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I haven't visited here in a while - haven't been doing much decorating lately. I have been looking, on and off, for a couple of years for fabric for my dining room chair cushions. I want something sturdy/heavy that will wear well and also something fairly neutral so that I won't have to change it right away should I decide to repaint.

Here is a picture of the drapes - excuse the way they are hanging, they needed to be ironed.



Here is a picture of the dining furniture without the cushions (well, I see one there, I must have left it for my cat to lay on).



Here is a closeup of the fabric.



I posted on another board a while back and it was suggested to do a chocolate and blue stripe. There is blue in the fabric., a slate blue I would call it, though it is very muted. I've looked for something like that but haven't been able to find any that I like. Most were silky/shiny fabrics and I don't want that.

The other day I was in a local furniture/home decor store and saw this fabric.





I really liked the weight of it. However, their price, which was apparently a discounted price, was $73/yard!! The furniture in the store comes from Lee Industries and this was one of their samples. Unfortunately, this is a bad cell phone picture and the color doesn't come out true to life, but I like the weight and pattern of the fabric - velvet, I guess? So I've been searching online trying to find something similar to no avail (fabrics are too busy, wrong color, not enough yardage, etc).

Any suggestions on something that would coordinate with my drapes and do well as a chair cushion? I should add that the fabrics won't be right next to each other, and looking at this blue fabric against the other one, it looks totally wrong. I just liked the texture of it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: merella,

Red and cream stripe?
Green and cream stripe?
Yellow and red?
I don't know. There's too many choices LOL.

I think I'd pick something green like your pillows.

I don't think there's enough blue to pull of the material. It's hard to tell from pictures.

Wanda, my initial reaction was to do a green and chocolate or beige stripe. However, someone in my earlier thread said that the green would just accentuate the red color of the rosewood and I don't want a Christmasy feeling IYKWIM.

Would you stick with a stripe? I agree that there isn't much blue in the fabric, but I think if it were not dominant (like in that photo I posted), like if it were a stripe with blue and beige or blue and dark brown, then it could work since the fabrics aren't right next to each other.

I also have a lot of green in my house. It's my favorite color but I don't want to overdo it. I also think it might be hard to get the right shade of red with the red in the wood.

UGH! See why it has taken me so long???? I just want this over and done with LOL. Thanks for your suggestions!

Merella,

I remember your pretty room!

If you are near joanns check out the hanging fabric swatches. Here are some by crypton. Take one of your current panels or a swatch with you.

http://www.joann.com/fabric/ho...rand_crypton/?page=1

You can also order small swatches of these fabrics.

Some stripes

http://www.joann.com/fabric/ho...ypton/theme_stripes/

This one might work. There is also more info about the fabric and uses.

http://www.joann.com/home-deco...orage-37/xprd881453/

One more possibility

http://www.joann.com/home-deco...tamarind/xprd881617/

Good Luck!

These fabrics are nice also. I have used them for a couple of projects. Lots of colors to work with your fabric.


http://maryjos.com/store/search.aspx

BTW: I have ordered from this site. Great customer service.

This is a scrap of material I used for the border of throw pillows I had made. I used a neutral beige for the opposite side. It looks to me as though the colors would coordinate with your drapes. I would be hesitant to put very light color cushions on my dining room chairs because of the dirt factor.

Here's a shot of the backs of the pillows

And here's a shot of the front. Maybe you can get the idea of how the fabric might work for you????

but wait...how wide is the fabric? often these fabrics come in wider widths than "normal"...and with a pattern that doesn't need to be matched (like making sure a floral is in the same spot) it might be not that expensive, esp if you can do them yourself....

quote:

Originally posted by sms29s66:
I would be hesitant to put very light color cushions on my dining room chairs because of the dirt factor.

SM,

No worries with the right stain resistant fabrics. I've had this one on the chairs for 7 years with daily use.

I do have a couple extra yards of fabric just in case...LOL.

The other chairs have a pale aqua chenille on them. No worries.

Merella-I have no suggestions on fabric but I wanted to say it's nice to see you!! Love your curtains, they look great.

Here are a few I think would co-ordinate well with your current drapes:

http://warehousefabricsinc.com.../sequencekhaki-m.jpg

http://warehousefabricsinc.com...0001/amysahara-m.jpg

http://warehousefabricsinc.com...00000001/arakanm.jpg

that website has tons more and many are on sale for decent prices.
Personally I like the striped fabrics. Good luck with whatever you choose and be sure to keep us updated.

Thanks for all the suggestions - sorry I took so long to respond. I'd gotten busy with a few things and forgot I posted here. How nice to come back and see the responses. SarahAnn, those striped fabrics look like they have the same colors but I wonder about the sturdiness of the fabric. I think I'll get some samples. I got a bit jaded with fabric after spending quite a bit on a chair for my family room using a Calico Corner fabric that I never imagined would not wear well at all. The sales rep gave me the impression it would but after a couple of years (perhaps even sooner), it had already started fraying. My couch, OTOH, which is the same age, (10 yrs now) looks brand new. It was a special order upgraded fabric from crate and barrel but I have no idea what kind of fabric it is. It was a return that we found by chance, not something that we had made ourselves. Anyway, I'd love to find something of similar weight/material.

Beau, chenille has always intrigued me. It feels so soft and looks so comfortable, but I've always wondered about it's long term life. Not that these chairs will have heavY use, but like I said, I feel like I got burned with my family room chair, so want to make a good choice here since it takes me forever to get a project done, that I don't want to have to redo again a couple years later.

SMS, for some reason, I can't see your photos but I'm on my iPad which can be a little wonky sometimes. I'll have to go on my Mac later and see if I can view them.

Always1, thanks for the compliment. I think you were the one that was responsible for me finding the drapery fabric! I think you had posted a room from Rate My Space and I fell in love with the fabric the woman had used. I made those drapes myself, a non-sewer, with the help of a friend. For a first timer, they turned out so much better than I hoped. Needless to say, someone else will be making the covers for my chair cushions! I'll be sure to post back once they aspire finished.