Remember back when we got our conference room slash hotel-ish parsons chairs on Craiglist for $25 a pop?
We always envisioned cheerful apple green ones (and even tried a crazy chair-painting project with limited zero success) so in the end we admitted that slipcovers or reupholstering would be the way to go.
And after a long a$$ time spent going back and forth between the merits of slipcovers and reupholstering we decided that slipcovers would ultimately be the best choice for us (since we love the idea of tossing them into the wash). But we didn’t want anything fussy and long for fear of taking the dining room from hotel conference room to hotel banquet hall. So first we did some serious slipcover seeking and found a silhouette that we both liked. We landed on a no longer sold Pottery Barn option because we both appreciated the clean-lined mostly-fitted look and the short skirt for that show-me-some-leg effect
But alas, they weren’t the green tone that we wanted and they weren’t the right measurements to fit our chairs. Oh yeah and they weren’t even sold anymore (and when they were they weren’t in our budget anyway). After a bit more digging we came across some off-white ones from World Market with the same basic silhouette and they were a lot closer to our chair’s measurements. Although they didn’t come in a happy apple green color (and instead were off-white) I’m no stranger to dyeing things (like my wedding dress), so I thought it might be fun to give green dye a shot.
But of course being the cheap-o that I am, I hemmed and hawed and didn’t even show them to John at their original $60 for two price tag. I know, I know- $30 per slipcover isn’t a bad price but for some reason I was just too scared to pull the trigger. So that tab remained open on my computer for a while without me taking any action- not even just the show-your-husband-and-see-what-he-thinks kind. Then I got an email from World Market saying that a lot of their dining stuff was on sale. Dining stuff? Does that include slipcovers? Off to that always-open slipcover tab I flew, and hit refresh. Bam, $20 off!
Instead of $60 for two they were marked down to $40 for two (just $20 a pop). Heck, I doubt I could have bought fabric and thread to DIY my own slipcovers for that price (especially if you factor in a laaaaarge margin of error and hours spent screaming into a pillow). And my nightmare was ending up with eight slipcovers that were wonky and abnormal (since repeating the same steps eight times would surely yield some being looser or longer or weirder than others).
Yup, $23 slipcovers definitely sounded like the perfect complement to my $25 chairs. So I did that little tap-your-man-on-the-shoulder-and-tell-him-you-found-something thing and then waited to gauge John’s interest. And he proved that I know him well, but not that well. His response? “We should get ten instead of eight. That way if we have any dyeing issues we have extras on hand and if we don’t need them we can return the extras to the store to avoid shipping fees (World Market is nice like that).”
I’m used to him saying “we don’t need that.” So I can’t argue with a man who wants to buy more of something. Especially such a practical man with such good points about dyeing and returning the extras if we didn’t need ’em. Alrighty then. Ten it was. The total for all 10 slipcovers including shipping and sales tax came out to $232, which made each slipcover just $23 a pop (with a possibility of recouping $40 if we didn’t have any dyeing issues and returned the extra two to the store – for a total of $192 spent).
So we ordered them and waited what felt like forever for them to show up (in reality it was probably around 2 weeks) and then I excitedly unwrapped one to slip it onto our chairs to judge how good the fit actually was…
Talk about a womp-womp moment.
I realized I could probably attempt to tailor them myself to get a better fit, but that’s still waaaaay outside of my beyond-beginner skill set (I know someone will tell me it’s easy and I can do it but I’m all about working up to stuff like that and messing around with idiot proof projects like pillows and runners while I build up my confidence). So instead I decided to take the easy way out and wash one in hot water to see how much it would shrink up. Just as an experiment. Into the wash it went and I waited for the beep to signify that it was time to toss it into the dryer about a half hour later.
As I went to put it into the dryer I decided to check the tag to make sure it was ok to put it on high heat (for maximum shrinkage). That’s when I saw that the tag said “dry clean only.” Whaaaaaat?????? Who the heck sells slipcovers that have to be dry cleaned? Isn’t the whole point of slipcovers to be easy to just toss into the laundry pile?
Perhaps in an act of defiance (or sheer lunacy) I decided to high heat dry it. I had already washed it in hot water so I just went for it. I was hoping it would come out fitting really well and then I’d know that I could continue to machine wash them at home (because dry cleaning slipcovers isn’t an option for someone like me – I mean I can machine wash my sectional’s slipcovers, so why would my dining chairs be allowed to be high maintenance?).
When it came out of the dryer it was all warm and delicious and it didn’t look like the cover for a dollhouse chair or anything so I was semi-enthused. I ran over to one of my chairs and slipped it on. Holy bananas, it was almost a perfect fit. Still a tiny bit loose on the sides, but perfectly fitted nearly everywhere else and the slight imperfection of the semi-loose sides didn’t bother me (we’re down with the casual lived-in look, and actually worried that the dining room would feel too formal, so it was a pretty great place to end up).
This story will probably perpetuate the we’re-perfect-and-nothing-ever-goes-wrong-here-in-YHL-world stereotype (we’re so not – more on that here) but it was one of those “ahhhhhhh” sound effect moments where angels sang and the clouds parted and a beam of heavenly light shined down on the amazing little slipcovered chair. I have no idea why it worked, but I guess it was just one of those crazy risks that paid off. Whatever, I’ll take it. And just because I love a little side by side comparison, here’s a slipcover before I washed it (in hot water and high heat dried it) next to a newly washed and dried version of the same one:
And the great news is that the covers are super thick- so none of that crazy pattern beneath them shows through – even on the chairs in front of the window with the light shining down on them. Whew.
So although I definitely still have plans to dye them apple green down the road, it’s immediately nicer not to have all that crazy hotel pattern going on in there. Although with the white walls it’s all a little… white.
We’re actually thinking that we want to paint the walls before we dye the chairs, just to be 100% sure that once the walls get a soft gray coat of color that we won’t want to keep the off-white covers for some reason. We don’t expect that we will (since they look dingy in comparison to the crisp white trim and built-ins thanks to their off-white coloring), but you know, just in case. If there’s anything that this post demonstrates, it’s that I can take my time when it comes to pulling the trigger (and then I can snap and defy the washing instructions of said item with a devil-may-care attitude while furiously biting my nails the whole time). Lookout world, I’m a wild child.
Pssst- Oh em gee. Who watched Jersey Housewives last night? What do we think about the new girl (Melissa I think) vs. Teresa? Either way, Momma Manzo is always my favorite (I love to watch her & her boys hang out in that kitchen, throwing cold cuts and talking jibberish).
carolinaheartstrings says
What a great deal and wonderful that they conveniently shrunk to size. I don’t like the off white color. Now if they were really a true white with soft gray walls that would look so clean and polished. Off white looks dingy to me somehow.
YoungHouseLove says
Agreed! In person the off-white doesn’t work well with the white trim and the white built-ins, so we’re 99 percent sure that green dye is in our future!
xo,
s
Kay says
And BTW, if those are, in fact, chairs built for restaurants, good for you. They’ll be sturdier than any made-for-home chairs you can get for a reasonable price. You done good. ;-)
Julie B. says
L-O-freaking-L at “it didn’t look like a dollhouse chair or anything”. HA! I have sooo been there!
One of my first married-laundry experience haunts me to this day. I washed my new (his my ‘old husband now, after 10 years:) husband’s very OLD Florida State hat that apparently should never have been washed. The Florida State coach and some player that would matter to someone, had signed it and my washing it, took off the signatures and the entire hat bill. Hubs didn’t love this. Go figure he had the hat since a trip to a game with his dad when he was about 8 years old! Oops!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! I would so do something like that. Haha.
xo,
s
kelly says
I was literally jumping up and down in front of my sofa while watching Jersey Housewives because I was so anxious/shocked/fascinated. These people are CRAZY. I thought Daniele was crazy but this Melissa girl — ooooh, it’s gonna be good!
Mika Anna says
Ahhhmazing, Sherry!
I love happy accidents (like your slipcovers and my daughter, ha!)
I often hand-wash “dry clean only” garments with great success – but I do lay flat to dry.
My husband is from India and when we went over this past winter, we bought my son the perfect (and ornate) traditional suit to wear on his first birthday. Only after the smash cake incident did I notice that it was “dry clean only”!
Mary says
I remember when those chairs were on CL and almost contacted the guy to pick up 2 — kicking myself now! It looks great — can’t wait to see them in apple green w/ gray walls! I love the color choices you guys have been making with this house!
Jen says
I would stop worrying about whether people think you’re perfect or not. It’s also nice to think that some people have it together and can get this stuff done. Your ability to tackle projects makes it seem more approachable. I’m sure things go wrong, but you shouldn’t apologize when they go right.
I wanted to send this as an email, so you can delete this if you wish. :)
Tori says
I’m sure someone will think I’m crazy for suggesting this, but what if you paint the room a bolder color and leave the slip covers as they are? I sort of love that creamy white, and I think they’d look great next to a sage-ier apple green. You guys are painting pros, so it would save you the whole dyeing hassle.
YoungHouseLove says
We just don’t like that the slipcovers are off white but the built ins and trim in the room are white. It makes them look kind of dingy. So we’re 99% sure green dye is the way to go, just because we’ve been thinking about green chairs for months!
xo,
s
Amy W says
I have to say i’m disapointed you went with the off the rack solution to your slipcover problem. I was looking forward to a DIY solution as I have some difficult to fit Parson’s chairs of my own that I’m trying to recover.
Sally says
This is a bizaree comment. You too can buy slipcovers at World Market.
Meghan says
LOVE them! Can’t wait to see what you do with the dye! It’s funny how all your favorite items have “names” :)
Umm RHONJ was outta control. Is it any surprise to anyone that Teresa’s family is crazy and loves to fight? I think one of the interviews (Caroline?) summed it up best when she said Teresa and Melissa are the same person, and if they would just stop fighting they’d probably be friends! Who has heard of a fight at a baptism?! Yeesh!
Reenie says
Oh heck ya…I watched the NJHW ~ LOVE them!! Caroline is my fav too….love to watch her with her kids and hubby. <3 Not sure what to think about Melissa & Kathy….yet! I heard there is LOTS of drama this season ….and if the rest of the season is anything like last nite's episode….. yikes!!! :O
Love the slip covers.
Born And Raised RVA says
I like the white, but I’m really on a white & wood kick right now. I like to play with color in my accessories rather than committing to something perminant. My suggestion: Those slip covers were so affordable and worked out so well, why not die what you have apple green, and should you have a change of taste or want something different every now and again, have a second set in a neutral color that you can play around with. That is the other benefit to slip covers.
threadbndr says
That’s a great idea – a set for ‘formal’ occasions in white, so that the table setting takes center stage and a set in apple green or whatever other color for ‘everyday’. The intense color would dominate and make different colored tablescapes quite difficult, I would think.
Caitlin says
Some people just have all the luck!! The covers look amazing! I think they’ll be lovely with your future grayish walls : )
Diane says
Dry cleaning for slipcovers? Unbelievable. I can only hope that the fool who came up with that idea spills something very messy on their own slipcovers.
Sara S. says
LOVE the slipcovers!
And welcome to New Jersey! I still don’t know what went down at the Christening! Wow. Honestly, I had no idea there could still be so much drama with Danielle gone. It’s fantastic. Caroline and her kids are my fave, too. I’m going to be speaking Cajun for weeks now!
bridget b. says
the dining room looks great! i can’t believe there was that much shrinkage, but it all worked out in the end.
rhonj was off.the.charts! who would have thought that table-flipping Teresa was the calm sibling in the family?
i just felt sorry for the kids seeing the adults in their lives act that crazy! hopefully they can mend the family drama.
Kristina says
I have no idea why, but the first picture of the chair with the too large slip cover had me laughing hysterically at my work desk for about 3 solid mins. Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
Now I’m laughing just picturing that. Haha.
xo,
s
andrea worley says
that is awesome! they fit so well. I love World Market!
Genie says
These are the BEST dyes ever! Vibrant.
http://www.bestdye.com/
Give ’em a call…they are very helpful. The bright green might be what you are looking for, and you can adjust the color depending on how much dye you use. Good luck! (We use these dyes to tie dye…sooo much fun!)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Zoua says
This link popped up on your blog– slipcovers a little over $10/each! http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Smooth-Suede-Shorty-Dining-Room-Chair-Covers-Set-of-2/3482046/product.html?track=DSPBY&cid=205311&fp=F
YoungHouseLove says
Those are a bit too dark to dye for us – but for anyone looking for a deal they’re great!
xo,
s
Erika says
The slipcovers look really good and I agree that you should paint before dyeing. Just to be sure.
As for the NJ Wives, I agree that the Manzo’s are fun to watch because they seem to get along pretty well. Teresa’s sister-in-law has some serious jealousy issues along with her husband. That was the craziest thing to see the family fighting at…wait for it…a CHRISTENING!!???????!!!
Mamma Mia!
Andrea says
Well, hooray! and cotton and linen… perfect. Comfortable, lasts forever, and can definitely take some abuse (as other commenters have mentioned). You hit the jackpot!
threadbndr says
You may have told us, but I don’t remember. Are you putting a rug under the dining area? If so, I’d wait on final color choices until the rug choice is final.
I’m in the middle of a bedroom redo, and all the colors are based on a wonderful antique rug that I inherited from my mom.
YoungHouseLove says
We’re actually thinking of adding a rug into the entry area near the door to define that zone and balance out the rug across the room in the office- so we’re planning to leave the dining table rugless at least for now.
xo,
s
Bethany Annechino says
My secret boyfriend Nate Berkus would agree with leaving the table rugless. He thinks they are a terrible idea for catching any stuff that falls off the table and it makes it odd to slide your chair around. I’m a bit torn because I’ve seen it look SO CUTE, but he is right about the inconvenience and maintenance involved with keeping them clean. If you define those areas more, and have the texture of the fabric slipcovers, I think you’d be a-okay without a rug there. If you did decide to get one, perhaps you’d consider a polypropylene indoor/outdoor sort as they are easy to clean and very thin so chair feet wouldn’t get stuck.
threadbndr says
The comment from Nate makes good sense to me, come to think of it – especially with kids. I may use a canvas “floor cloth” in my dining room someday. I’ve been sort of casually researching how to make one.
Maggie says
I can’t wait to see them in apple green – so much more fun and current. Off white feels too safe for you guys – and might make them “too special” to be used all the time. Plus….I want to see a DIY on dyeing things – I chicken out for fear that the dye won’t take evenly, etc, etc. GO FOR THE GREEN!
Jamie B. says
Oh, when you said slipcovers I got that wrinkled-nose look on my face, I was picturing something much uglier, lol. I should have known your taste is so much better than that! The fitted look is really nice, just as good as upolstered.
bethanyf says
Oooo, love them in off-white!
Jessica says
Once you paint the walls, you should take pics and then photoshop the chairs so they are that apple green color you’ve been eyeing up. That way you can compare/contract the white vs green without having to do any dyeing first! Photoshop works wonders in situations like this….lol!
YoungHouseLove says
We always love playing with Photoshop so it’s a total possibility!
xo,
s
Brittany says
Love the slip covers!
Glad your wash and dry story came to a happy ending. We bought World Market White Canvas drapes for our house. Well, one day I thought, “I should wash these…” After I pulled them out of the dryer, I noticed the “dry clean only” tag! Yeah, they are now about 4 inches shorter! My curtains now look like waders! What is even odder, I bought a set of silk curtains also from World Market, but they are machine washable… go figure!
Jen @ Domesticated Nomad says
Important things first, I do not like the new housewife. But I’m not fond of the brother himself either at this point. I only got to watch the first half though because I had to switch over and watch Castle. Love Castle more.
Now that that’s out of the way, :) please, please, super please dye those slipcovers apple green! I mean if you want to. It seems most comments say to leave them, but apple green is so fun. Anybody can have white – you guys are more interesting than that. Go for it! It will be awesome. :)
Allison says
Please don’t dye those slipcovers green! They look SO good white. A crisp, clean look.
YoungHouseLove says
If only they were really white. They’re listed as off-white and they definitely are (so they look dingy compared to our white trim and white built-ins). And we’ve been dreaming about green chairs for months so we’re 99% sold on the dye idea!
xo,
s
Azure says
Have you checked the return policy at World Market? If you wait too long to try dying them, you might not be able to return the extra set.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, that’s true. But we’re leaning more towards keeping them as “insurance” in case someone takes a marker or a scissors to them someday (and by someone, I mean that wiley little Clara or a future child of ours). That $40 might be worth the peace of mind that we have some back-ups. Haha.
xo,
s
Jill says
Have you thought about using one of the leftover slipcovers on the chair in the den? I think I remember you saying that you may make a slipcover for that chair. Perhaps stencil a geometric shape on the plain slip cover in honor of your next child’s namesake! haha
On the Bravo bandwagon…. I know you are a huge Bethenny fan (as am I) … Did you see Kelly’s response when they asked her if she was jealous of Bethenny’s fortune with skinny girl?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man I didn’t see her response. Tellll meeee all about it! As for using one of the two extra covers on the chair in the den, that’s definitely an option!
xo
s
kristen says
Did you guys see the entryway episode of Sarah’s House when she was working on the backsplit house? She put up a beautiful floating glass and chrome panel beside the front door to separate the entryway from the rest of the room because it was so open…
Not sure if that’s the style you’re going for, but you mentioned you want to separate the front door area from the rest of the room with a run or furniture, so I wanted to make sure you’ve seen this.
Here’s a picture of the panel: http://www.hgtv.ca/blog/photos/sarashouse/images/57477/original.aspx
…and here’s a summary of the episode: http://www.hgtv.ca/sarahshouse/tips.aspx?sectionid=61&postid=57479
YoungHouseLove says
Sarah is a genius. I love everything she does! Thanks for the links!
xo,
s
SJ says
Weird, but true: The original chair fabric is the exact same fabric as the all of chairs on the hospital floor that I work on. Some chairs are in other colors, like creams or reds, but a lot of them are that blue-yellow-green pattern. So glad you don’t have to look at that fabric every day anymore, even if I still do!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! Hope they don’t haunt your dreams like they used to do to mine! At least you didn’t live with them. Haha.
xo,
s
Kristin says
I love the chairs, and I will definitely use this tip in the future. Slipcovers always look way too loose for my taste, so I tend to stay away from them. Dry cleaning be gone!
Allison says
Holey mackerel, awesome shrinkage serindipity. I was scrolling with bated breath for each reveal photo. I LOVE when things work out like that- they look great!!
Ali says
Perfect! I probably would have done the same thing with the slipcovers and also not noticed that they were dry clean. But they look great! Interested to see what they look like against painted walls.
Carrie says
I wash dry clean only stuff all the time. Cold water, delicate cycle, air dry. I am a rebel like that. :)
Erica says
I, too, would worry about variations in the dye. How about a stencil? Then the differences would be “character” intsead of one chair potentially being off.
YoungHouseLove says
We’re pretty sure we want a solid color on the chairs and a pattern on the curtains. But who knows where we’ll end up!
xo,
s
Jessica F. says
Well hot diggy dog it worked! Guess Mom was right when she said read the label before washing :) Fantastic!
Janette@The2Seasons says
My two cents – Have you thought about making an apple green pillow to lean against each chair? I like the white and think the pillow would give the pop of color you want without sacrificing the classiness of the white/neutral.
YoungHouseLove says
Pillows at the dining table have never really been my thing (don’t people toss them on the floor?) and since we don’t like the off-white-ness of the chair covers (since they look dingy against our clean white trim and built-ins) we think dye is the right answer for us. Who knows where we’ll end up though!
xo,
s
Charlotte says
Hi! Nice work with the slipcovers, and I cannot believe the knowledge out there on DCO fabrics! I notice there are still only 7 chairs in the photo–have you tried the slipcover on the painted chair? Does it still feel crunchy thru the slipcover fabric? I was kind of worrying about that for you (insane, I know…)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah it works just as well on the painted chair – no crunchiness or anything. That extra chair just sits fully slipcovered in our playroom full of stuff since I prefer the everyday look of seven chairs (eight fit, they just feel a bit “look at all those chairs!” so I figure we’ll break that one out when we entertain large groups and need it).
xo,
s
Alex says
Oh the slip covers look amazing, I can’t believe you were able to shrink them to an exact fit! I’m thinking you should keep the extra ones and dye them all, because if something happens to one of the other slipcovers – like major spillage or tear that can’t be repaired or clean, you have your extra’s on hand to instantly replace them or what if you don’t have time to clean it before a dinner party? Plus you wouldn’t want to go through the whole dying process again later down the line when you need a replacement.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah the more I think about it, 40 bucks is worth the insurance of two back up covers. Haha.
xo,
s
kat says
Beautiful job! Love the chairs now!
Amber says
Wow. Lucky the shrinking worked out so well! You could always try draping apple green fabric/napkins/scarves over the backs of the chairs, keeping the white fabric. That way you’d be free to change it up from time to time. But it’d have to be child proof, of course.
Susan says
Did you get them online? They usually have a $10 off $30 coupon out there….great choice with the washable factor as I have kids and bought black chairs for our used Restoration Hardware farm table and with 3 kids I’m always wiping the food and smudges off – ugh
YoungHouseLove says
Yup got them online and searched for coupons on top of the sale but couldn’t find them (other than ordering them through ebates for some cash back).
xo,
s
Shannon says
Nicely done! Can’t wait to see the adventures of apple green.
justy says
Love a happy ending- glad it worked out and you can wash& dry them from now on too.
As to “Housewives,” the brother & wife make Joe & Theresa look like a saints. And that crazy lady who ran over a bunch of people in the Hamptons ( on purpose ) made an appearance! Hope she’s not going to be a regular- talk about hard on the eyes.
Katie says
I can’t really tell how loose the top part of the washed covers are, but I bet it would be pretty simple to take the fabric in a bit to make it fit better. :)
Lauren | Myers Maison says
Wow, those slip covers look great! It’s crazy how they shrunk to pretty much the right size that you needed them to be!
I really like the white especially because of the contrast with the table.