Reupholstering the dining room chairs

Due to the supply chain issues, I wasn't sure when an ordered dining table would be delivered. Therefore, I looked on Facebook marketplace for a wood table (to match the wood beam/frame in our dining/living room) that had 2 leaves. There was one not too far away. I thought it might fit in our CRV but after trying, it was obvious that it wouldn't fit. I rented a van from Home Depot and drove it home (it was quite intense)! The couple selling the table said that they would throw in the chairs because they were planning to take them to the dump anyway. Since I had a huge van, I figured I'd just take them and figure out what to do with them later. When I got home, I looked up the table and chairs and saw that they were mid-century vintage (John Stuart, Inc. NY/Grand Rapids). The chairs actually seemed quite comfortable but looked like they had not been reupholstered recently (maybe never, actually). 

I knew reupholstering these myself was doable thanks to a tutorial from YoungHouseLove. I thus set to the task of reupholstering the chairs. I bought some fabric that matched the living room carpet/couch that I thought would look good. I also bought 6 square sections of 1 inch foam -- all off Amazon (can't remember how much it all cost but probably about $20-30). I went to Home Depot and bought a cheap $15 staple gun. With that in hand, I started by removing the cushion part of the chair just by using a screwdriver. Thankfully, these chairs only have one cushion so that was relatively easy to do.

Afterwards, I traced the old cushions on foam and cut that out using normal scissors. There were two types of shapes: the four normal chairs and the two that had arms as well. I made sure to trace each one individually to make it as customized as possible. 

Next, I arranged the foam on top and used the staple gun to attach the fabric tightly. I made sure that the corners were nice and crisp and that I was pulling it tight at all times. Finally, I screwed the cushions back on to each chair. I took me about 30-45 minutes per chair. 

Some of the corners and the finished product in the middle. 

A comparison of the new and old chairs. You can see that the new ones are a bit more plush and comfortable:

The finished products in both rooms. The table usually has only four chairs and no leaves as we only have 3 people. Even when my parents visit, we just pull up one chair. The two chairs with arms are on either side of the living room. Oddly, the beam/frame that matches the table isn't pictured in either of these pictures! In this entry at Christmas time, you can see the right side of the beam/frame behind Nate's arm on the lower right hand picture. You can also see the table with one leaf and the old chairs. The reupholstered chairs are much more comfortable and look much nicer in the space!

Update: After almost a year, the chairs are holding up great and have gotten tons of use both by us and guests throughout the year. 

January in CT

We welcomed 2022 with the Minevs and my parents and brother. The weather was warm and we were able to shoot off model rockets that my brother and Chase made together. For New Year’s eve, I made tons of Olivier salad and Christine made Banitsa, thereby honoring our respective Eastern European traditions. It was so nice to be together and to have Chase and Theo catch up. They played legos together and we all went to the aquarium together on New Year's day. 

Just a few weeks later, we had tons and tons of snow, which we can now check by looking at our backyard. We went to Wavenly Park to do some sledding. Coincidentally, this is also where we did our family pictures last fall. The hills were perfect for Chase and he used the sled my parents brought from San Diego in their move. Snow fun for all!