There may be a few of you out there to whom this post may cause actual, physical pain--I will just go ahead and apologize in advance. :)
I found this old oak chair at Goodwill for $7 to replace the cute desk chair that I
completely destroyed last summer.
It's nice and sturdy and the perfect size, but it had an ugly fabric seat. I knew that recovering it would be a quick fix, but I didn't want to purchase any fabric for the project. While rummaging through the VERY full dresser drawer where I keep my collection of vintage tablecloths, I happened upon this beauty:
A darling square cloth with a yellow border and a pattern of red tulips. It's charming but unfortunately is also very faded, so I didn't feel quite so guilty about cutting it up! Plus I thought it was fun with the curtains I have in the office:
A hot steam iron, a pair of shears, a staple gun and 15 minutes later I had this:
I know that to some of you, cutting up a perfectly good vintage tablecloth is tantamount to painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa! I won't lie--I had to take a deep breath before I made that first cut. I figure that this way, I can actually enjoy my pretty cloth on a daily basis instead of having it tucked away in the dresser in my guest room, rarely to see the light of day. I'm not saying that I'm going to get all scissor-happy with the rest of my beautiful collection, but I don't have any remorse for cutting this one at all!
Love it! And it does go well with the curtains. I agree that using it is better than tucking it away. Of course you know I have drawers full that never see the sunlight, right? :)
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with someone else doing the cutting up of vintage tablecloths....I just can't bring myself to do it! The chair looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I took my heart medication. KIDDING! I love it. My peeve is with people that take gorgeous brightly colored perfect tablecloths and hack them up willy nilly. I love your chair. It turned out great!
ReplyDeleteI say go for it!
ReplyDeleteOf course I am the the one who cuts up old quilts for cards and sometimes I'm pretty sure I could have spent hours painstakingly repairing them. :>(
Your chair looks great and you can admire that tablecloth everytime you go to your desk
It's cute, it turned out nicely. I understand about cutting things up, I am a crochet addict but I frequently buy crocheted pieces at thrift stores just for the yarn which means that I'm destroying someone else's work. You've given me a good idea with this project.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Better on the chair than in a drawer!
ReplyDelete