HG Openhouse Blog

Dining room a little dull (yawn)?  Want a little change, but the money is tight? What to do?  Make some easy tie-on slipcovers.

I was showing a client what she could do to dress up her dining room inexpensively,  I thought you might be interested as well. We are using the apple green in her house, but there are so many great fabrics that can update and excite a generic dining room. I really like to mix up a matched dining set, even by just covering 2 of the matching chairs. It adds  interest and variety to the group.  A great (and easy) way to do this is to simply cover the two end chairs in the set, this will make a huge difference in the feel of the room.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Here’s what you do…

 First,  unscrew the seats from the chair frame and cover them with the fabric of your choice. Use a staple gun to attach the fabric on the bottom of the seat. I just recovered the end chair seats here, leaving the side chairs as is. You can recover them all, but I like to mix the set  (also less work and expense).

Pick a great fabric that will update and excite your room. To recover just the two end chairs, you will need between 2 1/2 to 3 yards of 54″ wide fabric. I picked an apple green and brown velvet jacquard for my client, but a white canvas, black and white stripe, or colorful Ikat pattern looks fresh and fun, or any you like.

There are a number of ways to make the seat back slipcover, depending on your sewing skill level. The simplest is shown in the illustration. Here’s how…

• Measure the back of the seat. Start at the seat cushion, measure up over the back and down to the seat on the back of the chair. Add 2 inches to that measurment for bottom hems.
• Measure the width of the chair back, at the widest point. Add 2 inches to that measurment for side hems.
• Cut the rectangle fabric to your measurments.
• Turn under the raw edges and hem all sides.
• Cut 8 pieces of grosgrain ribbon (or other ties) 15″ long each.
• Lay the slipcover over the chair back and mark where the ties will go.  One set of ties should go under the chair arms to secure it well.
• Sew on the ties on the inside of the cover.
• Set the cover on and tie it together.

If you want the cover more fitted, cut it to the shape of the chair back plus seam allowances. If you want a more finished look, line it, if you’re so inclined. You can also make a table runner, and draperies to match, if you’re on a roll. These slipcovers are so easy you could change them out for different seasons.

That’s it!  Really easy but it gives a ho-hum dining set a little pizazz and a lot of super style.

What do you think?  Have you done anything like this or do you have any other simple but stylish slipcover ideas? Please share!