (down the road). I have always dreamed of big, lounge-y dining chairs and Chris doesn’t always see the vision. But then again, he didn’t come from a big, italian family where dinners last hours with lots of talking (and the food just keeps coming!)–but he’ll catch on.

    Last week, we had this great idea to do his/her chairs in our living room and I found a pretty Ikat one on Joss and Main for mine and then Chris’s came–and I am seriously rethinking the his/her thing because I want his! :/

    Reply

  9. Jenny @ Words On Wendhurst says

    Love the new chairs and the new stools. I agree, you guys are finding the “just right” pieces for your rooms now. Love how the rooms are really coming together! As for your two extra chairs – since they are outdoor chairs already, why not use them on your patio and/or deck since you’ve mentioned before how you want more furniture for those spaces?

    Reply

  11. Crystal @ 29 Rue House says

    Love them and so glad they worked! We’ve been in our house for three years and we’ve still got our pub table… probably feel the same way about it as you did with your chairs! I am looking daily for a cheaper big round table and then will come the chair issue! We did debate cutting the legs off our pub table/chairs but it is nice and I don’t want to ruin it plus it is square and the wrong shape for our dining room. Someday….right?

    Reply

  13. Stephy says

    Oh yes! They transition nicely with the new kitchen chairs & the wood floors. Much more cozy appeal & prob a lot more comfy ;) CList rocks

    Reply

  14. Chris says

    Love the chairs! I just went to Target’s website, but the price is now $399. You got a great deal and I love the additions of new textures and wood tones into your home!

    Reply

  15. Crystal says

    Just like the new barstools, I’m loving these chairs for the warmth they add to the room. Plus, they look ultra-cozy like you could lounge around the table for hours with a group of friends.

    I bought these great cane chairs http://theweekendhomemaker.com/cane-chair-inspiration and lived with them a few months only to realize they just weren’t comfortable to sit in and therefore not very practical for our family.

    I opted for this comfy chaise instead: http://theweekendhomemaker.com/reading-nook

    (all from bought and sold on Craigslist, of course)

    Reply

  17. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    I love those chairs! They look like they’ll be perfect for lingering at the table after dinner with a slice of pie and coffee.

    You guys are on a wicker/bamboo chair kick lately! Too many more and it’s going to be looking like the set of Golden Girls… just kidding. I’m loving all the natural colors and texture!

    Reply

  20. Chelsea @ Riding Escalators says

    Oooo! Love them! I’m all about the warmth of natural wood! I’ve been trying to bring it into our house here and there too! This weekend I was actually building and staining a sofa table (it’s an Ikea Rast hack actually)to bring in more warm wood tones into our living room!

    As for “oops moments,” this weekend I also finally gave in and admitted that our wall of pictures in our entryway just wasn’t working for the space. So I filled all of the tiny holes and painted over everything and hung one, huge framed picture from a recent trip – SO much better! Makes me wonder why I put up with the crazy mis-matched picture frames that constantly needed straightening for over a year!

    Reply

  21. Erin says

    In the words of Elle Woods, “we did it!”

    Congrats on finding the perfect chairs! They look so comfortable and really fill up the space around the table. I love a round table for dining since there is no head or foot – it is so much more collaborative for conversation. Enjoy your new space and well done!

    Reply

  22. Dina says

    The new chairs look great! I love the combo of wood tones and textures in your dining room now!

    We recently had a major entryway oops… We ordered this modern looking hall tree from overstock http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Cappuccino-Leaning-Ladder-Shelf-Bench/5903028/product.html

    When it got to us we weren’t impressed with it. It looked much cheaper in person than we remembered it being on the site. We expected real wood and something that looked better than Ikea, not worse! But after checking again, the site was spot on. Oops… Rose colored glasses maybe.

    After living with it for a year, I finally craigslisted it a few weeks ago to spark us into replacing it with something more “us.” So that so called modern hall tree is turning into a more eclectic grouping of old and new wall hooks, a rustic console table, some ceramic garden stools, and we’ll figure out the rest as we go! It already feels sooooo much better!

    Reply

  23. Robin @ our semi organic life says

    I feel like I have the same problem. A few years back I bought a bar height table and chairs. They all still look great but just don’t get used that much. I’m really drawn towards the comfysitandrelax type vibe you’ve got now. I wonder if I could cut the legs of the bar height table down to regular height?! Eaks that’s be scary! Also hard because I have no power tools.

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      If you are not super comfortable with DIY and power tools I would contact a professional carpenter and have him/her do it. They are more exacting and have the right tools for the job.

    • sarah b says

      yes, you can totally do it!! we did that with a pub table that i hated – my legs always fell asleep. figure out the total height of the table/chairs you want (google “standard table height” for common measurements). you will be cutting the leg at the bottom, where it meets the floor. mark each leg at the spot you want to cut so it is a little longer than you want to remove (i.e. leave a little extra so you can cut more if you need to). take each of the legs off & make sure to mark which leg goes where so it will all fit back together again. then, cut with a mitre saw, table saw, or circular saw. we used a mitre saw and it worked perfectly!

  24. Stefani @ Try To Enjoy says

    It’s wonderful that you guys found chairs that you like for your dining room table!! They look very comfortable!

    Why don’t you keep the extra two chairs and use them outside on the deck or the patio? You’ve talked about how you wanted more furniture for the patio anyway…

    Reply

  25. mribaro says

    Thank you for the asked photo! :) The new dining chairs make a nice bridge between the gray armchair (having armchairy lines) and the peninsula stools (being the same woody, honey color). Very nice!

    Reply

  27. Melissa @ HOUSEography says

    They look great!! I think I would hang onto the other 2 if I were you. $62 each is a great price. Since they are outdoor chairs, maybe they could help you fill out your patio or deck a bit more (hello seating area in the back of the deck!). Can’t wait to see what you do about a chandelier.

    Reply

  28. Vidya @ Whats Ur Home Story says

    Loove the chairs….They look so comfy. I really like how you are bring more wood tones to your home. I somehow have a hunch that there is a built in rearranging project coming up soon to tie in with those wood tones and the large scale of the dining table/chairs.

    I did some rearranging myself. It is so much fun to shop your own house!

    Reply

  30. Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says

    At first I thought that these new chairs looked too big for the table but then I thought about eating dinner at a table with too many chairs and not enough table space and that is the worst! These chairs should definitely prevent feeling like someone is sitting on top of you! Plus, they’re waaaaaay better than the old ones!

    Reply

  32. Ginny @ goofymonkeys says

    Those are so perfect! The practical me loves that they’re outdoor chairs so if Clara gets them gunked up with spilled oatmeal, you can take them out back and hose them out without worry! (Can you tell I have kids :)

    Also, I always thought the dining room had enough elbow-room to allow for chunkier chairs – good choice!

    I really love how you guys revisit your choices from time to time. I do the same thing – it keeps things changing and feeling fresh.

    Reply

  34. DanielleR says

    I absolutely love the new chairs, the old ones didn’t do it for me either. AND (because I didn’t comment on your kitchen stool post before) I love your new stools as well. Something about the blue ones didn’t quite “fit” for me, I always looked at them and thought “Those are cute, but something just doesn’t look right.” (I have moments like that in my house all the time). So yay, score and score! Great job :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we have a giant jute rug but we’re not sure how that’ll work with play-doh and Clara’s crumb-fest so we’ll have to see where we end up. We definitely plan to refinish the floors in a darker mocha color so that should help the chairs pop more.

      xo
      s

  37. Melissa Gray says

    I love when things work out! We scored a craigslist table + 6 chairs + buffet + leather arm-chair (all mid-century modern in amazing condition) for $850 this weekend! Although I am sad since our floors are still being tiled and the furniture is just sitting in my living room waiting to be used!

    Reply

  40. Em says

    You should just keep the two extra and use them outside on your patio, or in another area of your yard – or even in another room. And that way if something ever happens to one of the chairs or cushions over time (likely with kids around), you have a back up. Too good of a deal to let them go.

    Reply

  41. Alison says

    Love them a million, no a trillion times better!! I love how they tie in with the kitchen chairs! You guys were in my dream last night and I was at your house and I kept thinking how cool it was to see everything and how we were goIng to be friends! Ha!

    Reply

  43. Erin @ One Project at a Time says

    We had a big oops moment this last week when we realized that the term “free” usually always comes at a price! Over a year ago we had Bath Crashers (DIY Network) come to our house to give a a FREE master bathroom. Sounds amazing, right? But on top of cleaning up dozens of messes and errors left behind after the filming was done, last week we realized that the plumbing was done incorrectly and had been leaking into our Dining Room ceiling for a year! Now our ceiling is ripped open, there’s water damage everywhere and its going to be a disaster to put back together. Lesson learned: Free is never free. Work hard and do it youself. :) http://oneprojectatatime.blogspot.com/2012/09/youve-got-to-be-kidding-me_4.html

    Reply

    • lizaanne says

      Oh Erin – that is so horrible!!! I watch that show all the time, and after just having our own bathroom done professionally (it took three weeks), I always wonder how in the world can they do things correctly in such a short time. Well, now we know — they don’t.

      Hopefully your insurance company can go after them so you don’t have to own the entire repair costs. :-(

      ~Liza

  44. Lucy says

    HUGE improvement. Love these. You needed something large scale for the room so these are perfect. You have a tropical look with the wicker chairs and the palm leaf – and I’m digging it!!

    Reply

  45. Kelly Gross says

    These look really great! I like how they fill the space better. I never liked the other ones (sorry!). Its great to see how you keep re-working things until it clicks.

    Reply

  46. Stewart says

    I’m so glad you guys posted this. I’m still trying to outfit my new house and I’m often so afraid to pull the trigger on furniture. It’s nice to be reminded that it’s just a chair/desk/lamp, and if it doesn’t work, there’s someone in the world who can put it to good use and I can get something else that does work.

    Reply

  47. Debbie says

    I still can’t believe you never tried altering the slip covers a bit with your sewing machine to make them a smidge tighter! I was pulling for those chairs! Too bad you couldn’t make them work

    Reply

  48. Amelia says

    The chair updates are all great. I’m loving the natural textures – the kitchen and dining room are looking so much more sophisticated!

    Reply

  49. Karen F says

    omg, LOVE the new chairs! what a find! so glad they worked out for you. they are so pretty and look so comfy.

    I feel like my house is full of oopses. the only thing I really got right was paint colors. I’m great when it comes to 2D design (I can design the heck out of a party invite or any kind of printed layout) but I guess I’m no good with 3 dimensional design. no rooms are “good” and we’ve been here way too long to be in that state! but little by little we’ll get there!

    Reply

  50. Brittany says

    OMG these are soooooo much better! I love them, they work so well in the space! I never thought those were really the right chairs for you guys – but getting it “right” is often times really, really hard! I’m glad you finally cracked the code :)

    Reply

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