I love stripes, but I have to admit, stripes are hard! I finally finished the second French Chair as promised and wanted to show you how both chairs look together. My original plan was to have the chairs match, but I fell in love the striped linen and couldn’t resist using it as the main feature on the second chair.
First let’s view the before photo of the chairs in the brown suede looking fabric.
Now look at the same chairs recovered with the classic look of linen. Inspirational!
I feel like the new tools that I purchased have really paid off in making this an easy DIY project . I have a few more upholstery projects coming up and expect the new staple gun and staple remover will get a lot of use.
As I worked my way through upholstering the second chair, I realized there might have been a few details not covered in the first post that are worth mentioning. Truth be told, I tend to get so excited about finishing a project, I skip over some of the important stuff.
Here’s a close up of the three sections or layers that make up the chair back. On this chair I added a few more staples to hold the back panel in place. This made the task of sandwiching the padding between the front and back fabrics much easier.
On each side of the chair where the arm connects to the seat, I inserted a small piece of fabric. The fabric was folded and ironed so that no raw edges would show. It’s a small detail but necessary in order to cover the old tacks and staple holes. The fabric was hot glued in place since this small section will not have trim.
I also used hot glue to secure the fabric in the deep areas where the arms and back section meet the seat. The staple gun doesn’t reach these area very well, and therefore hot glue is more efficient.
The same woven trim was used on both chairs to cover the staples, which helps to keep their coordinated look consistent.
As with the first chair, I used a light coat of liming wax to brighten the dark wood and highlight the carved features.
I’m trying to decide between using the striped chair in the entry or in the dining room. It looks great in both places, but will be more convenient to use as an extra chair at the dining table.
Hmm, now I’m thinking dinner party!
Thank you so much for stopping by to see the completed project of the French chairs. Be sure to click on Updating French Chairs so see the whole story.
Cheers!
©2017 French Chairs Part II was first published on Thistle Key Lane.
SaveSave
Mary says
My heart skipped a beat when I saw the striped fabric on those two chairs.
Can you PLEASE tell me about it…. where I can get it and the trim. I’ve not seen trim like that in the past. I have a chair that is so similar to that one. How much fabric and trim do I need??
Can I order from you??
Many thanks!
Michelle Meyer says
Hi Mary, I purchased the fabric from Calico Corners. It made my heart skip a beat too! They have a beautiful website and you can order fabric online. The fabric is called Caleb Lakeland. I used about a yard per chair, but I would suggest ordering extra. The trim was a lucky find at JoAnn’s. I used between 5 and 6 yards per chair. Thank you so much reading the post!
Mary says
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!!!
Michelle Meyer says
🙂
Ann Prince says
I absolutely love love love everything that is shown on this post. French Country and
Cottage decor is my absolute favorite looking ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Michelle Meyer says
Thank you Ann! You made my day!