Quantcast

Bower Power

· 63 Comments

You can’t sit in two chairs with one butt, Sugarbean.

Uncategorized

That’s one of my favorite quotes from Sweet Home Alabama.  I love that movie.

Actually the quote goes “You can’t ride two horses with one @$$, Sugarbean” but the idea is the same.  I have one derriere and too many chair choices.  The problem area as it is right now….(no, not my saddle bags…although those are an issue with my bathing suit):

We fell in love with our giant table.  But we needed new chairs because those modern stackable ones weren’t looking fly with this brown guy.  We actually knew that up front we would need chairs but the real surprise came when I found so many options.  I mean seriously…every single store had like two options that I could totally work with.  The only issue I had?  price.  Our kitchen table was $18 at a yard sale (that I made over), the bench was $15 at Goodwill and the chairs were hand me downs from my mother (that I made over too)….long story short…eight new chairs = some serious moolah.

So as we waited to sock away enough for eight (to ten) new chairs, we narrowed down the bazillion choices to our top million…then to the top thousand…then to the top 100…then we needed a break…and a coke….and then got down to top ten.  Here they be….

Each one had it’s merits.  We were looking for something that had a little interest (whether it be a pattern, a texture, a detail like tufting or nailhead)…so the plain parson’s chair was out.  The parson’s chair with a skirt?  In.

The chair also needed to have a neutral color.  I know what I am and know what I like…and neutral is my jam baby.  Especially when it means I’m dropping at least $800 in chairs.  I considered lots of slipcovered options.  I know that the slipcover on our couch is AMAZEHEADS (I’m trying that saying out…ya know…cause ‘amazeballs’ is not something I want Will repeating at his churchy preschool…that’s all I need…) but the couch gets used every single day and I can bleach it…so I worried that a slipcovered chair that is all white would need bleached after every meal (and end up being ill fitting after all that cleaning) and could blend into the molding & chair railing that is already white in the dining room.

So after a lot of thought and effort, I decided….yes, I would need at least 8 chairs + 2 head chairs (don’t get me started) and they would need to be cheap.  My top choice was a tufted look.  I like that it would add some much needed interest and it looks rich without looking stuffy.  That narrowed me down to three…the Target Brookline, the Overstock Bellcrest and the World Market Harper.  The Overstock option was beautiful with it’s curved back but I would much prefer a straight leg and the color of upholstery I wanted wasn’t available.  The World Market had really pretty tufting and straighter legs but they were black and I was afraid that would be hard to mix with the table.  I also didn’t like that the back of the chair (the part I would see most of the time) had a very traditional curved edge to the top.  So that left me with the Target Brookline.

Out of all the options, the Brookline was my favorite for several reasons.  One…straight legs that were similar in color to our table.  Two…tufted back (even if it wasn’t as boxy as the World Market Harper, I could deal with it).  Three….HELLO PRICE 🙂

When I finally was ready to pull the trigger, I saw that they no longer sell them online.  YOU STINK TARGET!

(justkiddingiloveyou)

That meant that I went on a chair-rampage.  Three targets, eight chairs, two crying kids, one hundred eighteen miles, and almost seven hundred dollars later….I survived.  I’m in the middle of putting them together and into the dining room.  My goal?  all of them in the room and post about it tomorrow.  I may not survive that.  We will have to wait and see.

0 Shares

Comments

  1. How do you have such good luck with thrifting/yard saling?! It’s not even fair. I would LOVE a wood and white table/bench combo for our dining room.

    Anyway, I think they’ll look great with your table! Can’t wait to see 🙂

  3. I played the “guess-what-katie-bower-bought” game before I scrolled down, and I actually picked the winner! Plus it was what I would have picked. I love your dedication for getting those chairs!
    xo

  4. Love the chair choice, we have a very similar table and ended up with the same exact Target chair story last week. It was like a jackpot when I found one target with three chairs! And the price was unbeatable!

  5. This post just happens to have made my day, purely because of the title. I love that movie, and can quote nearly every line… “Why’d you wanna marry me anyhow? So I can kiss ya anytime I want…”
    Also, before seeing the price and other factors, the Target Brookline was always my favourite! Can’t wait to see it come together!

  6. Love those chairs! What if you added two different chairs (maybe with arms) at the ends of the table? I can’t wait to see them, I love your table and dining room.

  7. One thing that we have done with furniture is spray scotch guard on it. We buy it at lowes…. A little pricey per bottle but well worth it. We always test it on a location that is descreet to make sure it won’t change the color if the fabric (We’ve never had an issue). Spray at least two coats and ….. The overall benefit is that spills wipe right out!!! We have even gone to the extreme of spraying our entire car. Swear by it and might be worth it to protect those chair. Look forward to seeing the overall look.

    xoxo

  9. i live in atlanta and i want those chairs if you’re selling them! i’ve been looking at those for my dining table.

    email me!
    rachael

  11. As always you cracked me up. 🙂 I actually loved the target chairs the most and was hoping you had picked those.

    I can totally picture you driving around for miles hoping that the boys napped between stores, waiting a bit for them to wake up so they wouldn’t be cranky. .. a woman on a mission. 🙂 Now you have the satisfaction of having just what you wanted. Well worth the hassle.

  12. Girl…don’t hit me but just went to Target.com to see if they carried an “armed” version of this chair and there was a listing for it online. You just had to buy it in a set of 2. 🙁 Don’t mean to rub salt in the wound, just thought you might like to know just in case something was wrong with any of the ones you purchased today. BTW…love the chair and the table!!

  13. Katie, I love you and I love your blog. But as an English teacher, I HAVE to speak out about a grammar mistake you keep making that drives me insaneeeee. (I’m sorry, it’s an occupational hazard). When using possessive ‘its’, you always write ‘it’s’.

    So for example in this post, you wrote: ‘Each one had it’s merits’.
    It’s is a contraction of it + is or of it + has. So technically you’re saying ‘ Each one has it is own merits’ or ‘ Each one has it has merits’. When you’re talking about a possessive, in this case the merits that the chair possesses, it’s simply its. ‘ Each one had its merits’, without an apostrophe.
    Okay, end of rant.

  14. We are actually keeping these (we only use them a couple times a year but when we need them, they come in real handy…plus they stack so they don’t take up a lot of room!)
    xo – kb

  18. I’ve been waffling on those exact chairs for months now. We’re in the process of building a new dining room table and need new chairs since we only have four from our old set and they won’t match (not to mention they’re all falling apart – yay college furniture). I probably still won’t pull the trigger for a while but I can’t wait to see how these look and see how they hold up!

  20. Fantastic choice! We got the same chairs in light blue, but bar-stool height and love them! they are so comfortable and I could not argue for less than $100/chair for barstools. They are going to look amazeheads in your dining room 😉

  24. Okay now you have done it!!! LOL! I NEED 8-10 chairs as well for a beautiful huge table my hubby built. I LOVE your choice. And you did all the work for me. Thanks. The only trouble is I live in a small town with only one Target so there are no chances for me to get 8 of the same chair. Darn. I could drive three hours away…stay the night in a hotel and hunt around there for the chairs. Hmmmmm….. now you have me thinking. Thanks for sharing. Love your blog.

  25. Great choice! Those were my first pick before I read about your choices. Also, I love Sweet Home Alabama, too. I went to see it in the theatre by myself when I was about to have my first baby. My boss was so nervous having me at work while I was so close to my due date that she sent me home early and I headed to the movies. My daughter was born a few hours later – and after 3 more kids, I think that movie trip was the last time I was alone!

  26. The mental image of you dragging Weston & Will to three different targets is too funny and terrible for words. Congrats to you Super Mom!

  27. I love those chairs! Such a beautiful choice. I recently ran around to 5 different Targets to find the faux leather Threshold Lennox chairs. They were on clearance and marked down to $25! Who can turn down a deal like that?! It was totally worth the gas and time to pick up those babies. Glad I’m not the only crazy lady who would drive around to all the Targets in the tri-county area 😉

  28. Actually, thanks Val for the quick lesson. I always make that mistake too! Love the chair choose Katie 🙂

  30. Katie – I just have to give you a tip! When shopping for furniture, a great place to look is the Meijer website. It’s the grocery store in my town, but the website has a bunch of furniture for great prices (and if the stock gets low, they slash prices like crazy). I ended up getting our parsons-style dining room chairs for $40/piece. I had to put them together, but the quality is good and you can ship them to your local store for free.

    Here’s a similar-ish chair for your dining room to look at – and they’re $119 for a set of two!
    http://www.meijer.com/s/elliot-side-chair-microfiber-suede-set-of-2/_/R-40411

    Just thought I’d throw the site out for you for the future!

  32. I love your choice and can’t wait to see them with your dining table, but as a fellow mom of two young boys I am scared for your chairs! I would definitely suggest trying the Scotchguard another poster mentioned. I hope the fabric holds up for you for a long time!

  34. Love the chairs and totally understand the crying kids + errands basically requires zombie apocalypse like survival techniques.

    Also, I couldn’t find an email to send this feedback so I guess I’ll add it here… Not sure if it’s just my web browser or if others see this issue as well but at the top of the page the gray border from the bottom of the page header cuts right through the navigation links.

    If you want me to send you a picture so you can figure out what’s happening, let me know what email you’d like me to send it to. 🙂

  35. I FEEL YOUR PAIN KATIE!!! I have been waiting on the Brookline 24″ counter stools to come back in stock online for 4 MONTHS. We moved into a new house & September & our counter pennisula is oh-so-sad without any stools. At least you got the satisfaction of purchasing them in-store. The counter stools are sold online only. Target is killing me right now, Smalls! PS: Love you & very late congrats on your pregnancy! Wishing you all the best!

  37. Love the chairs you chose. And I love your dedication! When you find something you want you make it happen! I’m the same way!! Get ‘er done!

  38. Did you use your cartwheel and 5% off with Target Visa (I like the debit option). All of the fabric chairs were on sale in my area this week plus 15% off with cartwheel and 5% with the target card!!! I bought some slipper chairs, originally $169.00, on sale for $130.00 plus the extra 20% off!

  40. I love those chairs!!!! I’ve been thinking about the bar stools. Also, I was scrolling really slowly so I didn’t ruin the surprise after picture. Consider me disappointed. Just joking!! I was actually thrilled that you’d already bought them and I’ll be here, on the edge of my seat, waiting for your next post. 🙂 You’re amazeheads!!

  42. Love those chairs, can’t wait to see them around the table! And you are a brave women, but you know what you want and how to get so I applaud you:) what a fun target experience, not?!!??! Haha

  43. We used our Target Red Card which did give us 5% off but I didn’t do the cartwheel thing! Oh well…I was on a mission…the fact that I survived was enough for me to be happy 🙂
    xo – kb

  44. I’ve heard of this problem before but most folks can resolve it with a quick update to their browser. Maybe that could help?
    xo – kb

  46. Love the chairs you chose! Since you put the Brookline right next to the WM Hayden in your list and they coordinate so well, have you thought about getting 2 of the Hayden chairs to put at each end? I would then call these the “King” and “Queen” seats for you and J 😉

  47. I’m new to your blog, just wondering where you purchased your table at? My hubby & I have been thinking about building a farmhouse table for the dining room, but can’t find a plan that we like. Would love to know where you got yours or any thoughts on some good shopping stores/sites?

  48. Okay Katie Bower – you’re awesome. I totally need 8-10 chairs for a beautiful large dining room table my husband and I bought this summer. It’s just sitting in our dining room – waiting for chairs. We found it at a thrift store for a great price and I have been dreading looking at or buying chairs because it seems all the ones I like are so pricy. But I love all the options you posted – especially the brookline! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂

  49. I just got the paper and the target circular has those chairs on sale for $75 this week. If you just bought the chairs in the last couple weeks they will probably price adjust with just your receipts!

  50. Just to let you know. These Brookline chairs are in Target’s sale ad that starts on Sunday. On sale for $75! I hope they do price adjustments.

  51. I was perusing Goodwill this morning and came across one of these dining chairs for $35! Did I NEED it? Not exactly, but I bought it anyway to replace a parson chair that I attempted to paint charcoal with fabric spray paint. (It turned out very splotchy, so this replacement is SO much better!) Seriously, I love that my Goodwill gets Target’s cast-offs and online returns! (My husband maybe doesn’t love it as much.)

  53. We got it at a place in Chattanooga called Southeastern Salvage. I recommend trying some outlets (like Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware) to find furniture that was showroom or used for decorating shoots!
    xo – kb

  54. Yup…last time we talked about the dining room, I talked about how we moved it to the basement. It still houses dishes and things but mostly seasonal stuff.
    xo – kb

  55. Your chairs are on sale at Target this week for $75!!
    Well, in Michigan they are. Go get you some money back!!!

  56. Katie,
    I just saw your dining chairs on sale in today’s Target sale flyer. I hope you can get a price adjustment and save even more money!

  57. I also found the chairs in targets ad and they will do price adjustments, just take your receipts in and they will give you the difference back. Definitely worth it considering you bought so many.

  59. I was just coming to your site to tell you the chairs are on sale. I saaw them yesterday in the ad and thought to myself, “Katie Bower just bought these”! If you bought them within the last 14 days, Target will do a price adjustment. Bring your receipts to your closest store and they’ll put money back on your card – it’s my favorite game to play with stores!

  62. Hey – just wondering if you could give us an after-the-fact review. I’m thinking about purchasing these chairs but I wanted to make sure they have lasted. Would love to know what you think!

  63. We love them so far! We have only hosted maybe six or seven dinners in them but they seem to be holding up just fine (even with our larger guests) and the scotchguard has helped.
    xo – kb

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the latest via email!