they look fine to me. i'd say a way to sharpen them up would be a couple of neat-o cushions on each one. done!

I'd stencil or decal them with one or two large-ish graphic elements. Maybe some kind of flocked or floral design, or alphabet letters spelling something out across the two seats?

The room setup sure doesn't help. The way they are placed makes them seem isolated.

Paint the legs hot pink. Take that, ATers!

Other than a scratch in one seat, they look to be in great shape. I'd live with them as is until I could have them professionally done.

my first initial thought was to paint them robin egg blue. then when I saw the Eames shell in red in the background, it concreted that reaction. The color will be a nod to your rocker, which also comes in that beautiful robins egg blue, plus, the two colors together look hot.

I need to correct what I was trying to say! paint the wood legs! not the upholstery! hahaha!

I think they are great the way they are. I would just sew two smallish rectangular pillows in the grey felt. That would soften the look up a bit, but otherwise I think they are really nice chairs.

they look pretty square.. maybe you could drape a grey flannel "runner" of sorts over the back and seat? jam some kind of dowel in the crease to hold it down?

i think they are really nice, but think your original idea would be awesome.. so i'd say dont do anything permanent to them.. wait and save to reupholster.

I bought a pair of 70's vintage Eero Saarinen Knoll Executive Armchairs via eBay @ 4 years ago. I knew that I wanted to have them recovered and had fabric ready for over 3 years, but since I didn't have the financial resources to have them professionally redone I used the chairs as-is and kept the fabric in the closet and waited...

...I finally had them redone last month - And it was well worth the wait.

until you get them re-covered.... plastic seat covers.... might be witty, certainly would be goofy fun

a agree with amarie - put some rectangular matching pillows on them ... perhaps with a red pattern? i think they would look awesome until you can tackle the reupholster.

Do NOT paint the legs or the seat -- or undertake any other "clever" coverup. The shape is what is so great about these. And the wood legs bring an important organic element to the mix.

Just wait until you can do the upholstery project you want. If you feel you must do something now, just add pillows.

i love these chairs and i'm looking for very similar side chairs. what style would you say these chairs are/who made them?

Interesting idea Antimatt. Maybe the fabric could be stapled underneath the seat?

Don't paint the legs. Stain them darker! Great Chairs!

Sell them to me. I like them as is. Although I agree that darker stain on the legs would be hot.

What arroyo said. Don't touch the legs!

i disagree. I'd paint the legs to match the upholstery! It looks like it might be pearl leather? If so. prine the legs with white and then put a coat of pearl Ralph Lauren paint on them, or get some pearl acrylic at the craft store. All one color they would look new and awesome!

Or they look like a decent sewer could easily slip cover them.

just apply some carnuba wax to them. It really helps.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=leather carnuba&btnG=Google Search&aq=f&oq=

You could try dying the vinyl (or leather) to a color you like until you can afford to have them redone. Most vinly dyes are for car seats, so they will have gray. Just do a google search for vinyl dying (or leather dying)...I have heard that SEM brand dyes are the best. I had a friend with a leather sofa that was a little darker tan than these chairs...he dyed it black himself with very good results.

At least that way you get the color you want :).....oh and use a little Old English dark scratch oil on the legs to make them look like new, and you are good to go!

I suggest that you look to see if any of the community colleges in your area offer reupholstery classes. If they do, take a class and learn how to DIY. I did and I can't tell you how useful it has been. Plus, you can easily earn back what you spend taking the class by recovering some furniture for other people. There are always people (like you) who are in need of the service.

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. These are Milo Baughman chairs. The picture doesn't show the crack super well, but it is actually a tear in the vinyl and thus the stuffing is sneaking through. Also, they are slightly off in color...like one was in the sun more than the other.
So, if anyone knows a nice way to repair a rip or a product that can restore the vinyl perhaps that would be great!

OMG! i wanted to buy these chairs! thats amusing...

"These are Milo Baughman chairs."

If that's the case - Then you really do need to get a professional to redo these rather than DIY it because you'll lose the value if you omit the details such as the manner in which the seat and back cushions are guttered to meet the vertical sides of the chairs.

Fantastic chairs, they make vinyl patching kits, but how do you feel about a whimiscal patch?

There is a little upholstery shop on Fairfax just south of Third Street near the Grove that does very nice and affordable work. The place is nothing great to look at - it is basically a workroom in a storefront, but the prices can't be beat and the work is good. You might want to get a quote before you give up on redoing the chairs entirely. I would give you the telephone number, but the screen on my phone has died so I can't access my numbers. It might be worth a trip over to get a quote.

The store is located on the west side of Fairfax between the Writer's Guild and Samy's Camera and the owner is usually around until about 5:30 or 6pm.

To cozy them up, I would put a white furry cushion on each. Or, to tie them up with the nearby chairs, try linen cushions in red and/or black color.

Hey those are the chairs from Kelley's apartment redesign! Good work.