IKEA Hack: Faux Sheepskin Dining Chair Cushions photo: FRK HansenThe faux sheepskin from IKEA has many-a-use. And these simple chair covers look fantastic! Actually, the entire room that they sit in looks fantastic and I'd like to move in tomorrow. photo: FRK HansenTake a faux sheepskin or two and use them to create cushions for your dining chairs! See more over on FRK Hansen. DIY Faux Sheepskin Chair Covers by [FRK Hansen]Prev Sunscreen Guide for Kids (updated for 2016) Next The Yay to the Nay: Letter Learning Apps for Toddlers The 10 Best Dining Chairs Under $100 If you want your dining room to look its best but you also don't have tons of money to spend on furniture, check out this list of 10 stylish seating options, each under $100. Bent Metal Dining Chair A minimal, elegant chair crafted from bent steel. This chair has a bit of a mid-century feel, but would play well in almost any type of interior. Mid-century style at a very affordable price.
An interesting, modern shape that brings plastic and wood together in an unexpected way. A light, modern take on the Windsor chair, available in black and white, and at just under $60 each, a steal of a deal. A lovely, unassuming dining chair at a price so nice, you can buy enough for a whole dinner party. Beech legs add a touch of warmth to this space-agey style. A modern shape in warm, beautiful solid wood. An upholstered chair in a clean, modern style. Carlisle Metal Dining Chair If you have the money, you may want to spring for the Tolix design that these are based on, but if not, this is a great way to get that industrial-French style at a reasonable price. Gather upholstery tools and materials. Take fabric off chair by pulling out staples with a staple puller (upholsterer's staple remover -- Image 1). Be sure to remove all staples and tacks. Never place new fabric over the old material. If you do, when you go to clean the new fabric, the stains from the old cover could come through.
Take old webbing (Image 2) and padding off the chair. Put on new polypropylene webbing in a basket-weave pattern by doing the following: Start in the middle, fold over the end and staple in place (Image 1). Use a bar clamp to hold the webbing down. Gently rock the webbing stretcher (Image 2) until the webbing is tight. Staple the end into place. Cut the webbing, leaving an extra inch to fold over and staple down. Repeat the process for the other strips from front to back. To add horizontal webbing, repeat above steps and weave the strapping under and over, alternate weave (Image 3) in remaining strips. Lay pad onto oversized 1" high foam (available at most fabric stores). Trace outline of pad on foam and leave 1/4" all way around. Put foam on top of webbing with spray adhesive. Lay 1/2" thick bonded dacron on top of foam. Trim dacron 1/4" bigger than pad. The dacron will give the seat a nice crown effect. For four chairs, it will take approximately one yard of fabric and 1-1/2 yards of fabric for six chairs.
Be sure to leave at least an excess of three inches of fabric all the way around the chair seat. To attach fabric, first find the center front width of the pad and back, and mark. Do the same on the back and make a center mark. Find the center of the fabric. Fold fabric along center line and cut small notch (Image 1) for both front and back. Starting from the back, fold the fabric over and line up the notch with the center mark. When fabric is straight, start attaching staples, leaving the corners alone. Repeat above step to attach the front and then the sides. Use your spare non-stapling hand to smooth and straighten the fabric as you're stapling. Don't stretch the fabric so tight that the lines (if you're using striped fabric) are distorted. Trim extra fabric away. At the corners, fold fabric over and pull down and away and staple in place (Image 2). Rotate the seat pad and repeat the process for each corner. Staple on dust cover material to hide staples and ends of fabric.
Sign up for the Newsletter Privacy Policy Sign up for weekly project ideas and advice from experts Privacy Policy Sign Up for More We love to DIY. You love to DIY. See the latest DIY projects, catch up on trends and meet more cool people who love to create. Make It. Fix It. Learn It. Find It. Get quick inspiration from Made + Remade each week. The Essential Steps to Landscape DesignTry These Plants and Groundcovers 10 Things You Must Know About Landscaping Lush Landscaping Creates Major Curb Appeal How to Design a Great Yard with Landscape Plants How to Landscape a Shady Yard Reducing the Size of a Lawn How to Landscape a Sloping Backyard Some of the Most Desperate Landscapes Popular Landscaping Groundcovers and Shrubs QR Code Link to This Post Two Grey/Birch dining chairs. Width: 16 1/2 " Depth: 20 7/8 " Seat width: 16 1/2 " Seat depth: 15 3/4 " Seat height: 18 1/8 " $40 total, pickup only
This is a guest post from Karawynn Long, who writes about personal finance at Pocketmint. Karawynn is a semi-regular contributor for Get Rich Slowly. She has been blogging since before “blogging” was a word. Here at the Koke-Long house we’re in the market for some furniture. Our living room is currently semi-furnished with a comfortable but deteriorating Ikea couch and some leftover dining chairs; we’d like a nice armchair or two and some tables. I’ve mostly gone for Ikea ‘cheap and new’ furniture in the past, but I’ve been disappointed by its (understatement alert!) lack of durability. This time I’d like to try buying used but higher-quality. As I began to look around, though, I realized that I knew very little about what makes for a strong, long-lasting piece of furniture. Anyone can identify a rip, scratch, or stain, or decide whether they like a certain color, without special knowledge.
But judging whether a piece is likely to last two years or twenty — just by looking at it — is harder stuff. Here’s an overview of what I learned, with a checklist at the end. Wood furniture — composition I used to think hardwoods were hard and softwoods were soft. Actually, hardwood just means ‘from a deciduous tree’ and softwood means ‘from a coniferous tree’, and some hardwoods (like aspen) are softer than some softwoods. What you want on exposed surfaces is a wood that’s reasonably scratch-resistant. You can test this easily enough by attempting to draw a thin line with your fingernail across the wood; if it makes a visible dent (use a flashlight here if necessary) you know it won’t stand up to much use. Structurally, any kind of solid wood or sturdy plywood will do the trick. If plywood, look for at least nine layers. Check the wood for knots, even on unexposed pieces; all knots are susceptible to cracks. Some woods, like pine, are ‘knottier’ than others, and therefore less desirable.
Avoid particleboard, pressed wood, or fiberboard. Veneers — a thin piece of premium wood covering a lower-quality piece of wood — are often used even in very high-quality furniture. As long as the base piece is solid wood or plywood, the only drawback to veneer is that it limits the number of times an item can be refinished. Wood furniture — construction Joint construction is the main determinant of quality furniture. Anything held together with staples or nails is shoddy construction. Ditto if it’s glued and you can see the glue. Dowels (wooden pegs slotted into two opposing holes) are good, as are screws. The best joints are either dovetail (interlocking squarish ‘teeth’ — see photo) or mortise-and-tenon (narrowed end of one piece inserted into a hole in the other). Corners should have a reinforcing block attached at an angle. Look for thin sheets of wood between drawers in a chest of drawers or desk. While not necessary, these ‘dust panels’ improve structural strength as well as protect drawer contents.
Drawers should run smoothly on glides and have stops to prevent accidentally pulling them all the way out. The best drawers have bottoms that are not affixed to the sides but ‘float’ in a groove, allowing for minor expansion and contraction caused by changes in humidity and providing extra strength. Lift the piece at one corner — it should not twist or squeak. Check that all legs are touching the floor. Press on various corners to see if the piece rocks or wobbles. Upholstered furniture — composition For a sofa or chair with removable cushions, unzip a seat cover and have a look inside. You should see a block of foam wrapped with dacron, cotton, or (for very high-end cushions) down, preferably with a protective inner cover (usually muslin). Foam-only cushions are both less durable and less comfortable. If you’re buying new furniture, inquire after the density rating of the seat foam: you’re looking for 1.8 pounds or higher. Removable back cushions may have foam as well but are more often loose fill.
In the latter case, multiple internal compartments are preferred as they prevent the fill from settling. If there’s a tag or label, look for a cleaning code: ‘W’ means water-based cleaners, ‘S’ means solvent-based cleaners (‘dry cleaning’), ‘X’ means no liquid (vacuum only). Upholstered furniture — construction According to Consumer Reports, the oft-touted “eight-way hand-tied coil springs” don’t have a corner on comfort; coil, cone, sinuous, and grid springs can all work well. Best just to test the feel of the specific piece by sitting in various spots to see whether you tip or sink. If the cushions are removable, lift and press down on the deck underneath: you should feel even spacing and resistance to pressure. Squeeze the arms and back: ideally you should not be able to feel the frame through the padding. Lined skirts and ones with weights will hold their shape better over the long run. Are the cushions reversible? You’ll get twice the wear if they are.