Monday 26 August 2013

Made: upcycled chair

Passing my local charity furniture shop on Friday, I spotted a rather sad looking old, brown wooden chair.  When I saw the price - a mere £5 - I decided to take it home with me and see what I could make of it.  A square of fabric from my stash, some paint I had stored in the garden shed, and a sunny weekend of painting, and voila!  A brand new chair for my kitchen!

                    Before:                                   After: 

1. After knocking out the seat pad with a hammer, I sanded the chair down to provide a key for the paint and wiped it clean with a damp cloth.


2. I found some wood primer that I had left over from repainting my front door and applied one coat before leaving to dry overnight.  In the morning, I painted on two coats of eggshell (Dulux  Quartz Flint 4 ,which is a lovely chalky blue/grey-tinged white).  I'm a slapdash painter at best, so it's good that the shabby chic look is in fashion.  I definitely err more on the 'shabby' side than the 'chic'.


3. If I were doing this properly, I'd have removed the original leatherette covering from the seat pad, put a layer of fresh foam down, then re-covered in my fabric, carefully staple-gunning the edges down.  But I tend not to do things properly, so I wrapped the existing pad in my fabric and shoved it into place without fastening!  I will do it properly soon, but I was keen to see what the finished product would look like.  Rather natty, I think (if I do say so myself).



10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks! Not bad for a fiver and a couple of hours, I think.

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  2. Ooh good work! I'm kinda loving white furniture right now :)

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    Replies
    1. I love white with bright colours next to it. The floral seat isn't massively my style - I think a funkier 60s print might work better - but it will do for now.

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  3. This is just lovely! Nothing more satisfying than upcycling furniture :-)

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    Replies
    1. It's a nice feeling, giving something a bit of care and bringing it 'back to life'. This is from the LOROS shop on Welford Road - so many bargains there!

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    2. I feel a visit coming on…….!

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  4. Lovely! A slap of paint and a staple gun makes such a difference!

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