You Homies are rocking your awesome chair makeovers, we featured a $7 chair makeover recently, now here’s another amazing chair rescue.
This pair of chairs was $40 on Craigslist. They were solid, well-built chairs and I pounced on them! I was scared to try upholstery for the first time, but it turned out to be pretty easy — just time consuming (and requiring more muscle than I would have anticipated.)
I wanted a happy, bold color with a graphic pattern, and I am so happy with the result! I glazed the chairs after painting them to make the carved details pop more. Then two coats of water-based poly went over the frames to protect them.
The curve and carving on the legs are part of what made me fall in love with these chairs — and I love that the color and glaze have finally done them justice!
They are also surprisingly comfortable. The feline members of our household — Lilly (on the left) and Ozzy (on the right) — haven’t left them since I finished!
I want those so bad. Can you recommend some resources on re-upholstering furniture?
This is an amazing source. It goes waaaay into detail that may not matter to someone just trying to redecorate their house, but it gives a huge amount of information and step by step instructions.
Welcome to my DIY pantheon. Thank you!
They appear to be made for kitties.
Everything should be made for kitties!
Pretty sure Kitties think everything is made just for them.
They look great! I’m going to be trying my hand at reupholstering a chair soon, so I’m glad to hear that it’s not awful 😀
Those are beautiful! I love the fabric and the color combo.
I reupholstered our four dining chairs last spring, and you’re right–it was time consuming (soooo many staples to remove) but not that difficult. I feel confident that I could do it again when the right project arises. I love seeing others’ DIY accomplishments because it gives me more faith in my own abilities!
Oh, and may I suggest Scotchgard spray? I knew I didn’t want to ruin my cute new fabric with food stains (they were dining chairs), so a little can of Scotchgard was called for. It really worked; they look pristine over a year later and won’t need another redo until we get sick of ’em. The fumes are really nasty when you apply it, though–do it outside if you can.
Here’s my chair project–not nearly as complex or drastic as yours: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samandcolleen/5690351838/
The chairs are nice but OMG the kitties!!!!! Wants! 🙂
You did piping! Piping scares me.
The chairs look gorgeous. So do the cats. A fine set, in both cases.
@Claire- I found this tutorial to be exceedingly helpful. It’s actually a 6 part series- I highly recommend it. The biggest tip I gleaned was to let your chair teach you. Pay attention to how they did it the first time, take tons of before/during pictures, and don’t be afraid to throw some muscle into it. Good luck! http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2011/06/reupholstering-chair-part-1-stripping.html
@eilonwy- The best part of double welt cording is that you get to GLUE it on the chair! It’s not scary at all. Plus, since I made it myself, there was less nervousness around whether I messed up or not, as I could always make more. (This is the tutorial I used to make the double welt cording- http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/12/simple-sew-double-welt-cord/)
Go forth and upholster! It’s messy but oh-so fun 🙂
You are my new DIY goddess. Thank you!
Oh my golly, that is TOTALLY amazing! Excuse me, I must go hunt down some tired old chairs with lovely bones to redo…
Does your white cat have violet eyes?!
He has blue eyes. He’s a Persian mutt we adopted (with his sister) from the shelter, so he has the massive eyes without the smooshed face. Everyone wants him to be the girl because he’s so pretty, lol.
I’ve had the same experience pretty much. I painted and reupholstered a chair I found on the street and now it’s Marcello’s designated spot. There’s a constant orange film on the black and white damask seat. A little sad, but he needs his own spot too!
fantastic! it’s amazing what a lick of paint can do! i’m eyeing up an old computer chair i’ve got now… and i want to hug those kitties, who wouldn’t when they’re just so regal on their new thrones!
I just love the color you painted the chairs! Do you mind sharing the brand and name of the color?
what color and who makes the paint color