Dining Room Reveal!

The day is finally here! Our little dining nook is filled and decorated and has a purpose.

Last week I left you in suspense with these bare Ikea chairs that needed a little something to help them fit in with the new table...

My solution? Slipcovers.

I had purchased four natural colored linen covers from Walmart many months ago for just $10/ea. I figured at that price, I couldn't go wrong. I really wanted these Henriksdal chairs from Ikea...

But $90 per chair was out of the budget. And we already had two of the Borje chairs from our old house, so we decided to get 2 more, add some inexpensive slipcovers and call it a day.

Well, after months of sitting in the garage, here's how they looked on a chair...

Yikes. Aside from needing a good wash/ironing, they were slightly too large and dark in color (they were quite a bit darker in person than in this picture).

So I soaked them in bleach and hot water and let them sit in the washing machine for a while. When they came out of the dryer, I let out a sigh of relief.

Much, much better.

But I thought they still needed a little something extra. So I headed to JoAnne's and grabbed some 2" high density foam...

Sidenote: This stuff is expensive! Over $50 for this piece!

I traced the shape of the back...

Cut out four pieces, and viola!

The only problem was, you could see the green coming through the fabric. To fix this (and also help stabilize the foam) I slipped pillowcases over the top...

And we're good to go!

I actually really like how they are loose instead of fitted. It gives the space a softer, more casual feel (and it's so shabby chic, which is my new thing apparently).

And here's how everything looks together! I even set the table for fun.

These woven placemats are from Ikea... love them.

My second weekend project was making these no-sew cloth napkins that double as placemats. I'm running short on time tonight, but I'll pop in mid-week for a quick step by step on those. I'm very pleased with how they turned out!

I saw these gorgeous pinecone salt and pepper shakers on sale at Home Goods months ago and I had to have them!

And that, my friends, is that. I can't wait to have friends over and have our first meal there :)