DIY: Lovely little chair redo

For some reason, when my friends see some item of age that looks beyond repair they think of me. I have quite a collection of misfit items. Old rolls of wallpaper, water stained vintage fabric, tables missing a leg, frames without the glass... you get the picture. So, when a friend of mine came across the grody chair it was only a matter of time before it was in my DIY clutches.

Chair or science project?

It was a sturdy little chair, had all it's legs. Why not give it the TLC it was yearning for?

I first removed the plague ridden cushion. I only kept the wooden base. This chair, like most of this style, had some screws on the underside holding the seat in. The rest of the fabric and padding all went immediately in a trash bag. I usually wear a face mask when doing this kind of stuff, partly because it helps me look like the mad scientist I feel I am, and partly because I don't enjoy breathing in other people's grime.

Then I wiped the chair down with a wet rag to get all the dust off. I sanded it on a few rough spots and wiped it down again. Time for paint.

I set up a little paint area on my back deck with a tarp so that I could pop back into the house easy enough to check on my son. As long as you have a place that is well ventilated and protected from any over-spray you're good to go.

Primed.

I used Kilz Spray Primer. I gave it 2 even thin coats and let it sit to dry while I tackled re-padding and covering the seat of the chair.

If you're lucky and your chair isn't in need of all new padding you can just skip the next step and put your new fabric over the old fabric, but that won't do for our nasty little friend here. To give the seat a comfortable and even amount of padding I used some solid colored fleece. You can buy this by the yard at most discount fabric shops. I doubled it up and stretched it across the seat base and with a heavy duty staple gun, secured the fleece at each corner before stapling around the perimeter. It's not unlike wrapping a present. Well, half of a present.

Fleece padding

Next, do the same with the fresh new unstained fabric, taking care to center the design or line up your stripes if your fabric has that kind of pattern. Or if you're OCD. If you really don't care, put it slightly askew and freak out your right angle loving friends. You rebel, you.

Now, head back to your primed chair. You picked a fun color spray paint to finish this guy off with right? Good. Apply 3 thin even coats of your spray paint. I used Valspar Tropical Oasis. Let it dry. Touch up with a spray here and there as needed. I like to let paint dry and cure for a full 24 hours at the very least. Once your chair is all dry and resilient reattach your seat.

Now. Stop and marvel at your work. Surely that can't be the grody little chair that you remember?