School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

More Seating for the Living Room

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

March 7, 2012 By Jackie

I found THE chairs for the family room, but the fabric is all wrong.  I actually like the paisley-like pattern, but the coral color makes me cringe.  The shape of these chairs caught my eye immediately on a trip to Home Goods, but I passed because the color was wrong.  Then I saw them on two more trips…still there waiting for me to take them home.  They were only $129 each.

The chair style is one of my favorites and I have been known to make a nice tailored slipcover in the past.  I knew the fabric was all wrong, but the chairs were so right.  I finally took them home.  I warned my hubby to look past the fabric as I plopped them in the family room.  Later that evening he said he liked the chairs.  That means they get to stay.

I also had been eyeing this cute little metal table from Target for months.  Again, the color is all wrong, but the style was so right.  This little black table is going to get a spray paint makeover.  Depending on what I do with the chairs it will either be a fun pop of color or it might go white.

Back to the chairs for a moment.  I know coral and navy is kind of a hot color combo lately, but coral is just not going to work for our Modern Americana color palette.  What am I going to do with that fabric?  Here are the choices I see:

  1. Recover the chairs, maybe in a solid color fabric.  Reupholstering the chairs may be more trouble than I want.
  2. Make a slipcover for the chairs.  This should be a little easier than reupholstering, with the advantage of being able to remove the covers and wash them if the boys get them dirty.  Would still need to find a great fabric.
  3. Paint the paisley pattern over with another color.  This may be a little tedious, but I like the pattern and other than paint there would be no additional cost to transform the chairs.  My instinct would be to paint out the paisley in navy or turquoise, but I am not sure that will work over the coral.  The most realistic color choice for a paint over would be red, which should cover the coral color easily.

What do you think?  Would you try the paint first or go straight for a new fabric?  What color should the chairs be?

Previous Post
How To Install Board and Batten without Replacing Baseboards
Next Post
Giddy for Geese

Comments

  1. Jess @ life, happily ever after says

    March 7, 2012 at 9:03 am

    I would create a slipcover. I like removability and cleanability of slipcovers. I would also steer you away from painting. I tried to paint a piece of fabric furniture, and even mixing in with fabric medium made the resulting fabric crunchy, and crunchy is never good.

  2. Susan says

    March 7, 2012 at 10:36 am

    I would recover them personally, but I understand your hesitation on finding the right fabric. I have an antique french chair that needs reupholstering and it has been sitting in our living room with a throw blanket over it for 3 months now because I can’t commit to a fabric.

  3. Caroline Hill says

    March 7, 2012 at 12:08 pm

    In this situation, it seems like trying the paint first would make sense. I would go with teal or red to cover the paisley, and to bring more of either color to that side of your room.

    If you end up hating that, you could easily recover the chairs with a new fabric. Like you said the chairs have a beautiful shape, so that should stay either way!

    Good luck :)

  4. kristiina says

    March 7, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    My first thought was to paint the paisley a different color…tedious, but inexpensive. (but I’m a huge paisley fan, so…)

    :)

  5. [email protected] Design for Living says

    March 7, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Ooh, quite the dilemma! Give painting a whirl and if it’s a disaster you can go one of the other routes. I love that side table and I think your idea of spray painting it will be fabulous. Good luck! Can’t wait to see!

  6. Kim says

    March 7, 2012 at 2:50 pm

    Paint it! Paints cheep and if you hate it the other options are still open.

  7. Resmi says

    March 7, 2012 at 10:12 pm

    Can’t wait to see the After pictures! :-) Goodluck!

  8. Susie says

    March 9, 2012 at 10:38 am

    I actually love the coral print! Have been looking for something like that for my bedroom. Thanks for the tip!

  9. CohoesMom5 says

    March 9, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    How about using Fabric Markers instead of paint. They do not make the fabric stiff and are easier to use. You would have to test for coverage but it would be worth a try.

  10. MichelleC says

    March 10, 2012 at 10:20 pm

    I like the paint idea, and if it doesn’t work out slipcovers. I have been eyeing that same table for the sitting area in our bedroom, love the idea of painting it too.

  11. Brittany says

    April 24, 2012 at 12:53 pm

    I vote red paint

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.