SO, as most of you may know, I really got into garage sale-ing this summer. Towards the end of August I got a great bargain… that I had to convince Ben to get… 2 chairs from a dining room set, rickety, stained, falling apart and smelling faintly of smoke- but for $1! I’ve had this project planned for awhile and finally found the time to do it!
I’ve given a lot of advice in the past for people recovering pop out cushion dining room chairs but have never been able to do it myself, ironically enough. Back when I managed a fabric and design store I regularly measured fabric for people doing a make-overs. I’ve always known how to do it so I was eager to see if it was as easy as I told people it was. Ben was able to stabilize the chair and then told me to have at them. I wanted to do something funky and had been dreaming for awhile and even blogged about my ideas… I went a different route with some coffee bags I got earlier this year and had done nothing with… Burlap isn’t known for it’s soft cuddlyness but I love the way these bags looked! I washed them with fabric softener and decided that for an accent chair I really didn’t care if they were really uncomfortable if they looked good! SO- here I went:
Step 1: Remove the pop out cushions with a screwdriver and set aside. Spray paint the chair (I lightly cleaned it) in the color of choice and let dry. I did 2 coats to make sure it covered well. I got a coffee bag from a local coffee shop for a few dollars, if you don’t have a “regular place” just call around, most places will either sell them for cheap or give them to you!
Step 2: Use the chair cushion as a template and measure out what you need with an overlay of several inches. Ben, my dearest husband, said I was using the staple gun wrong so kindly helped me out stapling way over the amount of times I thought were necessary but he reminded me that it was burlap after all and needed the extra staples. He cut the extra fabric with an exacto knife. 
Step 3: I’ve had a gallon of Ralph Lauren Faux technique glaze tinted black for over a year now… Luckily it was still good when I pulled it out for my chair! The way I’ve learned to have good success is to get an old tee-shirt and slather the glaze on part of the project. After I’ve done a little bit I wipe it off completely. I had some weird lighting today and it went on a little more thick than I would have liked. 
Step 4: If necessary repeat a layer. I had to take some time to wipe mine off. 
Re-secure the cushion and you are DONE! and the envy of everyone!
