Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Apology, Solution, and Round 2 "Kid Proof" Chairs


So I had these disastrous looking chairs.  Disastrous because upholstered dining chairs and toddles go together about as well as Tweety Bird and Sylvester.


Now comes my apology.

 I have this big, huge, scary confession to make.  A summer or two ago (time just all runs together once you get into your thirties) I recovered my kitchen chairs with some vinyl flannel-back fabric.  I thought it was the greatest idea on the planet since now I wouldn't keep getting gray hairs every time my kids dumped the gravy boat.  It would just wipe right off!  Apparently everyone else thought it was a great idea too and it lit up Pinterest.  Ever done what you thought was a swell idea from Pinterest only to have it be an epic fail?  Yeah wellllllllll..... sorry folks. 
*Cringe*.
  I may have been someone's reason for one of those flops.  
You see, fabric on chairs needs to "give".  It needs to "breath".  And since vinyl does NOT....

this eventually happens:

(They were so pretty when they were newly redone, were they not?)


So my brilliant mother came up with an idea to make them breath.
One of those, "DUH, why didn't I think of that?" 
 If the "fabric" doesn't have any give, then
 give it some "GIVE"!!

So a few weeks ago I strolled into our Dollar General and low and behold, this vinyl tablecloth was on the clearance table.  Totally my colors!


I set about reupholstering them with my staple gun,
 same method as before:


NOW COMES THE SOLUTION!

Take a pin, and poke holes - lots of holes - so that instead of the seat cover splitting and scaring the whole family with a massive "POP" when Daddy plops down for supper, air will quietly escape through the holes and walla-walla-bing-bang!  Problem solved!  I think......  So far it's held up anyway!  (Just be sure to do it on a dark color, so the holes aren't noticeable). 


 Fingers are crossed....  
I should hate to be the cause of any more pinterest-induced anxiety!




7 year later update (3/27/2020) - they are hanging on just fine!  While they do not get every day use anymore, they are being used around the table in our Airbnb, Gidley Station.

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13 comments:

  1. Also if the bottom is wood, you could drill a few holes there for air flow, just make sure they are not too large for the stuffing to come out! Love the cover!

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  2. Fingers crossed it works! Good idea.
    KC

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  3. This sounds like such a good idea! I hope it holds up better than the last round. We'll be featuring this over at Someday Crafts tomorrow :)

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  4. Thanks for the tip! I hadn't seen your first round, but I had covered my dining chairs with clear vinyl a few years ago and had about the same result. I had no idea that's why they split, and I was planning to re-do them soon. You just saved me a lot of frustration!

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  5. I love the pattern on the new tablecloth. As for vinyl, it is not all created equal. There is tablecloth vinyl, which is relatively thin, and vinyl used for commercial applications such as barstools and restaurant seating, which holds up great. You could also try oilcloth if the tablecloth doesn't work out.

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  6. They look awesome love the pattern

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  7. So glad I read this post. I also used a PVA table cloth to recover a patio bench. I'm about to run outside with a pin and poke it. Thanks for the tip!

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  8. Looks like you solved a problem! :) Love the tablecloth, and I agree with a few holes in the wood on the bottom.

    catching you!
    gail

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  9. Great tip! I love the pattern and colors!

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  10. Also TJMAXX reusable bags work great for this kind of stuff

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  11. Wow...that sounds like a great idea and I love the fabric choice too!!! I should check out our Dollar General sometime too. :)

    ~Stephanie

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