A Pair of Mid-Century Chairs Get a Modern Flair Makeover

I love mid-century design. But I’m not afraid to change it up to suit my decor, as you can see from this desk I made over for my daughter’s room. I have a set of mid-century chairs that are in need of updating with a pretty makeover, and the fabric I found at Spoonflower.com is perfect! Because they are the sponsor for this month’s Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest, I was able to purchase my fabric at a discount to update my contest entry pieces. The theme for this month is “Modern Flair” so the chairs were just right.

The thing about beginning furniture makeovers for a room is once you start, you can just keep on going until all the pieces work together. Once the desk and the dressers both got redone, it was time for the chair. I’ve never ordered fabric from Spoonflower before, and the selection there was vast. I had a hard time picking my favorite one. My daughter (who is away at college) and I kept sending screenshots to each other of our picks. We finally agreed on Sweet Bouquets in Navy and Coral by the artist WillowLaneTextiles. All of hers were so pretty, and most of her designs would’ve worked.

The chairs were pretty before. I had found them in a thrift store for $5 each about 10 years ago, and recovered them then from their original green vinyl. But that was then and this is now, so it was time for another modern update.

I knew we wanted to pull in navy with the other colors in her room, and once the fabric arrived I could see we made the right choice.

I debated long and hard about painting these chairs, but in the end I decided a high gloss white was the look I wanted. I used two coats of Krylon COVERMAXX spray paint.

I removed the fabric covered seat before I spray painted the chairs.

One of my very first furniture makeover blog posts was called “How to Recover Ugly Chairs”, and there’s a very easy tutorial there on recovering seat chairs, if you’d like to check it out. The photos aren’t great, but you should get the general idea.

Basically, you remove the old fabric, and use it as a pattern to cut the new pieces you’ll use.

Next, staple it back in place, tucking the corners in for a nice crisp corner edge.

Then, simply reattach the seat to your chair.

Don’t let upholstery projects like this intimidate you. This is about as easy as they get, and the results are some you can be proud of.

So what do you think of this “Modern Flair” makeover on these mid-century chairs? Did I hit the mark?

I personally think they’re fabulous. One will be in my daughters room, and the other will be mine to use where I want it. It’s the perfect match for her mid-century desk, I couldn’t be more happy with the results.

Make sure you check out two of the hosts for this month- 58 Water Street & Thirty Eighth Street for other Modern Flair makeovers featuring Spoonflower fabrics, and to view the other entires for the contest.

IF YOU’RE A FURNITURE FLIPPIN BLOGGER WHO WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN FUTURE CONTESTS, YOU SHOULD CONTACT INFO@FABFURNITUREFLIPPINCONTEST.COM