I talk too much. And I will never stop talking too much, because sometimes talking too much gets you exactly what you want.

Take these chairs. I did.
Dining chairs had been my personal design Everest. Years of mental and physical training were being poured into finding the right dining chairs. We had lived far too long with the cheap and horrible chairs that came with the flat because I would not cave until the right combination of affordable, comfortable and cool came along.

Then Ger – our friend and fellow hunter for all things beautiful – texted “Do you still need dining chairs?” with the picture seen here attached to her text.

And with that, I could see the peak. My Everest was about to be conquered. Because I had talked and talked and talked about dining chairs and bless her, Ger had listened.

These incredible vintage beauties were just what I wanted. There were only five (fine) and the needed reupholstering (even better) and they took two months to procure, but they were ours and I was nearing the peak.

I took to disassembling and cleaning and oiling them as soon as I could.

Then it was a matter of fabric. I really wanted to play with them, and as they were really affordable, I didn’t mind getting experimental with a view to changing them when the time came.

Driving the staff at Cloth House to distraction with my repeated visits and sample requests, I settled on a series of sturdy but playful ticking stripes.

Chairs cleaned and disassembled? Check.
Fabric acquired? Check.
Staple gun at the ready? Check.

Now upholstering something as basic as a seat cover could not be simpler.
There are those who will want to do it more by the book, and if the idea is to reimagine them for life, then by all means. But if, like me, you are likely to change the fabric eventually, then this is truly enough…

The most important thing to do is apply the staples at opposite points for evenness and tweak as you go – you will quickly get the hang of it. The process is very forgiving, so make mistakes.

Each seat and back took 10 minutes, bringing all five to stunning new existence in under two hours! And how satisfying was it when they came out like this…

Did I mention they are mix and match? As the seats screw off fairly easily, these can be rearranged as the mood strikes.
Could I be happier? No.

Could they go better with the Social Nesting aesthetic (Social Nesting plant pot bag and Social Nesting upholstery fabric)? No.

Is that my flag planted firmly at the top of design Everest? You bet’cha…