I smashed my dining room table a couple months ago. I feel compelled to say that it wasn’t very dramatic in fashion, I just put something hot on it forgetting it was glass and it shattered.

I also feel compelled to say that I loved that table.

Everything I own is second hand. Most of it came from the “free section” of my building where people leave things to nice to throw out but that they don’t want (my couch, my rug, my bookcase) a few things came from my best friend who used to live upstairs when she moved across the country (a bookshelf, a bedside table) and a few things came from my mom and sister when they visisted and realized how shabby my place was (my desk, my kitchen island). The one thing I actually bought was my kitchen table and chairs. I got some Christmas money and pooled it together and bought it. It’s an awesome mid century modern chrome and glass table with low round chairs. It wasn’t in the best of conditions- the steel was a little rusty and the upholstery was definitely pilling, but it was mine. When I broke that table I cried.

Mostly I cried because Jordan hates that table and I figured if he would make a big push for us to get rid of it, but I didn’t give him enough credit. We kept the table and chairs with the agreement that I would reupholster the chairs and he would get us a new glass table top. So I found me some gorgeous vintage curtains and voila! Well, not entirely voila, I had never reupholstered anything in my life but I took out a book, read a few blogs and I’m feeling like an old pro now (although I bought fabric to redo my couch and I am now terrified all over again.) It took a little longer for him to find a proper sized glass table top but he did and now we have a kitchen table again!

So to celebrate we are having friends over for dinner tomorrow night and I will let you know all about the desserts I made but in the mean time, here’s my DIY reupholster.

My chairs just unscrewed in the backs, so I took off the cushion-y parts. Then i painstakingly took them apart (and by me, I mean me and Jordan who was very bribed with cookies to help) You will need to use them as a pattern so be patient. This involved using a flat-ended screw driver to pull out the staples and needle nose pliers to pull out nails. We learnt that we weren’t the first to reupholster these chairs, they were a terrible brown corduroy before!

Lay out your fabric and pin the old pieces on top like a pattern.

Cut them out! Then pin them to the original cushions.

Staple staple staple. This will take time. Start at the back to get used to it. You need to get the tension right so that it’s very stable but won’t buckle. That very important.