Does it amaze you how interior design changes? Ideas come and go… I recently enjoyed The Great Interior Design Challenge, a tv series following would be designers compete against each other. The competitors were each given a room, a brief from the home owner, 3 days plus a £1,000 budget. The program always had an object for the aspiring designer to upcycle.. My daughter and I enjoyed watching it together, discussing the brave colour choices the designer made. I was left feeling my home is rather bland, safe, uninspired – or should I say practical for young kids?!
Pondering the neutrality of our home, plus no budget to speak of I decided to change our dining room chairs. The plan to introduce some colour with restyled shabby chic dining room chairs. With a decision made I started to sourcing mismatched chairs, chalk paint and curtain fabric.
The chairs came from the shop at the tip, two from a charity shop and one from Vintage Mischief who were holding a sale. Total cost £11.
They were each painted with chalk paint (rustoleum) and waxed. Due to the heavy wear and tear I applied two coats of paint. This only took 20 minutes a coat. I was able to swap some unopened paints at the local DIY store for the chalk paint – cost nothing:)
The time consuming bit, and surprisingly most expensive was recovering the seats. Borrowing a friends Big Shot Sizzix was transforming in terms of accurate cutting of 4″ square – the fabric was sourced from the Big C charity shop, cost £25. My desire for patchwork covers meant buying lots of different fabrics, this inevitably cost more than buying one former pair of curtains.
The seats were recovered, using a staple gun to hold the new covers in place. I then sprayed each seat with a stain repellent (my children are not tidy eaters) before screwing back onto the chairs.
Overall I am delighted with the result especially as it cost less than £50:) Sadly the chairs are not quite as sturdy as I originally thought – beware always double check the quality of your bargain before spending hours transforming it!
It’s amazing what a splash of colour and upcycling can do to uplift a space. If you are looking for further dining room ideas then visit Top Reveal, they have a great selection of ideas to inspire you.
Why not treat yourself to a good quality staple gun? (affiliate link)
Fiberscope.Net
Friday 6th of September 2019
It only proves that amazing makeovers on a budget are more than real!
jenny
Saturday 16th of April 2016
wow what a transformation!!!! Love the colour choices :) oh hope you can still sit on them tho? x
Vicky
Sunday 17th of April 2016
Some of them!!!! On the search for some sturdier chairs, lol!!
Gina
Thursday 14th of April 2016
I LOVE these! They look fantastic and for such a good price. I have also been watching the Great Interior Design Challenge, they have some great ideas. Thank you for sharing on #ThriftyThursday
Vicky
Sunday 17th of April 2016
Thanks Gina:)
Anna
Wednesday 13th of April 2016
They're lovely! Would some metal brackets from a hardware store be enough to make them sturdier?
Vicky
Sunday 17th of April 2016
That's a good idea:)
Lucy Blossom
Tuesday 12th of April 2016
I always love your upcycling projects, they look bright and cheerful.
Vicky
Sunday 17th of April 2016
and I love upcycling:)!!