U Chair, Two Chairs

Two down, one to go...the kids are enjoying the U chairs that I made from the foam we've carted around with us for 6 years.  It feels great to finally put it to a practical use!

Instead of paying $90 apiece for them like they charge at Pottery Barn, I was able to make them for about $12 each. 

I covered the chairs with some home dec fabric I bought at Walmart, of all places.  You know how they have random bolts of fabric sometimes?  I originally bought it for Eliza's room, and never used it until now.

I'm not fond of installing zippers, nor did I have any super long zippers, so I made the slipcovers with velcro closures on the bottom instead.  Here are some photos of Hyrum demonstrating the many practical uses and varied configurations of our new U chairs:

Needless to say, the kids have been having a great time turning our house into even more of a jungle gym.  The only unforseen problem is that they fight over whose is whose, the crazy kids.  Try using reason ("They're exactly the same, kids - it doesn't matter which one you play with!!") with a 3 and 6 year old and it doesn't always register.  Sigh.  I thought I'd be averting arguments by making them identical!  Maybe I'll have to mark them somehow to distinquish whose belongs to whom. 

I guess I can't be too surprised about what my kids get worked up about.  After all, when I was growing up (I'm the middle of 5 children) we'd argue over who had more milk in their glass at dinner time.  I remember somebody (it may have been me, I honestly can't remember)even insisting that the ice cream bowls were weighed on a scale to ensure that we all had EXACTLY the same amount.  Looking back on it, I realize now how much patience my parents had with us...and what Steve and I have to look forward to!  :-)

Comments

[Missy]

Adorable pictures! Those look like a fun project to make. (I think all kids want things to be fair. happens all the time in my house!)

[Sunny]

My kids fight over similar objects all the time--it is usually the couch pillows which are identical. I LOVE those chairs. When you make it to DC I am going to have you show me how to make them because they are exactly what I need in my family room.

[EdithSonger]

Where did you find such cheap foam? When I have looked into it here it has been very expensive. I'm to the stage with my windowseat where I need to get some.
Those chairs look great! In my experience, even if they are distinguishable one from the other, they will still fight over them. Sigh.

[Shelley Detton]

I bought the foam at Joann's 6 years ago (it's probably more expensive now) and used one of their 40% off coupons so that really helped. There are different qualities of foam, too, so if you want it really firm be sure to get the high density kind.