The Domino Effect

Why is it that once we make a change in a room, other changes need to take place as well?

Around here we have experienced that sort of domino effect when it comes to furnishings. First, we had The Summer of Chairs where I was on the lookout and replaced almost all of our dining chairs. 

The chairs we had before - nice, serviceable, but not very comfortable.

Some of the new-to-us chairs that are sturdy and comfy.

The season changed but The Chair Project - Continued. Since there was two sets of chairs and they were similar but just enough different, Plus, the cane-backed chairs had two different seat covers and the urn-backed chair seats made there be three different seat covers. I needed there to be some cohesiveness and I guess I needed to put my stamp on the new purchase.

I had long admired chairs with a buffalo checked seat that I saw in blog posts and decorator books. So, I ordered some buffalo checked fabric in a neutral color. Then, spent a little time and a bit of muscle to cover them all.

I still smile when I walk through the house and see all of our new-to-us dining chairs. They are exactly what I have wanted for eons and the checked seats give them that finished, consistent, planned, southern look. I have them scattered all throughout the house and they look wonderful in every single room.

The next domino effect occurred when I picked up our new-to-us sofa from our family friend's estate. It looked a bit dated and didn't really fit in with our other furniture. So, this time, I contacted an upholsterer and had the sofa recovered. 

When I brought it home, we had the Sofa Shuffle.  I knew that new upholstery would really made it look refreshed and fit so much better with our other furniture. Well...except having that bold buffalo check on the sofa sort of conflicted with the ottoman that we use as a coffee table. Plus, the ottoman was sort of looking sad after eighteen years of use. So... the domino effect again.

Eighteen-year-old faded, thread-bare ottoman

I first thought about just making a slipcover for it. I ordered what I thought might be something similar to the striped fabric and the Mister let me know that he didn't think it would be appropriate. I stumbled across a grain sack type fabric and even began measuring and figuring out how I would stitch up the slipcover. Then, one day I was looking through some decorator books that I have here and noticed a different sort of fabric that I thought might let us keep the animal print but be somewhat more subtle and not fight with the checks on the sofa. I began searching online for fabric and found just what I thought would work. So, when I went to pick up the sofa, I dropped off the ottoman and fabric.

The cheetah print is almost exactly the same colors as the checked sofa. Yet, the print is such that it is still somewhat a neutral. Animal print - check. Neutral - check. Enhances the new-to-us sofa - check.

To me it is always surprising how a more modern fabric on an antique piece of furniture makes it look fresh and updated. All of this may have come as a result of the domino effect but every single bit of these updates, changes, and additions were fairly inexpensive. The fabrics for all of these pieces of furniture (chairs, sofa, and ottoman), the cost of upholstery work on the sofa and ottoman, and the cost of the thrifted chairs still totaled less than an new sofa or a new set of chairs. 

All of these pieces are quality pieces of furniture that are sturdy, well-made, and fairly classic styles. So, I think they will hold up well to our wear and tear and last us for many years to come. Sometimes it is like that children's book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, and becomes a circular tale where one thing leads to another thing and you wind up right bac where you started. This time, though, I think the domino effect we have implemented will be something that leads to a longtime and lasting part of our household.