What's Old is Made New-ish, DIY!!

The chosen one...

I have Mom and Dad's bridge table and chairs. I always remember them being there, which renders them antiques (and, me as well)!!! They have never been recovered or reupholstered and after all this time, they were looking pretty shabby. So, I decided to have a go at it. The thought stayed with me for a while until I actually pulled off the worn material from one of the chairs. It was nasty, just because the chairs are old. The all important question of what to cover them with, also stayed with me for a while. We recently went to the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver, where I got allot of great ideas for framing my photos, and that was good. However, as the day went on, we wound up going into a store which carries only handmade wares from around the world. I spotted some beautiful material. I touched it, I stayed with it for a time, and then I realized, I have drawers full of Mom's old tablecloths!! Why spend 100's of dollars for a piece of material when I have my own stash at home. That's when it all kicked in. As soon as we got home, I immediately started rummaging through my drawers and found this one. I love this tablecloth, and it had a hole in it which was un-fixable. I double checked to make sure it did not have napkins to go with it. It did not, so, I was ready to proceed.

Laundry mark from Ding-Ho laundry...

As always, I see the finished product in my head, but, the work is always more than anticipated. This was no different. Just getting the stripped seats unscrewed and off of the chairs was a to-do, as they had not been touched in decades. The answer was easy, 3-In-1 Oil. Once that was done, I laid out the table cloth, then, with a deep breath, took a scissor to this precious material. Interestingly, I found the laundry mark, which was on all of our linens and tablecloths growing up. I will never forget the many many trips to Ding Ho Laundry, on 20th street off of 1st Avenue, picking up carefully wrapped packages of crisp, clean linens. This little piece of material, with the number on it will be saved.

The tools...

Work space from above...

Before and after...

Before and after...

One singular sensation...

The Girl...

I used the tablecloth itself as a grid, because, well, you see the pics. I carefully cut the batting and 'stuffing'. The wood seats are so thin, but extremely sturdy (they really do not make things the way they used to), I was not sure the upholstery nails I bought would work, I thought they might be just a little too long, but, most thankfully, they worked. The first chair was the hardest to do. I could see that there was no way I could hammer these tiny, sharp nails into the seats without doing permanent damage to my right hand, which was attempting to hold the nails in place. After trial and error, I wound up using one of my jewelry tools to hold the nails and, lo and behold, it worked very well. Hammering, I might add is an excellent way to vent, to express frustration, oh, I don't know, about a few things. I took my time finishing this project. The Art Festival in Denver was the weekend of July 4th, and I completed everything yesterday. I polished the chairs and Scotch-Guarded the newly covered seats. Getting them screwed back on the chairs, was also a to-do, as some of them would not 'take', at first. I was determined, and now all 4 seats are secure! Each chair is a little different, as you can see, but I like that. And of course, The Girl, with her million places to curl up, picked the used work sheet. The chairs have been re-distributed around the house, all of us very pleased with the 'new' look of what was old, made new-ish!!! Do it yourself....