Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Shabby Elegant Dining Set

A met a woman some time ago now who contacted me to buy the Lady’s Sitting Chair that was one of our first posts on the blog.  She loved the chair and wanted to build a mismatched dining set around it, with eight chairs (seven more) and a table made from a (big) old door.  We’re still on the lookout for the old door to suit, but we’ve finally finished searching for and refinishing the chairs.

Now, in my humble opinion, it’s difficult to pull off just throwing a bunch of different chairs around a table without it ending up looking like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

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I think some people can pull it off in certain environments, but, like I said, it’s difficult.  It’s much easier for a very ordered person like me to achieve a mismatched look in an orderly kind of way.  There are two ways you could go about this. 

The first method is by using a set of matching chairs and using varying finishes to achieve a mis-matched look.

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Apartment Therapy

 

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All Things Thrifty

 

The other method (and the one we chose to employ for our mismatched dining set project) is to collect differing shapes and styles of chairs and to unite them using the same finishes.

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Apartment Therapy

 

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Coastal Living

 

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Sara Jessica Parker’s Dining Room

 

So now, if you’re not completely photo-exampled out, onto our Twice Lovely shabby elegant mismatched dining chairs  (get ready for picture overload!!) 

They were all painted ivory and distressed, just as the first chair was.  We chose three coordinating fabrics for the upholstery: one was the damask used on the first chair, one was a paisley floral, and the other a stripe, all in very soft greens and creams.  Here was the first chair she purchased, which served as the inspiration for the set.

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And here’s how her friends turned out:

 

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I can’t WAIT to see them all gathered cozily around a table!  I’ll be sure to show you all when the project is completely completed.  ;)

14 comments:

  1. this is perfect i just got frustrated with my chair i was working on the seat wont accept the stain, and now because i stained it it wont accept paint. :S so i think ill put fabric like these show :D thatll work. love your blog<3

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  2. Your client is a lucky girl! I love the mismatched chairs, in fact that is what I have in my dining room now. You are so creative!!

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  3. some dang nice chairs there...i am looking for 1 chair yes 1 chair has been bout 7 months and no luck!!! all i can say is people are looking for same chair or people are just mean and won't part with the 1 i want!!

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  4. Oh Ann Marie, they turned out SO nice!! I love this look and I can't wait to see them all together.

    XO
    Lenore

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  5. Wow, they all look great, and I know they'll look even better grouped together.

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  6. They are awesome!!! How much fun to collect such unique yet complimentary pieces. Talented lady, you are!! -shaunna :)

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  7. Oh goodness. Each is beautiful in it's own way. I have wanted to pull different chairs around my table as well but just have not yet made it happen. I think this is just the inspiration needed to make it happen. Gorgeous! Lovely! Wonderful!

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  8. I'm on the edge of my seat to see them all together!

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  9. wow! Love this! Can't wait to see them when they're put together around the table...looking forward to that post!

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  10. It's going to be a fabulous set! They're beautiful!

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  11. gorgeous! i can't wait to see it all set up when there is a table as well. love the softness of it all.

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  12. I have been wanting to accomplish the perfectly mismatched chairs in my own dining room for some time now. You're so right though, it's very hard to pull off. This is looking awesome. I can't wait to see the final product. Way to go!

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  13. Those really look fabulous! I really like the mis-matched look of the chairs but they do tie in nicely. That'll be a fun dining room set. You did a beautiful job!

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  14. Those chairs are breathtaking. Love your choice of fabrics. All of the chairs are fabulous, especially the armed paisley chair and the chair with the curvy back with the striped fabric. Looking forward for pics when they around a table!

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