My Big, Fat, Antique Dining Set Redo

I have a huge confession to make...I'm just a wee bit over-the-top sentimental about some things.  For instance, I have rescued my beloved Great Aunt Josie's dining set.  I can remember as a young child my cousins and I would spend the night with her in her home (just off of Bush Blvd Ensley).  We'd eat Italian wedding cookies and drink powdered milk (why?) either in her very "modern" kitchen or in her traditional neo-classical dining room.  We would sleep on her sleeper sofa.  Christmas Eve was always celebrated by 30 - 40 friends and family members or more at her house and the dining room was filled with festive food and drink...

So it should come as no surprise that when her dining set was up for grabs after its 2nd owner / my aunt and uncle no longer had a place for it, I simply could not see it sold or donated.  It would be mine...

There is this gorgeous buffet that goes with the set which currently stores my fine and Christmas china (someday I would like to own a true china cabinet)...

But the six chairs were less than desirable.  I lived with them happily for a couple of years.  However, remember that redecorating bug Sheila had?  Well, it caught on with me and the chairs needed a facelift.  Er, seatlift...

Yeah, this fabric just isn't cutting it anymore.  So here goes nothing!  My aunt and uncle added the current fabric a few years ago when they took ownership of the dining set.  It has seen better days (and less spilled food in those better days).  Believe it or not I decided to -- gasp! -- toss this fabric away.  But when I pulled it off, I was instantly transported to Ensley, 1989.  This striped fabric is exactly what I remember of bygone days.

What did surprise me was what laid underneath that striped fabric.  There appeared to be two additional layers of fabric!  Let's check it out...

This one above was a think, canvas-ish gold fabric that certainly shimmered during its peak life.  The fabric below is a dark hunter green with some gold threads woven throughout. 

Oh and the smell as I pulled back these fabrics...they smelled like history!  Sentimental me has decided to smooth out these three layers of fabric and cover them.  They shall remain for the next generation of ownership.  I can only imagine some designer, sister, or confidante helping Aunt Josie decide which fabric would look best in her dining room!

Wanna know which fabric I chose?

Ta-Daa!!!  It's this beautiful, cozy gold background with a crimson red, tan, and green plaid.  The colors bring out the gold accents of the woodwork and unify my red kitchen to my Dorset Gold (favorite Benjamin Moore paint color) living room.  Blame it on my heritage, but I really want my kitchen to take on an Italian countryside look and feel.  I'm getting there...