Late last fall, I had an urge to get my Desert Rose dishes out and use them again. I confess I hadn’t used them in years. They were given to me as a wedding gift 27 years ago! And then I found out that Sara from Simply Southern Cottage had the exact same idea, so I knew I was onto something.

And if I was going to get these dishes out, I had to have some coordinating chairs of course! There were so many different fabrics to choose from. I grabbed everything I could think of and the brainstorming began.

With my plate in hand, I went through the fabrics and began putting them into two piles: ones I like most and ones that were second best. By doing that I eliminated at least half of the stash. Little by little I whittled down my stash.

Once I got to this selection, I repeated what I did before until I got my final cut of fabrics. I selected a pink damask from Schumacher called Chateau Silk Damask in Springtime. It’s easy to pick a buffalo check, but I don’t like being predictable! So, I went with a Lee Jofa Lilly Pulitzer fabric called Happy Plaid in Pink/Green.

Then, I had to decide on the finish of the chair. It would have been easy to go with a whitewash, but again, I like to try new things. So, I decided on a natural frame with a clear coat.

Even at this point, I was wondering if this was going to look right. But once the seat fabric went on, I began to feel better about my decision. The natural finish dressed down the chair quite a bit even with a silk top fabric and that’s what I wanted for this set.

The outcome was even better than I imagined. And I couldn’t believe how well this looked with my black kitchen.

Stay tuned, because on March 20 (the first day of spring) I’m teaming up with my friend Sara from Simply Southern Cottage for a Desert Rose Challenge! Whether you have one dish from the Desert Rose collection or an entire set, you will be able to join us and have some fun. And if you don’t, grab a dish on Craigslist, Ebay, or Marketplace. There’s going to be an amazing prize, too!

So stay tuned! I’ll be emailing, posting on social media, and blogging to explain all the details. See you there!