Dining Room Chairs Makeover With Curtains!

Moe Mernick
by Moe Mernick
To be entirely honest with you, this is not only my first project on Hometalk, but it is also one of my first DIY projects ever! Since joining this community about 1.5 years ago, I have been so blown away by everyone's brilliance, creativity, and helpfulness. As such, when my wife and I were considering what to do with our old, dirty dining room chairs, to BUY or DIY, we decided on the latter! Thanks for giving us the confidence to do so :)










My wife and I bought these IKEA chairs in Vancouver about 6 years ago. They moved with us to 4 different cities and my 3 kids have put them through a lot (need I say more?). We have since removed their original seat-covers and replaced them with cushions (that didn’t fit so well), but my wife and I were still embarrassed by the way they looked. It was definitely time for a change.












My brilliant, creative, economical wife had an idea: Wrap the chairs with our old window curtains! They were too dark for our windows, so they were simply collecting dust. Perhaps they would look great on our chairs?











So we got to work. We removed the first chair’s seat and cut the curtain to size.











I then wrapped it tightly around the chair and used a staple gun (for the first time -- so much fun!) to keep the material firmly in place.












We then put the first seat back, screwed the nails back in, and found ourselves looking at what seemed like a brand new, beautiful chair!












Time to get to work on the other five chairs… Then, my 5 year-old son came home from school and naively asked me the following question: “Daddy, why are we fixing our chairs instead of buying new ones?” (Yes, I know I’m guilty for that!) I explained the main benefits of doing it ourselves: “I am saving money, I am having lots of fun with Mommy, and I am going to love these chairs so much more than new ones!”


He loved my answer and wanted to help. (Father/son bonding time!) He was also enthusiastic about the idea of screwing in all the nails into one of the chairs, and then writing his name on the bottom of it; this was going to be HIS chair, the one that he assembled by himself!












As you can see, my 2 year-old wanted to get in on the fun, too!












I am feeling so energized by my day. DIY is no longer a dream, but it is now my reality. I had such an amazing time with my family, and it was a huge bonus to save money and recreate beautiful chairs in the process. I can definitely say that I am now hooked on DIY! So, expect to hear a lot from me in the weeks and months to come :)







Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Linda Linda on Mar 15, 2017
    How did you do the corners?
  • Beth Ann Beth Ann on Mar 16, 2017

    How many yards of material would you need to cover 4 chairs?

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  • Cassidey Cassidey on May 31, 2017

    We would never have known it was your first DIY. You and your family did a wonderful job and the fact that you did it together made a wonderful job even better.

  • Sue Sue on Jun 01, 2017

    Nice job! We also had those same Ikea chairs. They lasted over 16 years,recovered numerous times,matched several style changes,moved with us more times than I can count.

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