Dropcloth Club Chair & Creative Lighting
40January 20, 2016 by Terry
As I was doing the room refresh on our living room and dining room I decided it was just as good a time as any to finally do something about the two brown vinyl club chairs we have. They aren’t antique and are only about 6 years old. They were in perfect shape until … we got a cat. Now, our cat is very good at staying away from all our other furniture, but unfortunately it didn’t matter what we did, we couldn’t curb her scratching on these two chairs. It must be something to do with them being vinyl as she leaves the leather sofa alone and the other cloth furniture.
Lucky for our kitty, I have been wanting to lighten and brighten our heavy, dark furniture for a while. This is a perfect reason to re upholster these chairs.
You can see the chairs in these old photos … dark and heavy and weighing down the room a bit too much.
I decided the most cost efficient way to makeover these chairs was to cover them in dropcloth. It would be cheap and durable as well as cleanable. The cloth I bought ended up being more on the white side than what they usually are for some reason. It’s still the same brand but lighter.
I washed it and dried it a few times before using it as well to get rid of the stiff feel. I decided not to change anything with regards to the style of upholstery and copied the original. I thought about adding nailhead trim but then decided to just go with simple plain seams … nothing too fancy.
The wood on the chair also stayed the same and I think it is a nice accent to the dropcloth.
Here it is… I hadn’t steamed the fabric yet in these photos so imagine it without wrinkles and bumps ;)
I also decided after taking down all the Christmas lights that the string of lights tangled up and placed in my antique calf feeder made a really cool light in this room! I just threaded the cord through the opening where the rubber nipple would have been attached. I love it like this!
Sort of a sneak peek as to what’s in the new dining area too …
See you tomorrow for Making Broken Beautiful! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
Terry
Sharing at:
The Interior Frugalista
The Curators Collection 
The chairs turned out beautifully. And that light? Well, it is just beyond gorgeous!
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Thank you Susan! I’m quite tickled with the results of each project! And neither of them took that long to do to be honest! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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The chairs look fantastic and certainly do brighten up the space. Great job!
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Thank you Jeannie! I think that drop cloth was for sure the right way to go with these chairs. At first I was only going to slipcover them but then decided that it was an easy enough style to just go ahead and upholster. Thank you for taking the time to comment! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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Great job- you’re obviously pretty good on the sewing machine!
Luv the peek of your dining room, and LUV the dining table & bench!
Catherine
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Catherine you are too sweet! Thank you for the compliments! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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What a fabulous makeover! I love the look…its so fresh!
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I’m loving the fresh feel too! Thank you for the compliment and for taking the time to comment! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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You are crazy good at upholstery!!!!! That looks phenomenal. Seriously. I absolutely need to learn how you do this!! Which brand of dropcloth did you buy? Love the whiter shade. Tell me everything, oh wise one.
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You are crazy sweet! I cannot remember the name of the drop cloth but I can find out. It’s the one that home depot carries … it also comes in a waterproof finish but I don’t like the feel of it. It’s funny how the shades of the cloth vary from batch to batch. Maybe if you visit me one day we can make something like this together for you!;) I hope you are having a great week!
Smiles!
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You are ON!!
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Sweet! Can’t wait! :)
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The chair turned out wonderfully Terry! I have used drop cloth before on a chair too and just loved the look :)
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I love that it doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg to use :) Thank you for the compliment! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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You are so talented. Love , love, love the chairs. I also love using drop cloth as upholstery material.
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Thank you Debra! It is nice to work with! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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They look beautiful. Well done.
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Thank you Becky! Have a great day!
Smiles!
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Terry the chair looks amazing! I love how it looks in the room. Who would have known a drop cloth could look so great. I’ll definitely keep that one in mind.
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Thank you MJ! Most people don’t know it is one unless I tell them :) I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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Love the light! Envy your talent at upholstery. It is amazing! The chairs are gorgeous!
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Thank you Peggy! You are sweet! I hope you have a great day!
Smiles!
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I admire your upholstery skills Terry – the chair looks very professional! The linen drop cloth in a lighter color looks great in the room. I have a wing chair in dire need of a makeover and I’m so scared to take it on but our budget doesn’t accommodate having it professionally upholstered.
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If you have $40.00 for a dropcloth, I can be there in 2 hours ( I say 2 hours because I get lost in the city ha ha ) and we can whip it up! … not even kidding! I will help you one day K? okay! I hope you have a great weekend my friend!
Smiles!
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Oh you have talent!! I can make slipcovers, but I’m not so great at reupholstering….great job!
I used to be able to get Blue Hawk drop cloths at Lowe’s, but not anymore, now they have a disappointing brand….
These look like what I used to get….
Nancy
wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
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You are sweet Nancy! Thank you for your kind compliments! If you can make slipcovers you can for sure upholster! It’s not as complicated as one might think ;) I hope you have a great weekend!
Smiles!
Terry
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I’m totally obsessed with this makeover!! Very nice and definitely putting this on my “need to do” list ASAP! Thank you so much for sharing with us over at The Creative Circle link party. See ya next week :)
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Thank you for saying such sweet things! I would love to see what you make over! Thank you for hosting such a great party! I hope you have a great week!
Smiles!
Terry
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Love that chair. The fabric makes a world of difference! And the light in the background adds that something extra ! And no one can see the wrinkles! ;)
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Whew! The wrinkles are all I can see when I look at the pictures! Thank you for the sweet compliments! I hope you had a great weekend!
Smiles
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Terry, I love the chair re upholstered!! You did an awesome job!! I’ve only re upholstered a few things but would really love to try another piece soon. Love the new look you gave this chair and that light you made from the antique calf feeder is so cool!! :) Have a wonderful weekend!!
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Thank you soooooo much! You are sweet! I hope you share your makeover if you do try it soon! Have a great week!
Smiles!
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Love the chair makeover Terry, it looks beautiful. :)
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Thank you so much for taking the time to say so! I hope you have a great week!
Smiles!
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Such a stunning transformation, Terry! I love everything you do lady – it’s all so beautiful! Hugs, CoCo
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You are so sweet! Thank you so much for the high compliment! You made my day!
Smiles!
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Wow Terry! What a makeover, the chairs look fantastic! Love the lightened color. Pinning and sharing:). Have a great week and take care, Tara
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Thank you so much for both! You are sweet! I hope you are having a great week!
Smiles!
Terry
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The chair came out great! Upholstery scares me, I barely dabble. but that light! OMG that light is amazing!!
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You are sweet! Upholstery used to scare me too but if you just start out with something small and work your way up it seems to get less intimidating over time. The thing that scares me is tufting! I hope you enjoy a great week!
Smiles!
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