Saturday, April 27, 2013

DIY Chair Cushion


Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reiner/331732019/


      Welcome to the fifth and final post of the "DIY Dining Room Decor" series! Over the course of this week I have been sharing five easy and budget-friendly projects to add to the organization, function and style of the dining room. We've now created a menu board to hang on the wall to maintain organization. We've also created a very cost effective tablecloth. For the top of that lovely tablecloth we've made a table centerpiece and some woven burlap placemats. (Scroll down to bottom of post for links to previous posts). Today's final project is a cushy for the tushy. (Hehehe) 

     I love the way that a meal shared with friends or family can linger as conversations continue well after the food is finished. My tush, on the contrary, is less than pleased with the extended time on hard chairs. Maybe it's the design of our chairs? Either way, today's post is all about adding function within the dining room with the creation of some DIY chair cushions. 


     Once again, I'm turning to one of my favorite resources for providing a large amount of material in a very cost effective manner- the $5 twin sheet. As much as I enjoy creative projects, I also enjoy saving money where I can. The pieces of foam ranged from $5.99-6.99 each depending on the craft store. I highly recommend collecting store coupons to purchase the foam pieces even if that means making multiple trips to the store (if you're already out and about in town, of course). I calculated the cost to be around $19.39 (if you get each foam piece with a coupon or on sale), which is about $4.85 per chair cushion for my set of four chairs. I fairly certain even the cheapest options in the stores are higher. Plus, since I'm using the same sheet I made the tablecloth with, I know that the two pieces will match. 

     Steps to make the chair cushion are included in the following photos. If you have trouble viewing the photos, then let me know and I can provide instructions with only the text. Have fun!









      And that's the end of the series. I had a lot of fun putting together each of these projects. (I also enjoyed the fact that each project was more cost-effective as a DIY endeavor than purchasing the pre-made version in a store!). I hope they have inspired you in ways to add those little decorative touches to your home as well. 

       This series wasn't just about the aesthetics of decoration, however. My goal was to also demonstrate that choosing to be a homemaking family on one-income doesn't mean you have to be limited to stark white walls and no extra decorative touches. There are means to accomplish the same goals without having to turn to pulling in a second income to do so. It's a matter of seeing potential beyond store displays and creatively using what you have available. Part of my definition of homemaking involves the home as a place of productivity. To create items for your home with your own hands is indeed fulfilling the function of productivity (versus consumerism). 

        Finally, no part of decorating whether created by you or purchase from a store will give meaning to the home. That must come from you personally. Meaning within a home comes from the people gathered, memories shared, and relationships built. The projects within the series are fun ways to add to the appearance of the home, but the heart is the greatest project of all. 

Previous Posts in Series:




No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...