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Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer

Simple DIY tutorials and thrifty furniture and decor makeovers

Freebie Chair Makeover

Hello dear friends! I’m steadily working through my latest haul, and today I’m back sharing what I did with this freebie chair I scored:

It was one of two I came upon outside the antique mall where I have my booth:

If you missed how I repurposed the other chair, you can see that HERE!

I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I love.

Did this one stay a chair??

Yes!! Unlike the other chair, this one was quite sturdy and so I decided to keep it as a chair.

After dropping off this desk I redid at my booth, I knew I needed to paint a chair to go with it!

Prep

I almost always start with a good cleaning, but this chair had quite a few bumps and bruises, so I started instead with sanding all those rough edges with a sanding sponge…

Then, I was ready to clean! I used my tried and true White Lightning. I mixed one scoop of White Lightning with a half gallon of warm water and gave this chair a good wipe down all over:

That brown water and the color of my sponge are good indicators that this thing is going to bleed! I swapped out my water for clean water and wiped it down once more to rinse any dirt and residue left behind.

BOSS

I primed with white BOSS since this is an older piece with those wonderful red tannins that love to bleed through:

I left it dry overnight.

Paint

The next day, I gave it a coat of Cotton white and noticed that I was still getting a bit of bleed in a few areas, so I spot primed again with the white BOSS. I rarely have to do more than one coat, but every once in a while, I run into a stubborn piece!

I left it to dry most of the day and then followed up with another coat of Cotton and I was good to go:

Recovering the Seat

While that was drying, I headed to Walmart to pick up a few things I would need for recovering the seat:

A square of foam:

Pretty new fabric:

And some cotton cording that I could use for the piping:

Then, it was time to see what was under the seat fabric…always a fun experience to see what is under there!

Here is what was on the outside to start:

I used this handy tool to remove the staples:

The seat felt crunchy, so I thought I was going to find a plastic covered seat underneath.

I couldn’t believe what it actually was under there…

That’s contact paper!

What the??

I might be even more baffled that the person who covered over it didn’t remove it first ha ha!

I pealed that layer away to reveal this burgundy and gold stripe:

I’m not sure if this was the original fabric or not, but it was the last layer.

It had a thin layer of batting underneath which I tossed and I was left with the wooden base:

After tracing the wood onto the new foam, I used my electric carving knife to cut it:

This is the easiest way to cut foam..it goes through it like butter! I picked mine up a thrift store for a few bucks several years ago.

I usually add a layer of batting over the foam to soften the edges, but I didn’t realize I didn’t have enough left until I got home and so I proceeded without it this time.

See my detailed tutorial for replacing chair cushions HERE!

I used my cheap staple gun to apply the new fabric to the chairs:

I like to finish off my chairs with piping. I think it really adds to the finished look. If you can sew a straight line, you can totally make piping!

See my sew and no-sew tutorial for making that HERE.

Seal

I chose to seal with Best Dang Wax in clear for this chair. I applied it with my La Petite wax brush:

Then I buffed it in and buffed away the excess with a clean soft cloth:

The reason I chose to use wax to seal this piece as opposed to Clear Coat, which is usually my first choice for sealing furniture, is because this piece had more trouble than usual with bleed through. Although I was able to tame it with that second coat of BOSS over the troubled areas, I didn’t want to take a chance on the Clear Coat pulling the tannins through again. The wax won’t do that and I needed to be able to photograph this project. After a couple of days, I will likely go back over the wax with the Clear Coat as I prefer that finish for my furniture pieces.

All that was left to do was add the chair seat back to the frame with the screws I had removed earlier and this chair makeover was complete!

The After

Here is how this free-to-good-home chair turned out:

Chair makeover in Cotton

And here is another peek at the desk I am pairing it with:

I matched the fabric to the Pretty in Blue transfer that I used on the desk:

Perfect, considering my choices at Walmart were limited!

And what a difference a new cushion makes!

The original one was almost nonexistent.

I did distress this one here and there, but nothing too crazy at all.

Just enough!

Here is a front view:

Free to me chair with a new seat and fresh Cotton paint

 

The piping really adds to the finished look!

Free to me chair with a new seat and fresh Cotton paint

 

Not too bad for a chair that was being given away!

I can’t wait to take it to meet it’s new buddy in my booth!

Free to me chair with a new seat and fresh Cotton paint

One more done yay!

See what I’ve redone so far at these links:

Vintage Stool Makeover with Terra Clay Paint
Mini Basket Box Makeover
Mirrored Wall Shelf Makeover
Rolling Buffet Makeover
Painted Antique Side Table
Pretty in Blue Box Makeover
A Great way to Repurpose a Chair
Painting the Smalls #20 (Six mini makeovers!)
White Painted Desk with Transfer

*REMINDER: MY ETSY SHOP IS GOING ON VACATION!*

I just want to share another reminder that we will be heading out of town the week after Easter. I am a one-woman show, so my Etsy shop will be on vacation with us!

I’ll be closing the shop at noon on Saturday, April 8th and will reopen the following Friday, so if you’re in need of supplies, get those orders in! I’ll continue to post reminders until then!

Meet me back here on Tuesday to see what I did with this tri0 of frames!

UPDATE: See what I did with these frames HERE now!

Have an amazing weekend!

XOXO,

 

 

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Comments

  1. Oh it is so pretty now! That will be so nice with the desk your pairing it with. They will be such a beautiful couple! That is so great that it got it for FREE!!!

    Reply

  2. Love it, it looks beautiful and the fabric you chose is perfect. Got to say I think we will all be more than surprised as to what was under the layers of that seat…you have to wonder about folks :))xx

    Reply

  3. Lol, contact paper! Whatever were they thinking? Stain proof? Easy cleanup? That’s a first. Too funny. As for the makeover, it looks wonderful. I hope you share a picture of it with the pretty desk. They should compliment each other perfectly!
    😊Cecilia

    Reply

    • Ha ha right?? I guess you have to do what you can do, but I think I was more surprised that it wasn’t removed when they recovered them again lol. Thank you, Cecilia! I’ll be sure to take pictures when I drop it off. XOXO

      Reply

  6. Very well done! Of course, I love the blue and white palette, but your simple creativity here is just lovely. I love you taking something that could be a giveaway or throwaway and making something that will be special to someone for many years to come.

    Reply

  7. Nice! The blue fabric against the bright cotton white just looks so good, and the piping does finish it off perfectly.

    Reply

  8. Looks great! I actually love that contact paper, it has such a vintage vibe.
    Could think of better uses for it though, lol! Walmart has great prices on fabric, but not a lot of selection (at least mine doesn’t). Quick question: do you wash the fabric first? I’m always torn as to whether that’s really needed or not when using it in a crafting sense.

    Reply

    • Ha ha! Thank you, Sharon! My Walmart is limited too, but they do have decent options. For something like this, I don’t wash the fabric first, but for something that will be washed in the future like slipcovers, I definitely do just to get all the shrinkage out of the way before starting. XOXO

      Reply

  9. Christy, it’s beautiful! I’ve had the identical chair for years. It’s been waiting in my stash for a makeover to serve as an extra dining room chair. And, mine has the same striped fabric on the seat, so perhaps it is original! You’ve inspired me to bump this one up in the queue. Can’t wait to bring it back to life! Thanks for all you do.

    Reply

    • Thank you, Diane! Awesome!! It does say “Cathy wine” on the bottom so I thought that may be referring to the fabric, so it probably was. Thanks for sharing that and good luck with yours. It’s going to be so cute! XOXO

      Reply

    • Thank you, Amanda! I often underestimate what something can be too, so it’s always a nice surprise when it turns out so cute! XOXO

      Reply

  11. I can tell you without a doubt that the maroon and gold stripe fabric was the original fabric. My mother’s dining room set had those exact same chairs and I remember that fabric well!

    Reply

    • Thank you, Susan! Someone else just confirmed also…great to know! It was the best of all the layers for sure! XOXO

      Reply

  12. Hi Christie, I found a surprise in a small stool I purchased at a local flea market.
    When I removed the fabric it had a huge layer of horse hair laying there. I looked it up and article said stopped using horse hair in upholstery in 1900. Guess I found a real “antique”. It is so cute. I’ll post when I redo it.

    PS My sprayer is working great, I’m planning on buying 2 more. I figured it was just operator error lol.

    Reply

  13. Oh the secrets that are hidden under upholstery!! New one on me; never have seen contact paper. Don’t you know that looked pretty. It did turn out so well and the blue matches the transfer on the desk perfectly. Another beautiful job. Have a great week-end.

    Reply

    • Ha ha, right? That is a new one for me too lol. Thank you, Janice! I hope you have a lovely weekend too! XOXO

      Reply

  15. Absolutely beautiful. You make the old look new. Love your fabric choice for the seat cover. You have an eye for these things.

    Reply

  16. That is beautiful! (And I had no idea that Walmart sells those foam chair cushions. I need one of those for a project I’m going to be working on!)
    It will go perfectly with that desk you’re pairing it with. I hope you will post a pic! 🙂

    Reply

    • Thank you, Cyndi! Yes…they are really reasonably priced too! I’ll take pics when I drop it off…good luck with your project! XOXO

      Reply

  18. okay, you have me motivated. I literally have 3 chairs that need to be recovered, plus a chair that has wood arms and an upholstered back. What kind of batting do you use….when you use it? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Oh yay! I just use regular quilt batting. I linked to a more detailed post on redoing the seats in my post that should be helpful. Good luck with yours! XOXO

      Reply

  20. Absolutely beautiful in blue and white, a match made in heaven! Love the turned legs on the desk. I need to check out your tutorial on making and attaching piping. Recovering chair/stool seats is one of my favorite projects, and Wal-Mart has a good selection of decor weight fabric! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    • Thank you, Vicki! That is a super old post but good info! And yes, I love that I don’t have to drive across town to the fabric store for fabric since the Walmart has such a decent selection and it’s close by. XOXO

      Reply

  22. Hi Christy! Your chairs always come out so pretty. I am very curious about what you are going to do with the three frames. I have a feeling I know but we shall see.

    Reply

  23. Hi Christy-Goodness, I just love your makeovers! That desk is just gorgeous, and your free chair is icing on the cake! You always do such a beautiful job.
    I need to recover my 1920’s dining seats. They are hard as a rock and need some kind of foam (I want them to be soft, squishy, and comfy). Is the foam you show here a good foam for that, or is there something else you would recommend?
    Looking forward to your next makeover….
    Janet

    Reply

  24. What an improvement! Great pairing. I bet the contact paper was for easy clean up. Obviously function over style. lol

    Reply

  25. So pretty now !! That contact paper was a real ‘find’ for sure 🙂
    That will look great with your desk. Pretty fabric.
    Question: You mentioned adding clear coat later. Can that be used over a wax finish ? I thought that was incompatible…?
    I’ve used Annie sloan products in the past, maybe that’s where I heard
    that … ?
    As always – Your tutorials are wonderful.
    Thanks !

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, P!! Dixie Belle wax is water-based and therefore can be sealed with the Clear Coat as long as the wax is dry. The AS wax is oil-based, so you would need to remove the wax with mineral spirits before sealing with a water-based sealer. If the wax is stinky, you know it’s oil-based. I hope that helps to clear that up! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! XOXO

      Reply

  26. Oh wow – that is so hilarious – Contact paper? And they left it??? LOL.
    You took trash to treasure to new heights with that beauty. Do us a favor and when it is paired with that gorgeous desk let us see how nice they look together, please. What a perfect duo. Well done, Christy.

    Reply

  27. Jak zwykle pięknie , dokładnie – po prostu uroczo 🙂 A że jestem wielkim fanem bieli i błękitów , ten skromny projekt po prostu trafia do serca 🙂

    Reply

  28. Hi Christy, this turned out really pretty! Haha I’m still laughing at the contact paper! I didn’t realize you could clear coat over wax. Good to know. Do you need to allow the wax to dry or set-up somewhat prior to buffing? The piping makes all the difference in the world.

    Reply

    • Thank you, Jackie! Right?? That was a first ha ha! And yep, as long as the wax is not oil-based. If it’s stinky, it’s oil-based. Dixie Belle’s wax is water-based and you don’t have to let it set up before buffing. I apply to a good sized area and then go back and start buffing. XOXO

      Reply

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