What's a home without some decor?

Hubby T recently declared he was sick of living like povos with op shop furniture and wanted a proper grown-up dining table and chairs. What a dilemma for the salvagey/creative type - first I was compelled to defend the Formica and chrome table I'd op shopped for a mere $15 (I'm less passionate about the assorted ex-office chairs acquired for $5 a piece), then I asked how much I was allowed to spend at Ikea.

A compromise - what if I got new chairs to suit the vintage table? No, it all has to be new.

What if I got four different chairs in matching colours to suit each member of the family? No, everything has to match.

I finally struck on a means of expressing my creativity through brand new matching furniture - customising the chairs myself. My first idea was to buy these Nordmyra chairs...

...and cover the seats and backrests with posh wrapping paper and varnish.
Of course, I'd need a different wrapping paper for each chair. Hubby T was fine with this as long as his was left plain.

Hubby T is looking forward to the era where we all wear matching grey jumpsuits.

After reading about covering chair seats in my newly purchased book Salvage Sisters (I'll review it another day) I abandoned the papered chairs idea in favour of upholstered seats. Those Nordmyras didn't look super comfy or ideal for young children anyway. Instead I found Borje chairs in a small range of colours, with removable seat covers.

What could be easier than making new covers to replace these boring-as-hell white ones? And what could challenge my interior design (ahem) 'skills' more than finding the perfect combination of chair colour and seat fabric?

I've been through the websites of every Australian screenprinter I can find, starting with Konstant Kaos' comprehensive directory, looking for the perfect fabric. Some designers, like Ink & Spindle and PippiJoe, offer prints on specific upholstery weight fabric.


Most stick to quilting weight fabrics, but might print some of their designs onto high-quality linen tea towels (see Flower Press and Yardage Design) which I imagine would stand up to being sat on.


And I can't forget the gorgeous linen tea towels printed by Olive Grove Studios' very own Roze Elizabeth:

After looking at every fabric a dozen times I think I've found what I want, although a basecloth with a heavier GSM might be a better idea. Imagine PippiJoe's Waterhens on black chairs:

Cute, huh?

Another concept I'm very tempted by is a variety of Poulier & Poulier tram scroll tea towels on black chairs:

With a cheeky tram scroll-inspired menu by Yardage Design thrown in:

I think I'd be sold on this ieda if it didn't feel a bit too Real Living colour-by-numbers 'Eclectic'.

Do you have a favourite design by a local screenprinter you'd love to swathe your furniture in? Have I missed a to-die-for option?