Lars....As much as I like animal prints...the modern fabric adds more color to your kitchen....so I'd opt for "more color"....no solids. Tapestry is fine, nothing special as far as caring for it (IF it has a grain, then be careful it runs down the seat)...and I LOVE heavy upholstery fabric. Your so skilled...even if it only lasts a few years...you can just reupholster the chairs again. JMO

I agree with no solids, and I do like the abstract pattern tapestry, but my brother wanted the zebra pattern instead. I'll save the abstract fabric for later - I only have enough of that for just the two chairs or else one large pillow, and I prefer to make pairs of pillows - therefore I will just hold onto it. I've had it for about five years now anyway.

I'm trying to keep the kitchen minimalist for now, and I'll see how it looks when everything is moved back in. I wish I had additional wooden seat forms for these chairs so that I could change out at will. I could probably make some.

I love the zebra! Can the fabric be sprayed with Scotch Guard or something similar?

I also love the zebra. The concept of making extra seats so you can swap them out whenever is inspired. Do it do it do it!

Have to say I'm partial to the abstract. Looks so good with the shape of the chairs! IAC, I don't worry about it. I figure that by the time it gets that bad, I'll want to swap them out anyway. Spot cleaning and such works well for the most part.

I had a big built in Scalamandre zebra headboard, so I am biased. Love them!

In the kitchen itself right now, the zebra looks much more dramatic than the abstract fabric. However it is very difficult to get a good photo of the kitchen, and I'm still working on that. It's difficult to photograph because of the windows and the lighting. It looks much better in person, but the camera (at least mine) does not capture it well.

I did Scotchgard the fabric (made the mistake of doing it after I put the seats in place), and I plan to use Fray Check if any of the loops get loose or out of place.

For cleaning, I think I will use microfiber cloths - I just thought of that when I was cleaning overspray from the Scotchgard on the metal parts of the chairs.

I read that if you vacuum tapestry fabric that you should put cheesecloth over the end of the vacuum and not use the brush attachment. I probably won't vacuum them.

My sister had an antique wing back chair reupholstered in a heavy, zebra print fabric almost identical to yours. Maybe 20 years ago? And while granted an occasional chair would not get the same use or abuse as a kitchen chair, it still looks great after 20 years! And with no special attention.

Thanks! I had read online that tapestry fabric was supposed to be very durable. This makes me feel a lot better!

I think the chairs look great!

Many tapestry fabrics are made of wool and they are very durable. Is your fabric wool?

If you are worried about stains, I am a big fan of every cleaning product made by Sprayway and have used their spray on carpet cleaner to spot clean rugs, (wool, cotton, synthetic) and I have been very happy with the results. Since you have extra fabric, you can try the cleaner on a bit of that to make sure it is colorfast and the black doesn't bleed into the white.

If you have any pets, their claws would damage the fabric with pulls, so keep them off the chairs.

Otherwise, after all your work, I think you should stop second guessing yourself and enjoy them.

The chairs look fantastic. I love the simple, yet elegant lines and the zebra looks great.

Lars, your kitchen is coming together very nicely. 🤠

Another ’like’ here for the zebra.

Swooning over that living room! Love the zebra print on the chairs.

Lars, what was the back like? That's where you'll find the durability or lack thereof with tapestry. If it was meant for upholstery, however, I'm sure it'll be fine. Do you usually have tools and things in your back pockets? I'm trying to figure out what you would worry about snagging. If you can drag the point of a pin across it (scrap, of course) without snagging, again, it should be fine. That leaves stains. I don't know if they still make that fabric treatment that that guy who worked for a hotel chain closer to San Diego invented. I think the company got bought out. It was so much better than scotchgard. But some kind of sealer should take care of that.

Obviously, you [EDITED] can‘t just wipe down or clean with saddle soap, like the leather, but unless you have sloppy drunks over who think nothing of wrecking your house, tapestry dining chairs should be cared for like any other cloth chair. Act like adults, first. Don't use them for tables. Vacuum occasionally with the upholstery tool (being that they're upholstery). If there are loose loops or threads that might be pulled then, yes, do the panty hose thing over the mouth of the vacuum. As needed, shampoo as you would any other upholstery.

Given that you already did the work, there's no point in removing the upholstery. If it gets shabby fast, change it out.

I love the mod fabric as much as everybody else, but I think the zebra looks better with the kitchen.

I vote zebra! They look great - another nice job, Lars.

I like the pink.

Maybe I need to make two sets of seats! I also like the pink, and my brother picked it out before he knew I had the zebra. If I did decide to have a wild party (which is unlikely, although I've had my share of them), then putting pink seats in place would be helpful.

When I first got the pink leather (also free from work) back in the 1990s, I had planned to make myself a pink leather jacket, but if I had, it would not fit now. I'm thinking now of making a pink leather vest. I didn't make the leather jacket because it is never cool enough here to wear it, except on a few early winter mornings. By the afternoon, it is always too warm, and I do not go out late in the evenings anymore. I had a reversible pink/black bomber jacket when I lived in San Francisco, but it got stolen when I was in a limo-bus wreck on the way to the Houston airport. I loved that jacket and was unable to replace it when I got back to SF.

Plllog, I'll take a photo of the reverse side of the fabric tomorrow. It has a bit of a grayed out look, and so I'll do a close-up so that you can see the detail of the weaving.

My biggest fear is getting chili sauce on the seats - not that I've ever done that, but when I was eating a tamale from Cárdenas today, I noticed that my hands got red oily stains on them. It made me think that I should have used orange fabric, which is something that I had considered at one point.

I have six yards of this fabric, but I decided that it was too formal for the kitchen.

Plllog - I absolutely never have anything in my back pockets - I always carry a shoulder bag when I go out. When I make pants for myself, I do not even bother to put back pockets in. I do not know why anyone would want to sit on something in a back pocket.

The snags I am concerned about are from when I might chip a fingernail - that seems to be happening to me more lately now - probably because of my age. I do file my nails often (especially when I am sewing), and I keep clear nail polish handy for when my fingernails get damaged.

"--- How do you care for tapestry upholstery? I'm beginning to worry that it might not be all that practical, ---"

There are many professional shops which can turn old chair into almost new. They are not that expensive.

If you enjoy that fabric I don't believe maintenance is an issue, unless you have pets or many children visiting.

BTW, do you have flies? Studies have shown that the zebra stripes can discourage flies from coming.

dcarch

We have almost no flies. Instead, we have Black Phoebes, which hunt and catch flying insects, including (unfortunately) butterflies.

I can also wear this Cabana jacket (that I made) to keep flies away

Lars, I always love seeing your projects and designs!

The zebra chairs are awesome. And the cabana jacket is too cool. In my fantasy world, you’d design me a new wardrobe.

Oh, Lars! That cover jacket is wonderful!

I get the nails thing. So test a scrap when you next get a bad chip.

I know a lot of builders and engineers. They bend forward a lot, I guess. They always have weird lumps and protrusions in their back pockets, but with all the bending, they also tend to have droop in the seats of their pants. :)

Love the idea of interchangeable seats! Pink party seats! But maybe you need to put in some kind of screw recepticles? I'd worry if it's just wood screws into plywood or fiber board, they'd get stripped out pretty fast. Or, I suppose you could keep some wood dough handy and fill the holes when you remove a set...

Nice Cabana jacket .

Something I came up with some time ago. :-)

darch

I think the bit about hooving them through a cloth is for antique, fragile fabrics. . I wouldn't worry about yours. If it's sturdy enough to sit on, it's sturdy enough to take some vacuum cleaning.

You should regularly vacuum the fabric. If dirt works its way down into the weave, then every time someone sits on the chair the little dirt grains will grind against the fibres and damage them.

" I do not know why anyone would want to sit on something in a back pocket. "

My DH drives me crazy doing that. He always puts his wallet into his back pocket, then gets into the car to drive, and then about 50 yards down the road he's wriggling and contorting to get the wallet out of his back pocket because it's uncomfortable. It freaks me out because he's driving, and I'm also thinking, don't put your damn wallet in your back pocket!!!! This happens every time!!!!

Okay, I will vacuum the seats from time to time, and I will be careful when I come in after vacuuming leaves and dust/sand from the patio. We get sandstorms here from time to time.

plllog, Here is the reverse side of the fabric:

I think you can tell from this that it is very sturdy fabric.

As for back pockets, when I made a suit and slacks for my brother Kevin (back in the 1980s), I did put hidden back pockets in the pants, but I told him to put his wallet in the inside hidden pocket in the jacket when wearing the suit. I put hidden pockets in the front of the vest, but I might have left them basted shut so that he would not use them!

LOL! Lars, thanks for the memories! I was barely a teen when my mother explained to me about leaving the tailor tacks in the pockets to keep them from drooping, and how one isn't upposed to put things in one's pockets. :)

Yes, indeed, the fabric looks sturdy. The slubs at tge color changes look snaggable, but if it’s just rough fingernails, I don't think it likely to do much of a visible pull. And leather can get scratched and poked too.

I'm not suugestion it for your chairs, but just a bit of info. I recently got a couple of kitchen placemats that are a Liberty-like cotton, fused onto a stiff upholstry mesh and topped with vinyl. I used some iron on vinyl when it first came out for home use, and it felt vinylized, sort of lik oil cloth. The placemats feel pretty much like cotton, but still repel liquid and sponge clean.

So love it! Bling is awesome. Great job!

I love the impact of the zebra stripe. Making interchangeable seats is a genius idea!

I picked up a dining chair off the curb a year + + ago, in a slightly similar tapestry animal print (gold and cream though). It was very dirty, I think it had been left in a garage for quite a while - tons of dust, and dirt smears, and food stains. I had meant to superficially clean it and donate it for someone else to re-cover, but after a good vacuuming, Woolite upholstery cleaner cleaned it beautifully. It is now my desk chair. I don't know what the fabric is made of, but I guess probably some synthetic.

Almost a year later I picked up a matching chair from the same curb, but this one had a stain that I was able to fade to almost unnoticeable, but not completely gone. Next time I rent a carpet cleaner I will try the upholstery tool on it.

I'll look for some Woolite upholstery cleaner next time I go shopping, but I did already order some Sprayway upholstery cleaner, as recommended by PRN.

Whatever cleaner I end up using, I will test on scraps of fabric first, since I don't know how colorfast it is.