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:
- Recover the chairs, maybe in a solid color fabric. Reupholstering the chairs may be more trouble than I want.
- 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.
- 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?
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.
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.
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 :)
My first thought was to paint the paisley a different color…tedious, but inexpensive. (but I’m a huge paisley fan, so…)
:)
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!
Paint it! Paints cheep and if you hate it the other options are still open.
Can’t wait to see the After pictures! :-) Goodluck!
I actually love the coral print! Have been looking for something like that for my bedroom. Thanks for the tip!
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.
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.
I vote red paint