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:
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.
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.
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:
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).
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 :)
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
Jenny says
Love them! SO much better than the last chairs in there. Bravo!
sarah b says
nice job on the new chairs – i love their wider, more casual vibe. i hated those old chairs so much. :)
karen says
Love it! Looks great!
Stacy says
I’m so, so thrilled that you’ve incorporated more natural, unfinished furniture in this area of your home. While I think your kitchen is simply beautiful, it was feeling a little too “matchy matchy” with all the coordinated colors. The wood bar chairs make it feel much more welcoming, and PHEW! I would never have flat-out insulted anyone’s design choices, but GOODNESS I’m glad you replaced those dining chairs! These new wicker beauties make a world of difference!
Wonderful progress! :)
naiad says
Hello from the United Arab Emirates. I have been following your blog from about a year. Initially I used to feel how can two grown ups have so much colour in their house? Isn’t it for someone slightly younger? Will they move into their 30s and still have so much eye popping colour? I don’t mean to sound snarky. It was my genuine thought. And I’ve realized over the last few months or so that your style has definitely evolved from twenty somethings to thirty somethings especially with the following three main choices 1. The antique craiglist buffet 2. The new kitchen stools and now 3. the new dining chairs. I feel that your style is going from bright and happy towards classic and cozy. I don’t know if you feel the same? Do you guys feel a drastic change in your choices for your home?
ps. no they are not typos. we follow british english ;)
YoungHouseLove says
We completely agree that our style has evolved a ton over the last five years of blogging about it! I think when we moved from our first house (which was super super neutral, and what we now refer to as a bit “less-happy-and-cheerful” than we are) we were inspired to add color to our current home. So we went willy nilly with it, and just learned from trial and error that we actually love bright pops of color (in the curtains, the back of the built-ins, the green office chairs, etc) but we also still love the natural wood tones from our first house to temper things and add balance, so bringing those in has helped us end up with a colorful/cozy look that we love. It’s definitely all just a learning process as we go!
xo
s
Bob says
Nope… too bulky. Mark my words – they’ll be replaced in the next 12-18 months.
Katy says
For once I have to agree with Bob! Never thought the day would come.
Amy says
I thought I was the only one not feeling them! I don’t think the other chairs were working well either though.
YoungHouseLove says
No worries guys! One thing we’ve learned after five years of sharing every choice that we make in our house is that they’re definitely not the same ones that everyone else would make! I think sometimes the more personal you make a space, the less it appeals to the masses, but the more it can feel like “you” if that makes sense :)
xo
s
Bob says
That didn’t hurt too bad, did it, Katy?
Sher-dog (I miss that, by the way) uses personal taste as a way to deny the presence of goodness and badness. She doesn’t think there is such a thing. “To each their own” she might say. Well, either her personal taste changes a lot (and frequently), or she gets things wrong a lot. Instead of denying there is good and bad, she could embrace the fact that some people have better taste than she does. A huge component of taste is design awareness. I have much greater design awareness than Sher-dog. She would do well to just admit it already and leverage my help in making her home look better.
Amy – Don’t worry! When they change these chairs in 12-18 months then everyone will realize how bad they are/were and then they’ll say so. Most people have bad taste so it makes sense for them to not know how bad these are.
Katie says
Love the new chairs!! And I love the feeling you get when you find a great deal – what a rush :) I wanted to ask you what those green leaves are in the vase on the table. Are they real or fake? And what are they called? I see ones like them a lot and I love the way they look.
YoungHouseLove says
They’re real and they’re WEEDS from our backyard! Isn’t that funny? They reminded us of palm leaves, but they’re just growing in a clump in the woods behind our house.
xo,
s
Lindsey says
It was a valiant effort! Props for knowing when to move on. I love the new chairs! I actually admired those this summer at Target! They look like they will be very kid friendly. And since they are faux wicker, no breaking and crumbling!
I’ve had battles like this before. My desk has gone through some hacks and I’m on the verge of throwing in the towel. Our office wall color a disaster. Instead of a nice smokey gray it turned out baby boy blue and for a week I tried to make it work. In the end I cut my loses and repainted it the right color.
holiday says
Can I ask about the rug in the kitchen? I’m just about to pull the trigger on ordering the green version of it for under my kitchen table, but some reviews say it’s super thin and will never lay flat. True? Not true?
On the dining chairs, I have those same ones on my outdoor table, Super comfy.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s super thin, but we used a thick rug pad under it (and an ottoman and a chair to keep it in place). Doesn’t move at all, even with a zoomy toddler and pooch.
xo
s
Karen says
I agree that the new chairs are a big improvement. How is the scale in person? In the pictures, the chairs look a smidgen too big for the table (even though the table is huge). But I assume that may just be the perspective of the photos. I really do love the chairs!
YoungHouseLove says
In person they’re great! It’s a giant table (70″ wide) so pics don’t always capture that!
xo
s
Bunny Hipps says
LOVE THEM!! That looks 1000 times better! Beautiful!
Lindsay @ Me, Ed and Pea says
Looks fantastic!! And fills up the room perfectly.
Teresa @ wherelovemeetslife says
I like the change.. and it’s funny because I have been noticing a shift in the style you guys are gravitating to these days. I am seeing more wood and naturals going on… but still lots of pops of color. I like it!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! I think we went from lots of wood/neutral/natural in our first house to more of a modern/colorful thing here and we’re realizing we love modern/colorful/natural/wood even more, so we’re adding that into the mix again!
xo
s
Mamaw says
LOVE THEM!
Annette says
Perfection! They look so much more comfy and inviting than the old chairs. Also, my 2 1/2 y/o daughter loves Katy Perry too! “I wanna Katy song!!”
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t that funny? Ever since Firework, Clara has been on the Katy train!
xo
s
Tiana says
Those chairs look great…just fell in love with wicker all over again!!!
Lauren says
You are on a chair ROLL! Love theeeeeese
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, thanks Lauren!
xo
s
AJ says
I guess I’m alone, but I hate those chairs! To each their own, I’m sure you’ll rock it with some back cushions eventually. I was still rooting for green parsons chairs! Oh and I miss the blue kitchen stools too, the new ones, yuck. I guess I just have a thing against wood tones. ;)
Carmen says
Great job picking out those chairs! They look soo good with the new bar stools (without being too matchy)!
Are you thinking about a rug under the round table now? I have a similar set up with my dining area, I also have a round table. My question is if you did go for a rug, would you have a round one or a square one? I have been thinking of putting a square one in my space, but so far in my search it’s been easier to find round rugs with a pattern I like. Would a round table with a round rug be too much?
YoungHouseLove says
Eventually we’d love to bring in a rug (although with play-doh and yogurt spills thanks to Clara it wouldn’t work for us right now). As for the shape it’s a really good question. I think I’d tape it off on the floor (a circle and snap a photo and a rectangle/square and snap a photo) – then I’d try to visualize from those photos which one we’d like. A round one definitely wouldn’t be too much I don’t think if you found one you love!
xo
s
Kate says
I think I heard angels sing when I saw that you guys finally decided to scrap those other chairs! These new ones are so much better! Now, since you always do a “budget breakdown”, would you be willing to share how much $$ you sank into those other chairs (between the chairs themselves, slipcovers, dye, paint, spraypaint, etc.) before deciding that they weren’t going to work? Any lessons learned for readers (like better to save your pennies and wait for something you really like, as opposed to putting money into something that’s not exactly what you are looking for?)
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! According to our rough calculations, we spent around $45 per chair on those old chairs (including slipcovers, dye, and spray paint). I wish we had a secret for avoiding mistakes like that, but I truly think if your heart is convinced something will look great (ex: eight parson’s chairs around a table) you just have to go for it to see! A lot of the time whatever we’re excited to do is awesome and we love it, and sometimes it’s not, but the only way to learn that you don’t love it is to give it a try. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Julie says
I don’t know if you guys already know about this, but being the thrifty folks that you are, I have to tell you if you don’t. Have you ever heard of ebates.com? It is a website where you sign up, then go to any of the online stores that you normally shop at, and you get rebates on everything you buy online!!! I shop online for all my Christmas gifts, and since I’m back in grad school, I also buy my textbooks through it. Twice a year I get a rebate check from them. Usually around 3% back on whatever I’ve spent. If you haven’t signed up, you totally should. Not that you have to, but if you use my email address, I get a wee little bonus too. Anyone else want to sign up?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s awesome! I love that site! We are already members.
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
Those chairs look amazing! Your dining room chair adventure is very encouraging, and you definitely won the gold this round!
Gianna B. says
Oh…. My… Goodness…. I love love love it!!!
Perfect choice you guys! Great addition of the natural tones lately, so wonderful. Sigh… I just love everything about your amazing home and family.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Gianna!
xo
s
katiedid says
Bravo! A great look for the space. Although I would prefer the look of real rattan or wicker vs. the outdoor version on the inside of the house, I cannot imagine a more durable option for a growing family. They are a great scale for the room and look so comfortable! Hope you get years of use out of them.
Pam says
LOVE the new chairs – it gives a whole different fabulous look and actually connects that look with your kitchen stools! You did the right thing!
WAHOO! Absolutely FABULOUS!
Beth says
You absolutely nailed it.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Beth!
xo
s
Morgan says
This makes me happy! I love wicker chairs for the dining area. I did the same thing to my dining area last weekend. Got mine from IKEA for $30 a piece. Looks awesome, guys!
http://livingyoungwildfree.wordpress.com/pursuit-of-home-sweet-home/
YoungHouseLove says
Those are so sweet!
xo
s
Anna M says
This is great!! BIG improvement. Why don’t you save the other two and use when you have company and need extra seating?
YoungHouseLove says
We thought about that but we’d have to store them somewhere (and they’re very large) and it would be a tight squeeze to add those two more to the table, so seating for six and selling those two extras works better for us.
xo
s
Lindsey says
painting a plaster wall with plenty of imperfections in a semi high gloss navy blue paint. ugh it shows every ding and dent in the wall. It’s good to know I’m not the only one who makes mistakes!
JoDi says
Wow, these chairs ar so much better! I love how they work with your new wood stools too. Truly awesome!
Everything is trial and error at our house. It’s rare that I feel like I get something right the first time. There’s always some changing and tweaking going on. One thing I’ve gotten better at is choosing the right paint color the FIRST time which is great because I hate painting! ;-)
Erin @ FierceBeagle says
Call me a dork, but I literally gasped when I saw that first pic. Loved the new stools the other day, as well.
There’s just something about a great chair in the right place. Because nothing feels like an itch you can’t scratch than a room where something is just a bit off (except also an itch you can’t scratch).
Bravo!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Erin!
xo
s
Jana says
I’m loving your new chairs! They give the room a bit of a global vibe in my opinion. Nice!
Claudie says
I really love those chairs! The texture they add to the room is wonderful. Unfortunately, I have cats so they would be a no-go for me (at least on the inside of the house). Oh, the furniture I have given up on just to have two furry creatures sharing my house!
I think you made the right choice. They just work in the space, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up changing the fabric on the cushions one day to something equally durable though a bit more snazzy. :)
Kimmy says
I like that when you are looking at the built-ins in your dining room, the ceramic figures on the top shelves in the middle (walkway) looks like a mustache :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- John calls that the mustache too!
xo
s
Meaghan says
I love the new chairs. They make such a huge difference, and like you said, tie in super nicely with your new stools. Bravo!
Cecelia says
John certainly looks cute sitting in them, but I suppose the same would have been true for the others,
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s true! John’s tagline should be “he makes any chair look good.”
xo
s
Steph S. says
These are gorgeous. I love how they play off the new bar stools and the flying duck! So warm and inviting. Congrats for finding ‘the ones.’ I love how they’re laid back and informal. Serious dining rooms aren’t so much the thing anymore.
Laura says
Love the chairs! I have been in search for some on sale patio furniture just like this! I would keep the extra chairs because they aren’t “on sale” anymore ;( they are on sale but for $400 not $249. . . Total bummer too because I was about to order them! Oh well maybe they will go back to the $249 discount and then I can get them! Great find, totally jealous! Enjoy them!
YoungHouseLove says
I hope the discount comes back on!
xo
s
lola says
your shelves are starting to look busy, and junky. you should edit.
Kai says
Congrats on the new chairs! They are proportionally perfect and so, so pretty.
Mary says
I have 6 parsons chairs I bought at Costco Home because they were $40 each. They never really worked here. Thanks for giving me even more justification to just find something new and quit trying to force these.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re welcome and good luck Mary!
xo
s
Mirela says
Much, much, much better! I like that you added a few natural elements to the kitchen and dining room – looks great!
Stacey says
Have you listed these yet? I’m in the richmind area and I’m on the hunt for a toddler friendly/semi comfortable wicker chair for our family room. You probably want to sell them as a set though and I only need one.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’d love to sell them as a set. Will keep you guys posted when we have a listing up!
xo
s
Stacey says
Yes, please do keep us posted because after talking to the hubs I would be interested in the set. We are building a farmhouse table for the patio and he thought they might as the anchor chairs there.
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Will do!
xo
s
Abby says
Looks amazing!
Kim says
Looks great! We have made many, many, mistakes. If you don’t admit defeat, you are just bogged down in the mistake and forced to live with it over and over again like Groundhog day. It’s great to move on! Now you can love your dining room and table!
Katie says
Great find! All your new chairs work so well! Congrats!
Nicole says
Love them! They look great in the room and I’m glad you found something that works for you… crazy that Clara is almost old enough to do homework!
kitarita says
Love your chairs, but boo Target. I’ve been looking for something similar, so I headed over to check out these chairs online, and they’ve raised the price to $399! Yikes! Good for you, not so good for me. :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so crazy! I can’t believe the price went up! I wonder why since they’re outdoor chairs.
xo
s
Chris says
Those are awesome! Great idea to go with the rattan. Congratulations also on finally finding dining room chairs you love!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Chris!
xo
s
lizaanne says
GORGEOUS chairs!!!! Gotta love Target!! I kept reading your post, and jumping up and down (inside) thinking “they can be hosed off!! they can be hosed off!!” – and then you said it!! YAY!!! :-) How nice for dining room chairs to be so low maintenance. That is surely not the norm.
So our recent debacle — we just had our bathroom ripped out to the gums, and rebuilt. It is so amazingly gorgeous (for a tiny 1950s bungalow bathroom anyway). Well, in the course of buying things for the remodel, I found my DREAM SINK on Craigslist – Kohler Memoirs pedestal sink, for only $100. This is a $300+ sink, so I was practically hyperventilating when I called the guy to scream SOLD into the phone. I asked him — is it white? He said, yep, it’s white. Well, I’m thinkin’ I should have called his wife.
We raced out to pick it up, brought it home, and lovingly put it in our enclosed porch, awaiting the day of installation. Then, as I sat one day looking at it on our cream colored rug, I said to my husband, “that’s not exactly white, is it?” :-(
Soooooo – after much wringing of hands and trying to see if I could color wise change my design theme in the bathroom to accommodate a sink that is actually BISCUIT, and not white, we decided to just buy a white version of the DREAM SINK, and call it done.
Now I own two sinks – one installed, one still looking for a home (it’s listed on the Detroit Craigslist if anyone is interested). But in the end, my bathroom is stunning, and I just smile every time I go in there. In spite of it taking two sinks and a bit of drama to get there.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, that stinks! But you were so right about going for your dream sink in the right color!
xo,
s