DIY (refinished dining set)

Here's the little reupholstery project I've been meaning to post for ages. D bought this table and chair set when he first moved to Durham for a steal- we think $40, but he can't quite remember.

I wish I had a photo of how damaged they were by the time we were leaving- the screws had come out of the bottom of the chairs, which holds the seat in place, and some piece of mail had basically melted, with highlighter orange, into the top of the table. Even once we scraped off the mail, the stain was still in the table top, and on blonde wood, it was very visible. Plus, check out the print of these seats:

I cringe just looking at it.

So, a quick re-fresh was in order if we were going to sell them before moving. For the table top, I sanded probably a 1/4 inch off the top. No joke. That orange highlighter stain had gotten DEEP. After sanding, I just wiped down and did a coat of polyurethane on top, no staining necessary. It got pretty badly scratched by movers, so I had to sand down and coat again, which was annoying but easy work.

Other than the seat, the rest of the chair was in great shape- sturdy, finish on the wood still good, etc. I tried to reupholster the chairs in this nice floral fabric I'd had forever, but I didn't quite have enough. I thought I could make it, but instead I got this:

So close, and yet so far. This is truly the EASIEST form of reupholstery: rip off the old fabric, pull new fabric tight, and staple in place. I didn't replace the seat cushions, which saves some time and money, since they were in ok shape. I had to pick another fabric that I don't like as much, but is more neutral in color. After reuholstering the seat portion, I drilled new holes to attach the seats to the chair frame. This way they'd be tight and sturdy, not drilled into already stripped holes that caused the nails to keep falling out.

I was able to sell them on our apartment building listserve, which is mainly other Duke grad students that need quick furniture for short-term living. We got $180 for them, which is a crazy good price...I think the guy was just tired of eating on the floor and didn't have the time to head to Target or Ikea. I'm bummed that all my photos are such crap quality, but you get the idea!