Upholstering Dining Chairs {on the cheap}

My husband inherited an antique drop leaf table and six matching chairs from his great aunt.  We love them and the dark wood matches a lot of the other wood in our home, not to mention the sentimental value they possess.
The fabric covering the seat needed to be updated as it was pretty worn and the colors didn’t really match the dining room where they live.
I’ve looked around for the perfect fabric to coordinate with the rest of the room but couldn’t find anything that I loved
But I did love the napkins and table runner that I found at Home Goods over a year ago.  My Mom mentioned that it was too bad that I couldn’t find the fabric that the napkins were made of and that’s when I decided to see if the napkins were big enough to cover the seat.
It was a tight squeeze but the 18 inch napkins were just big enough to go across and wrap around the bottom.  And at $5.99 for four chairs, I was willing to give it a try.  If they don’t hold up or I get tired of them, I won’t feel bad about replacing the fabric.  They are 100% cotton but they are fairly thick.
 
I removed the old fabric and staples using a flat head screw driver, needle nose pliers and an Exacto knife.  This was the most time consuming part.  
 
I used a staple gun to attach the new fabric (formerly known as napkins) and put the chairs back together.
And because we live in the real world and I have two wild little ladies running around here I sprayed the fabric with Scotchguard to protect against spills and stains.  It probably would have been easier to do this before attaching it to the seats.  Donut anyone?  Yes, that is a crème filling mustache.
Here is the finished product!  I love the light fabric against the dark wood.

And here they are at home in the dining room!  This is the only “finished” room in the house.
 
The only problem now is that I only have 2 napkins left!  I will be searching every Home Goods I pass for more from now on! 

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