$5 Auction Chairs - The Road to Recovery

Last week, in a fit of insanity, I proclaimed to the world that I was going to complete a gigantic list of tasks, one of which involves the rehabbing of four chairs that I bought at an auction for $5 (total, not each!).

The fabric was stained and ripped when I bought them, but it's even worse now since they spent a couple of weeks outside in the weather before Mike relocated them to the shed for me. After yanking them out of the shed this weekend, they're definitely looking a little frumpy.

Using this handy dandy reference guide, I knew I probably needed 2 yards of fabric per chair, but since I'm hopeless when it comes to measuring things, I decided to be on the safe side and get more than I probably needed.

But before I went and actually bought some fabric, I figured I needed to look around on the good ol' Internet for some inspiration.

Awhile back I found this...

Suzani Side Arm Chair from Shades of Light

I find this example particularily hilarious since it boasts a price tag of $1,199.00. Yeah. Right.

This one caught my eye, too.

Chair upholstered with Oborne & Little fabric, photo courtesy of Kelly Interiors (but pulled from La La Linen)

But, although I like to look at white furniture with bright fabrics, I don't think it's really "me" (or Mike, for that matter). I need something that hides dirt, because the cat tends to nap on the kitchen chairs. The white parts of the fabric I used to cover the previous chairs ended up turning a little dingy. So, what to do?

I scoured my fabric board on Pinterest, which is full of great designs from Tonic Living. My top picks for these chairs are...

Ragg Tagg from Tonic Living	Sweet William, Teal from Tonic Living
Dapple Dot from Tonic Living	Brussels Washer Charcoal from Tonic Living

Clearly, a few of them still have a potential for dingey-ness. Although, I'm admittedly getting better about regularily vaccuuming these days...

That all being said, I decided to see what I could find at FabricLand.

I found nothing.

So back to the interwebs I went, and rather than ordering swatches like a normal person, I decided to just dive in and buy something. Well, two somethings.

Now you'll just have to wait and see!

Update: See a finished chair here!