From left, Colton Byers, Gabbie Berry, Myleena Frain and Cameron Mahood try out the newly reupholstered chairs in the library at Broad Street Elementary School on Tuesday. Members of the school's PTO recently replaced the tattered backs of more than 30 chairs in the library, much to the delight of teachers and students.

At the Broad Street Elementary School library, a few yards of brightly colored upholstery fabric have transformed the room into a fun and creative teaching space.

The backs of more than 30 chairs at the library were recently replaced with polka dot, floral and paisley upholstery fabrics, much to the delight of teachers and students.

“It makes it look like new chairs. It's so pretty. I like the polka dots,” said Gabbie Berry, 11, a fifth grader.

“I like the polka dots, too,” said Myleena Frain, 10, also in fifth grade.

It's a stark contrast to what students had in their library before: ripped fabric, exposed stuffing, and sometimes, clear plastic tape covering the chairs to prevent students from picking at them. The school's PTO had met in the library in the spring, where members discovered the issue and wanted to do something about it.

Equipped with 12 yards of fabric, cut into quarter yard rectangles and sewed together, members took off the old fabric and assembled the new, stapling the fabric to the chair.

“It's like a pillowcase,” said Carrie List, one of the PTO members.

List took one of the chairs home, created a pattern for the top of the chair and copied it for the rest of the damaged chairs in the library. She then got other PTO members to help with assembly earlier this month: Brandi Antonelli, Mary Chitwood, Melissa Rankin and Laura Wick.

“Carrie is our master sewer that came up with the whole plan,” Wick said.

Not only does the fabric allow for a more welcoming environment, but it also provides a better space for students to concentrate.

“They look better without the holes and all the missing fabric,” said Kamren Mahood, 11, a sixth grader. “It's less distracting.”

Kathleen Macomber, a teacher at Broad Street, said the appearance of the library made it difficult to concentrate, especially at a place where reading is very important.

“We really focus on reading in this school,” she said. “It's very motivating for the kids.”

The chairs are 13 years old. They were purchased during the school's most recent remodeling project in 2001.