Dining Chair Makeover Ideas

Remember these groovy cane-back dining chairs that I scored on Craigslist?

I love the chair, but that upholstery is HIDEOUS.  It looks worse in person.  It's a wide-wale gold corduroy.  I bought the chairs with every intention of reupholstering them immediately, but then I couldn't make up my mind what to do with them, so I haven't done anything with them yet.

Paint them black?  White?  A bright color? Leave them wood?  Upholster with a solid color, a print, stripes, something else?  So many choices.

But my mom, who is awesome and knows that I need help starting a project sometimes, has demanded that I set a day for us to start painting the stupid chairs.  This means I have to make a decision.

To help my indecisiveness, I googled "cane back chair" for some inspiration, and was amazed to find a number of similar chairs.  Take a look at some of the goodies I found.

Some black options:

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The white chair with the dark table is nice, bright and airy.  I feel like I'm being attacked by that giant ball light fixture, though.

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God help me, I'd never paint anything this color or pair it with leopard print, but I entertained the idea of a bright color.  And then stopped entertaining it.

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These bad boys are no longer available on One King's Lane, but they were vintage, gilded, and carved, so I'm sure they fetched a pretty penny.

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This guy retails for $1,025.  That is literally $1000 per chair more than I paid for mine.  But I like the look of this chair - that dark glossy paint with the animal-inspired print.  We have a winner.

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So I made a decision.  I'm going to paint the chairs a high gloss black and use this fabric on the seats.  I ordered a swatch of it several months ago when I was thinking about reupholstering some other chairs that I've since decided to sell (with zero success so far).  I love it - it's apparently 100% cotton, but it has a bit of a sheen and a really tight weave that I think will make it work well in the dining room (i.e., it's wipe-able and won't catch crumbs like the current fabric does).

Want a good laugh?  Here is my unsuccessful attempt at superimposing this pattern onto the chair without Photoshop.  But you can see where I'm going with this.  Imagine the chair is black.  The feet will stay brass, though, because I love them.

We may start painting the chairs this weekend, so I hope to have an update soon.

Champagne Tastes/Beer Budget: Dining Room Part II

As I posted about yesterday,  I have expensive tastes, but a tight budget.  This necessitates either 1. thrifting, Craigslisting, and/or garage sale-ing to find awesome pieces or 2. purchasing knock-off versions or 3. purchasing knock-off versions via thrifting, Craigslisting, and/or garage sale-ing.  Options 1 and 3 are great, but require a lot of time and patience, which is fine if you have them.

I seldom have either, although I'll admit I scour Craigslist daily for cool stuff.

I also love scouring the blog "Copycat Chic," which routinely posts outrageously expensive designer home goods and furniture along with more reasonably priced knock-offs.  I use "reasonably" loosely, because some pieces are still cost-prohibitive for me, but it's still fun to look!  Check it out!

But anyway, here's a roundup of knock-offs for the pieces I admitted yesterday that I covet for the dining room (with one exception).  I was able to find most of these through diligent internet searches, and of course, through my undying love for IKEA.

It doesn't have a marble top, or that glossy base, but the shape of the Docksta is still pretty cool.  I'm getting one from a Craigslist seller today.  I plan to paint it a glossy black, which will work better with my existing chairs and buffet.  Like this one.  Sassy, right?

Find the white Saarinen table here
Find the black knock-off here.
Find the Docksta table here 

It's not exactly a knock-off, but the new IKEA Stockholm chandelier captures the spirit of the classic Sputnik chandelier.  I saw it in the new catalog and said, out loud to myself, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! and squealed a little bit with excitement.

I bought a chandelier for the dining room back in December, but I haven't hung it yet.  I might use it in another room, but I probably should stick to the plan to use it in the dining room.  It is rather lovely, but it's not as dramatic as either of the two above.

Maybe I can use the Stockholm chandelier in my bedroom, which currently has the ugliest light fixture ever.

Find the Jonathan Adler here
Find the IKEA here

I barely see a difference, do you?  The original is more transparent, according to the picture, but I don't care.  And it's not like anyone I know would look at that chair and say..."Is that the original or the knock-off?"  because they don't care either.

The real question is - are the darn things comfortable?  I can make cushions with some of that Schumacher Pearl River fabric I recently bought on eBay.  That'll do the trick, right?  Like in this photo:

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Hey, check out that groovy table!

Find the Louis version here
Find the Bizchair version here

Now we come to this guy:

I searched and I searched, but alas, there is not currently a viable knock-off.  Apparently, Pier 1 used to carry one a few years back, but I missed the boat on that one.

Sorry, I know this is the second "Y U NO" meme I've used this week.  I have a thing for idiotic memes.  You should see the Grumpy Cat memes we send to each other at work, but you wouldn't think they were funny, so I won't make you see them.

Find the Jonathan Adler version here.

I kind of like the shape of this chair from IKEA (also new!), which weds the rounded back and arms of the ghost chair with the glossy black bamboo-y look and structural interest of the Chippendale chair.  It would also benefit from some round cushions for the seat. At $99 a chair, it's pricier than the knock-off ghost chair, but WAY less than my beloved Chippendale bamboo chair.

So, there you go!  There is hope for my overcrowded dining room after all!

Champagne Tastes/Beer Budget: Dining Room Part I

I realized that I have expensive tastes.  But I have a somewhat tight budget.

But I want a beautiful house.  Lately, the dining room is my focus.  So, here's a rundown of things I'd snatch up for the dining room in a quick second if I had an unlimited budget.

Come with me on my little trip to dreamland, won't you?

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How about this beautiful, classic tulip table as my dining table?  Totally attainable.

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And this Jonathan Adler Sputnik chandelier over the table?  Sure, I've got the funds for this! 

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Here are some chair options I can just go ahead and pick up this weekend!

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If I got this guy in white, I'd be rollin' hard like the Golden Girls!  I've always envied those chairs (this blogger agrees).

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Okay that's the end of that little journey to Delusionville.

The truth is, although these pieces are beautiful and classic, even if I could afford them, I'm not sure my conscience would allow it!  If I really want them, I will need to look for knock-offs or second-hand versions, which requires scouring Craigslist and antique stores and garage sales.  The challenge is that I live in an area where good taste is a rare commodity and cool pieces are even rarer.  I'm always surprised when I find something amazing at a local store, or even something that can be made over into something amazing with a little imagination.  But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna look!

Update:  Since I posted this, I realized that there are viable knock-off versions of most of these things, and I'll post about them tomorrow!

Just for funsies, here are some inspiration dining rooms featuring one or more of these pieces.

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I do have big plans for the dining room though, which I hope to enact rather soon.  Also, the living room is THISCLOSE to being done, so I'm hoping to get photos up soon.