Remember these stools?
Well they were a housewarming gift from Leah and my Dad. Leah and I searched high and low in Edmonton for the perfect cream leather stools I had in mind....finally finding them at Konto furniture store. We literally drove all over town...like I minded...shopping is FUN!
(note to Dad and Leah....if you are reading this....the following sounds worse than it is....)
Well we have had them for just over a year now and we get tons of use out of them....and it seems to be a favorite place for our two cats to sleep. As it turns out sleeping isn't the only thing they like to do on these stools. Sharpening claws seems to be a favorite past time for Kato and Sasuke...and if I didn't love them OH SO MUCH... well you can read between the lines here.
So I purchased a leather repair kit from a local hardware store and that was an ok fix...but for the perfectionist in me it wasn't good enough. I called the manufacturer of the stool and they offered me a replacement at a discounted price. This was a good option, however, I'm afraid the cats will just love some fresh leather even more so I needed another idea....
This is where you realize I am actually nuts am a little weird. So my next idea came from a place of despiration when I noticed a few more claw marks... and my heart began to sink. I ran out in search of slipcovers and came home with 3 pillow cases to put over the tops of the stools and 3 placemats to put on the seats. It worked but looked rediculous.
So I was searching Etsy for slipcovers and I came across these:
The sellers store is called SimpleLinen. Her slipcovers are just gorgeous but a tad rich for my blood lol! One day I will be able to afford them!
I was starting to trick myself into thinking DIY pillowcase-placemat covers were the new it thing...but then Holly was so kind to share Kim with me (the wonderfully skilled seamstress who made those beautiful wingback chair covers for her). After considering a few different designs, including the ones above (which wouldn't work as well for stools cause the skirt would just get too big by the time it reached the floor), we decided on something completely different. Loose fitting linen covers! Here is the look I'm going for...except I can't decide on the length....long to the floor, almost to the floor, or just like in the photo:
These ones are from Rachel Ashwell
My plan is to eventually have ones made to protect my dining room chairs too...and they will look more like the ones from SimpleLinen. Either the skirt with the pleated corners or the flowy skirt.
In the mean time... the other day I made the long trek out to Ikea and I had no idea but they sell slip covers for their Henriksdal style stools. And at only $15 each I was pretty happy! Finally I can ditch the makeshift pillowcase-placemat combo I had going on!
Here is what they look like for now...not a bad fit. I would go ahead and get the sticky velcro so I could secure the slip covers to the underside of the stools but since they are only temporary I'm just going to leave it.
I got those great little pillows from Ikea too at $15 a pop!
If you guys get a chance can you tell me which length of linen slipcover you think would look best?
13 comments:
Rebecca,
This is just a thought, but the IKEA covers don't look bad. Could the seamstress add a simple skirt to in a white cotton then tea stain the whole thing to give it that aged linen look?
I think maybe the longer ones, since a short version will look similar (but longer) to the ikea ones you have now. I really like the way your stools look with the leather, so I was thinking that maybe adding the velcro and tightening up the fabric would look really good. On second thought, go with the short, since the darker legs look really good in your kitchen. And of course this is just my little opinion--you have great taste and I'm sure whatever you decide will look great.
Hi! I LOVE those Rachel Ashwell slipcovers! I love the crumpled look! I would go with a skirt that is only about 6-8 inches long. A long skirt would be cute too- but would you cats be scratching on that part then? I know mine would! :)
I think, the shorter, the better... Show some leg! Lol
We had the same thing happen to our leather stools! Actually, anything leather is destroyed, except this ugly leather reclining massage chair - go figure!
I warned Cory when he moved his leather furniture in, but he didn't listen. But at least now I have an excuse to get new stufff when we finish the basement!
From the pictures I think they look cute like they are now with the Ikea covers. :)
oh how jealous i am! those linen chair covers are fabulous. i would choose the length they are in the photo. i based that decision on the fact that when sitting in a bar height chair, people tend to use the lower bars to rest their feet on and you don't want to be washing chair covers every day. :) looks lovely as is, but i can't wait to see your linen ones.
For just a temporary fix, they sure are good looking! P.S. - Your kitchen is just to die for. The chandelier, backsplash and crisp neutral tones make me extremely jealous!
Ooooh I have been drooling over the RA ones too. I kind of love wrinkled rumpled slipcovers to death so I say short and wrinkled!
this may sound random, but what if you de-clawed the cats? Then you could purchase the chairs at a discounted price. I haven't ever owned a cat before because i'm allergic so I really don't know anything about cats and de-clawing lol. I also love the short and wrinkled slipcovers just as much as I like the chairs without any covers, so either direction you take, they'll look fabulous! I love your style!
Great solution ... I would probably velcro the edges under the seat to get a tighter look.
Those are a FAB temporary solution...could they be a permanent option?
If not, since the stools look like they have gorgeous stained legs, I say 'rara skirt' (google images if you're not sure what I mean!)
Rumpled slip covers with 2 layers (or even 3 if you can!) of 'frill' like the one on the right in your inspiration pics!
Your kitchen is so beautiful!
I never would have thought to slipcover these type of chairs, but it's a great idea! I kind of think they would look cool all the way to the floor. Good luck!
Hey, Rebecca, I nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger award--see my blog for more info. Hope you're feeling better!!
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