Dining Room Chair Decorations Ideas

Some dining chairs are perfect candidates for crisp linen covers that hide them from view.

The chairs can be a key design statement in your dining room. Whether you have a shabby motif assembled from hand-me-downs, trash and treasures or a matched dining set that's lost its cutting edge, dining chairs are chameleons, susceptible to paint, party decorations and quick makeover seat covers. Change the dining chairs and you reinvent the room.

Recover Cushions

Changing the seat cushions is a simple job that involves removing the seat, stripping off the old fabric and padding, replacing the padding and stapling new fabric tightly over the cushion. Once that is done, reassemble the seat by screwing the cushion back in place and the chairs look like a new set.

Seasonal D cor

Celebrate a holiday or special occasion with fancy chairs to match or complement table d cor. Tie a big bow on the back of each chair with wired French ribbon, leaving the ends of the ribbon to trail down to the seat. The wire ensures that bows will not wilt or sag before the party is over. Tie several pine cones in a cluster to the back of a chair for a Yule dinner and add a sprig of holly or mistletoe for winter greenery. Fasten big gauzy butterflies embellished with organza bows to the chair backs for an indoor garden party.

Slipcovers

If you dislike the chairs, hide them under slipcovers. The simplest covers are envelopes open at one end, slipped over the chair backs and gathered, belted or tied in place. Custom slipcovers fit the chairs precisely and cover both the chair backs and the seats and legs. A romantic look has gathers and billows of material in silks or brocades. A tailored look might have pleats or panels and be made of linen or damask. Try sheer fabric covers for interesting chairs that need a hint of mystery.

Paint Wood Chairs

Spruce up a mismatched set of acquired or inherited chairs and transform the dining room. Sand or strip the old finish from the chairs for a surface the new paint can grab smoothly. Try something unusual to create an original look. Paint all the chairs one glossy unexpected color like bright orange or banana yellow. Or mix up a matched set of inexpensive chairs by painting each one a different primary or secondary color. Multi-color paint looks best with a plain table like a modern glass slab or a Parsons table.

Tags: chair backs, dining chairs, dining room, hide them