DIY Woven Chair Seat

Now that we're finally in our house, I have been in some sort of creative overdrive mode. Finding a way to make our stuff fit into a new space well always puts me into a problem solving state, which, of course, leads to a long list of projects.

This rocking chair is a great example...I still love the shape of this Ikea gem, but honestly it hasn't gotten much use since our apartment days in California. I hated the print of the cushions, but they're still in great shape. I will probably update the covers someday soon using this site, but for now I wanted a quick way to update the chair so it could be functional as a reading chair in Jack's room instead of being banished to the garage.

I love the look of wooden furniture with the contrast of a neutral woven fabric seat. I found this great tutorial from one of my fave DIY-ers, Matt from Wood & Faulk and remembered that I had two rolls of industrial grade felt sitting in a box just waiting to be used! If I had leather strips on hand I would definitely be using those, but I love the soft look and feel of the felt too (and, hey, free!).

The process was very simple and the whole project took less than two hours. The only thing I did differently than the tutorial was to use a staple gun instead of upholstery tacks to attach the strips of felt to the frame. I wasn't having a lot of success in nailing the tacks in, and the staple gun ended up being a quick solution. This would be an amazing update or fix for any furniture that has a wood frame and a variety of materials could be used. I don't think I'll look at broken garage sale chairs the same now!

I can't wait to snap a pic of Jack's room and show the chair in its new home!

Have you made anything to update your home lately? I would love to hear about it!