Beth Myers - HERLIFE Magazine

wipe-on finish has set completely (this should take a couple of weeksto fully set), go over the piece lightly with the steel wool, or applypaste wax and buff it off with a soft cloth. This will ensure a beautiful,refined finish.Let’s say your patience paid off after waiting for your antiquedining room chairs to dry, and now you’d like to get a touch morecreative by re-covering the set. You can take old, flattened pillowsand cover them with new fabric if you need a quick fix for your newchairs, or, if you have a little more time, take out the chair seat andcover it with padding. Then you can wrap the fabric around the seatand padding and staple it in or glue it on the back. The easiest wayto do this is to lay out the fabric and put the new pad in the center ofyour fabric. Trace about three inches out from the pad and cut aroundit with the printed fabric side facing up. You don’t have extra clothas you’re stapling it to the back, and it’s a lot less messy this way.With the right tools and planning, this can be an incredibly successfulproject to take on and will provide a true sense of accomplishment.Resurrecting dated furniture and fine-tuning finishes can help yourhome look classy; if you’re adding a bit of fabric to the piece, choosemodern styles that match your home decor so you can get the mostuse possible from it. One other tip: make sure you’re prepared tobask in the compliments. ■122 HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM