Well, we can check cheerful desk chairs off of our wish list for the office.
You can read all about how I prepped, primed, & painted them here. And now for the quick upholstery deets.
I had some leftover fabric from the dining room curtains on hand so I laid it over the detached seats and centered one of the grellow thingies (that’s a technical term) and trimmed the fabric around the cushion, leaving enough that I could easily pull and staple to the backside. Update: Here’s an affiliate link to the same fabric on amazon for anyone looking for it.
Making sure it was staying centered, I carefully turned it over and shot four staples into it while pulling it nice and tight (I have a basic manual staple gun for around $20 from Home Depot). Those staples went in at noon, three o’clock, six o’clock, and nine o’clock.
That way I could flip it back over and ensure things still looked straight and that the fabric was pulled tight enough (if it wasn’t, it would just be four staples to pop out instead of a dozen). After confirming the pattern still looked nice and straight from the front, I flipped it back over and spaced out about six staples per side (while pulling the fabric tight along the way).
When it came to the corners, I just treat those like wrapping a present. It’s hard to describe in words that don’t make it sound like a super complicated ten step process (it’s not) but I basically just fold the fabric into little triangles like the side of a present and staple them until they look good from the front. The front is all that matters – so the back can look all weird like this:
As long as you turn it over and things look great, you’re golden.
So I just did the same thing with the next cushion (lining up the grellow thingies in the same way so it would look like Cushion #1’s twin). About 30 staples later that cushion was done too.
The entire upholstery project probably took me thirty minutes from start to finish. Maybe 45 because I kept pausing to watch Housewives of Beverly Hills. Oh and the reason I just went over the fabric that was there was because we didn’t have any cushion/fabric related issues (other than the fact that we didn’t like the fabric). So it wasn’t like we had odor problems or a flat lifeless cushion to deal with (which would have involved removing the fabric and the cushion and getting new foam from a place like JoAnn Fabric).
Then of course the hard part was waiting for my spray painted chairs to fully cure so they were nice and hard and ready for every day use abuse. I gave them two sunny days outside (which also helps speed up off-gassing since spray paint can be stinky until it’s fully cured)…
… and a third day in the sunroom (with the windows cracked and the fan going to continue to allow them to completely dry before bringing them inside). Then late last night I danced a giddy little chair-time jig and slipped the newly dressed cushions onto those so-fresh-and-so-green chairs (securing them with the same four screws that I removed from the underside to free them here). The result was nothing short of magic. But the cool kind involving levitation and mind-reading. Nothing weird like a bad card trick or a double sided quarter.
This photo’s coloring is probably the most true to life (below). They look so great with the white cabinets and the dark wood counters.
Yeah, we’re kind of obsessed. We love how the more intense greeny-yellow in the chairs’ paint & fabric relates to the soft pop of color in the stencil. Instead of taking away or competing with the stencil, they just seem to bring out the grellow pop on the wall- so they enhance/add to it (if that makes sense). Although I’m not sure how well it’ll come across in pics (colors seem to vary by monitor). In person the pairing is pretty darn amazing.
Since the stencil is so subtle and the chairs are so bold, they sort of layer in together – so it’s not chaotic and weird (which would probably happen if the stencil were more high contrast or the chairs were more washed out). The key is to keep things at different levels (ex: bold pillows on a more subtle tone on tone rug or sofa). Since if everything textile, accessory, and furnishing were fighting to be the star it might get kinda… Lady Gaga. Not that there’s anything wrong with that if it’s what you’re going for.
The best view of all is through the dining room. Me-ow. And I love that the table runner is easily switched if I feel like cutting the green… but for now I dig it. Can’t wait to add some large scale art above each chair for some much needed height in the office (but nothing too crazy to compete with the chair + stencil combo).
But now, back to the close ups.
Our office just got a whole lot happier. And we did too. Picture me serving up a nice cheesy grin.
These $35 secondhand babies have certainly come a long way. Here they are right after we bought them from a local secondhand store:
And since we already had the fabric on hand, our makeover total was just $18 (the cost of three cans of Ivy Leaf spray paint from Michael’s). But if you wanted to add the initial cost of the chairs ($35 a pop) and the fabric ($12.99 for a yard, which was all I needed for both seats) it comes to a nice even $50 (and fifty cents) per chair. Which makes me all sorts of hyper since similar chairs (like these and these) are in the $200-$250 range. And don’t look now, but this guy is $694 on ebay. Woah nellie.
Oh and just to keep it random, I snapped another pic of the stencil. Because it makes me happy, and it’s so hard to capture. Elusive little guy. Of course the pop of color looks yellow in this pic, but it’s a lighter shade of the chair in real life.
Have you painted or upholstered any chairs of late? Do you have extra fabric laying around that you’re itching to use? Do you have the same magic hierarchy as I do (with levitation and mind reading at the top and bad card tricks and double sided coin gags at the bottom)?
Psst- Check out the first half of this chair makeover here.
Psssst- We just announced this week’s giveaway winners. Click here to see if you’re one of them.
ruthy says
I keep forgetting how simply you can change something with spray paint. I’m totally inspired…gonna go thrifting this weekend to see what I can dig up and update!!
Lauryn says
looks great sherry!! did you guys finally decide those other lamps had to go?
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, we returned them. We loved them but not on the desk and we didn’t have another place for them!
xo,
s
Kelly Dyer says
My daughter just walked over, pointed to the chairs and said “Pretty!” The chairs have gotten the 3-year old seal of approval. (Not a lot does!) I also think they are beautiful and so cheery!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha – well, mission accomplished! Gotta aim high! Haha.
xo,
s
Naomi says
Uh, I do believe those are new lamps!!! I need to know where they come from cause I’ll be there in 10 minutes….(please don’t say Home Goods, please don’t say Home Goods – we don’t have one). They are GORG!
LOVE the chairs…they are awesome!
YoungHouseLove says
Those are actually just borrowed from the living room console table (originally from HomeGoods). Sorry you don’t have one!
xo,
s
Kelly says
I agree with Sarah. Perhaps in different lighting it would look good. I also see how the two room colors harmonize together.
Kate says
I have some (free from the move out weekend free pile when we moved out of our apartment) chairs waiting for me in the basement. I spraypainted them black a couple of week ago and now I need to recover the seats. They are all ready to go, I just need to grab some more staples for my staple gun.
Lisa says
Love ’em! I was wondering if you guys put those little felt pads on the bottom of your chairs to protect the floor? I fidget too much, so I’d probably scratch up wood floors without felt pads or casters.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we always use those little felt pads from Home Depot.
xo,
s
Peggy says
Love, love, love rattan! Couldn’t be perfecter!!
miriam says
I love how the chairs turned out! The chair color and the fabric colors look a little clashy on my monitor here at work, but I’m sure they look great in person (serves me right for reading at work, haha).
I have a little bench that needs reupholstering, but first I have to decide whether to try Restor-a-finish on the legs or just paint them!
Reenie says
LOVE em =)
tjack432 says
That greenish/yellowish color is definitely not for me. But the chairs turned out really nicely. I would like to try this with maybe a deep or bright orange chair with dark cushions!
Shannon says
Looks awesome. Y’all are helping me be more brave with color! I didn’t read all of the comments, so someone may have suggested it, but furniture sliders might be a better idea than casters, which I think can be a little dangerous. Of course, my family calls me Grace. :) Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Waxman-4701395N-Furniture-Sliders-Oatmeal/dp/B000PBA8E2
YoungHouseLove says
Hah- oh yeah we already have sliders on them (and all our other chairs in the house). Wood floors = love those!
xo,
s
Mandy says
If you insist on posting one more single pic of that stencil work, you are going to twist my arm into doing my dining room! I love that you guys are taking more risks with color (I’m color-phobic, so you give me hope!). It’s paying off in a BIG way! Love!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, sorry to twist your arm! But stenciling your dining room might be your favorite thing ever! Once it’s done- not during! Haha.
xo,
s
Clare says
They look awesome!
britt@knewlywifed says
Love the chairs! The fabric really makes them pop!
Ashley says
GIRL… that is one SWANKY lookin’ chair. I love it! It looks fab too with the amazing stenciling you did for the office.
On a side note, my besties watched the Blogiversary video and they couldn’t get over how much we are a like (even the way we talk and have giggling fits). I am sure you hear it all the time BUT I, too, dream about Beyonce. *sigh*
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- you’re my blogiversary video bestie!
xo,
s
Melanie @ Mailbox Journey says
You should definitely put in some french doors, frost them so you can’t see the office from the dining room, and paint those chairs teal! :) I’m totally kidding. It’s your office, your paint preference. Maybe I’m stuck on teal because I secretly want a teal office chair, for my non-existent office. :P
Keep on, keeping on.
Sarah says
I love the chairs. Not sure I like them in the room – I’m so sad to say. Ever since the decision was made to go with 4 cabs instead of 6, the space for the chairs opened a lot and I feel like the chairs aren’t visually big enough to fill the void since the backs are so open. It could be that I’m only seeing the pics and it could look totally different in person. I would have gone with a fuller chair to fill the space (totally a personal preference). But, I think this look is a giant improvement and the best part about it is that it’s YOUR house and YOU love it.
Heather W says
LOVE THE OUTCOME!!! Can’t wait to see what you do next!
Kelsey says
They look amazing! I love that you used the curtain fabric.
If you have time, I’d love to see a panned out picture of the whole office to see how it looks as a package :)
– Kelsey
http://www.seekelseydo.blogspot.com
Ilana says
I love the chairs, but agree with other posters that the table runner should be changed out so it’s not too matchy with the chairs. (and the color of the chairs is more important). I love the dining room/office area of your house. It will also look great tied in the the yellow kitchen when that door opens.
Meagan says
I love how the chairs make the grellow in the stencil stand out. So pretty!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! That’s what they do in person. They sort of complement the pop of grellow in the stencil- so they don’t take away from it, they seem to enhance/add to it! It definitely seems to vary by monitor though (when it comes to people being able to pick up on that).
xo,
s
Tara Stam says
I would veto casters on hard wood because then you would need to add those ugly plastic mats or find a rug with cutouts for the desk lol.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, we wondered if they would hurt the floor too- we have felt sliders right now so they’re easy to slide in and out!
xo,
s
angela i says
Nice! I just noticed how the blue in that fabric really shines being next to the new chair color.
ps. Not in love w/ the green on green action of dining table centerpiece ~ imho of course.. I’d bring in one of the other colors from the bookcase display, like simply adding it to the reverse side of the runner ~ *options*
Loves me some reversible, double/triple/quad/.. duty stuff.
Cheers to you two four lovlies!
shereen says
Love the chairs, great job! I have my eye on a few chairs on kijiji that would for sure need a makeover, but I am afraid to tackle a real upholstery job! During your pinterest challenge this summer my Mom and I tackled making cushions for a sofa (see here: http://bajmahal-design.blogspot.com/2011/08/pinterest-challenge-2011.html), but my Moms did the sewing and I just supervised. Maybe I will work up some courage and buy a staple gun….
Sue says
Love this! Can’t wait to get into my new house and do the same! Love the colors, love the chairs, love the tie in to the dining room. have put new fabric on chair seats many times since it’s an easy change, but have not painted the chair frames before. Can’t wait to try it!
Bob says
The test I would love to see about these chairs is to put them in Goodwill at about $20/each and see how quickly they are purchased. Sorry to say, I think they’d sit in the store for a long, long time.
The stencil, on the other hand, came out great. Nice work on that.
Amy @ this DIY life says
I love how the runner on the table in the dining room makes this flow perfectly to the chairs. Y’all are so clever :)
Amy says
These look SO great! Good job!
Cherri T. says
So cheerful. I can see why they make you smile. That green is one of my favorites for accents.
Brittany says
I love this transformation! What happy little chairs! Everything is coming together so nicely. Looking in from the dining room is perfection. Everyting goes together but isn’t matchy-matchy at all. Can’t wait to see the rest of the projects you guys tackle!!
Jenna says
Long-time “lurker”, first-time commenter here. =) I’m moving into my first house at the end of the month, and you two have provided endless inspiration for the kind of projects I can do to truly make it home!
LOVE the new office chairs. I’ve been “itching” to do a spraypaint/reupholster redo on some dining chairs, and you have officially inspired me.
I was wondering what you guys have to say on the subject of office ergonomics. In the last six months, I have started working from home, and I’ve discovered that an ergonomic setup is extremely important when you spend 8 hours at your computer desk every day! I was just wondering if you have any hints or tricks for making your setup comfortable for those long hours at the desk. You sure have figured out how to make it beautiful! =)
YoungHouseLove says
We are total stickler for comfortable supportive chairs since we spend so much time at our desks. These chairs were originally purchased for the sunroom but once we sat in them we were so smitten we wanted them in the office! They’re super comfy and the arm rest (like most desk chairs have) are such a bonus! I would just recommend only working in chairs that you find comfortable and if your back hurts after a long day at your desk it might be time for a lumbar pillow or another chair!
xo,
s
Maggie Rose says
I forgot you only paid $35 for them! What a deal. They look so much more cheerful now! Still loving the ikat fabric you chose.
Natalie says
The chairs look great! I painted some hand-me-down dining chairs a very similar color a few months ago, and I LOVE them. I feel so stylish now! ;-)
Jess@atasteofconfidence says
Wow those are gorgeous, I love them!
Meg Smith says
S & J – Love them! Like sheer joy is chair! And great too from the dining room!
Cindy says
I am so jealous! I have been looking for this style of chair fo my daughters desk for months now, with no luck.
Your chairs look amazing, which only mekes me more determined to find one.
joyjoy says
Okay, I’m going be to honest. When I saw the spray painting yesterday, I thought, “Wow, that is one bright chair.” When I saw the first finished shot in this post, I thought, “Wow, that is one bright chair.” Then I saw the pulled back shot from your dining room and thought, “That looks SO good!”
By themselves, I guess the chairs aren’t really my taste, but I can see how they work so well with your overall design. I like how the color of the chairs plays off of the accent in your wall stencil, too. The stenciled walls still bring a smile to my face. :-)
Kati H says
I love how the brown in the chair pattern ties in with the brown top of the desk- which you guys must be loving! Something that I’m struggling with: Paper! Mail, mail, mail, mail, newspapers, school papers, info flyers- what do you do with all of your paper stuff?
YoungHouseLove says
We just try to go through it as it comes in. RSVPing and paying bills when they arrive and shredding/recycling things we don’t need.
xo,
s
Kelly says
Chairs look great- love the fabric with the green base. I took some fabric and covered the top of my coffee table recently to make an ottoman. Super easy project.
~Kelly
http://www.simplykellyblog.com/2011/09/ikea-hacked-coffee-tableottoman.html
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! Love that fabric!
xo,
s
Larissa says
WOOOT! Love them, love the room, lots of love all around! It makes me happy to know that you have a happy place to work. You guys spend so much time giving to your readers. I’m glad you have a beautiful room to work in! I bet your posts will be even more perky now. (As if that’s possible:)
Kate says
Am I the only one who remembers that you originally wanted green chairs in the dining room? And now you have them! (One room over).
Hubby and I just moved into a new apartment in Brooklyn, and with each decorating decision, I keep saying “the young house lovers say….” Not normal.
YoungHouseLove says
HAHA IT’S TRUE! I got my green chairs.
xo,
s
Mika Anna says
Looking great, lady.
I used the same colour spray paint for my daughter’s vintage frame cork-board (trendy, I know … but she loves it).
Now I’m looking for more things to ‘Ivy Leaf’ …
Dianne says
They look fantastic! The color draws your eye from the dining room into the office. WELL DONE (again)!
Liz says
I’m surprised, I love this color green and the other colors you have in the room but I don’t get any kind of cohesive feeling from any of it. I think for me, it gets to be too much and my eye can’t appreciate anything. I think a few less colors would make things stand out and look awesome, to me it’s just kind of turning into a circus mish mash now. Unless that’s the look you’re going for, LOL. This wasn’t meant to be snarky, I truly love the colors you have. But its your house so you can do what you want!
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! We’re going for something happy and bright and in person we love it! From the dining room and from our seats in the office and everywhere in between. It might be how things read on your monitor (colors and intensities definitely vary) or it might just be personal preference! We definitely don’t feel like it’s a circus (with soft gray walls and wood floors and a wood desk- the only real brightness is coming from the chairs since the rest of the room is so subdued – remember the stencil is very very subtle in person)! But again, bold chairs definitely aren’t for everyone, so we just go with what makes us smile!
xo,
s
kelsey says
they look great! i saw a divine design yesterday that made me think of you guys! she did a half way house type place or something, but the dining room had a huge round table and that green chartrus-y color vinyl chairs and the dark teal wall! it looked great! (but i am sure like all of her stuff those chairs weren’t a bargain find on cragslist!)
Lauryn says
Cool. I really love the metallic of the ones you have on there now! From the living room, I think? Anyway, love the chair redo!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, those are borrowed from the console in the living room (originally from Home Goods). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Anne G. says
I’m with Sarah. I love the wall stencil, and I love the chairs. I love that you guys aren’t afraid to be bold and use color. I will admit that I would not have used the green because I think it does compete with your beautiful stencil. I would want the stencil to be in the foreground of the room by keeping everything else more neutral (except for maybe a few more pops of grellow here and there). But, that is what’s so great about your blog. You try things that I would never do, and that pushes me to think outside the box. An example: My husband and I just bought a bright yellow (mustard) french country buffet. It is now the star of the room and we are having to design everything around it, even getting rid of our old dining room table. But, we LOVE it so much. It never would have even caught my eye a year ago before I was reading your blog. So, thanks! :)
Donna says
NICE work!!! Looks professional. That fabric is so gorgeous! This really makes the grellow parts of the wall stencil pop.
Laurie says
You are gooooood!!!!! I love the view from the other room.