DIY Design & Style: Dressing Table Chair with Jerusalem Greer

Currently we are in the middle of re-decorating our master bedroom. We have lived in our vintage cottage for 6 years and life with 2 little boys is starting to show on more than just my face (oh the laugh lines!)  All the walls are looking a little rough as well, a little too "well loved" if you know what I mean, so the time has come to start re-painting. We decided to start with our room because frankly I have never loved the color we painted it originally. That color choice was a mistake made for the sake of fashion, and I have learned  – after having to look at it first thing in the morning for 6 years – my lesson!. So now, we are moving on to what I love, not what I think everyone else will love and boy am I already so happy!

When we decided to repaint our bedroom, I also decided to fix up a few areas of the room that had been neglected during the arrival of new babies, job changes and countless other home-projects. The first area I tackled is the little dressing area in the nook between our closets.  I have had a table (a Salvation Army find for $15) for quite a while, but until recently I could never find a chair that fit the tight space well.

That is until I saw Brown Betty above. Brown Betty was found in the back of a charity re-sale shop one town away. She appeared to be very lonesome, missing one button (much like our beloved Corduroy,)  the right size for the nook and the perfect price – $5 – for my pocket book. Her only drawbacks were that she was brown and an office chair, but both of those facts did not deter me, because when you find a great chair for $5 you buy it, and figure the rest out later! Right? Right!

So home Brown Betty and I went, and just as I suspected she fit the nook perfectly, her wheels making it easy to maneuver in the tight space. But how to take her from "office space" to "vintage grace" was the next challenge.

I decided that given her shape (small, no arms) I would attempt to make a simple slipcover for her. Something loose and light, like a summer sundress.

 Over the years, I have read several articles on how to do this type of no-pattern-loose slipcover project and have always been eager to try it,  so without any idea of the outcome,  I jumped in with both feet, fancying myself as cool as any designer on Project Runway, with my straight pins and yards of fabric (a vintage sheet from my stash,) as I draped and pinned, cut and sewed, pinned and trimmed, and sewed some more until I had a slipcover! To add to her charm I also painted her legs & the brass on her casters a soft pale green. This little touch finished her off just right, and now she sits happily by the window in my dressing nook.

Now I am not a seamstress at all, I am typically only about straight line sewing  -you know, square pillows and tab top curtains. So if you come to my house and inspect my work on this slipcover you will see all kinds of puckers and some less-than-even spots. But over all I am pleased as punch with how Sweet Betty (as she has been renamed) turned out.  I may even try my hand at the cool armchair out in the garage that I have always dreamed of covering this way. Of course that project will involve heavier fabric & arms so I may have to call for back-up (Mom if you are reading this, please stay by the phone…)