Posted by
Elana Safronsky, Managing Editor
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 6:23 PM EDT
This one, I am SUPER proud of. Please feel free to tell me if I shouldn’t be, but do take a moment to have a good look.
This is the $9 beauty I rescued from Value Village. Actually, there were four in total, three of which are awaiting the same treatment in my basement (among a forgotten collection of other random, used furniture).
It's your typical Depression-Era to early-‘40s generic dining chair. There are many, many, many versions of these cluttering up ‘vintage’ furniture stores (the not quite antique but not just anything either, kind of stores). Despite their abundance, few people actually want them, because, let’s face it, Depression Era is quite a befitting name; they’re truly depressing.
Well not for long. With a little semi-gloss paint, trendy fabric, staple gun and a couple of hours, I turned this eyesore into, if I man say, a vision…
Any chair with a simple screw-on upholstered seat is a great candidate for this type of shoestring makeover. This simple process took approximately two hours, and required a minimal level of skill.
Chair
1. Unscrew the chair cushion
2. Lightly sand the wooden frame with a soft sandpaper – 150 grade
3. Wipe the chair free of dust with a damp cloth
4. Apply two coats of semi-gloss paint, allowing an hour in between for drying
Cushion
1. Wipe clean with a barely damp cloth
2. Place cushion on fabric top/face down, cut loosely around the shape, allowing at least four inches of extra leeway. You will need it to hold onto when pulling it tight
3. Start by securing the fabric with one staple at the back end, adjusting it to your liking. Follow with another staple on each of the sides of the cushion, pulling the fabric taut and straight all the while. Keep pulling and stapling until fabric is securely stretched and stapled to the seat. If there are corners, fold neatly as you would a top sheet over a mattress, and staple.
4. Trim extra fabric off the back of the cushion
5. Screw cushion back onto chair frame, once frame is dry
The whole thing ran me approximately $20, including the chair:
- Chair: $9
- Quart of pain, Benjamin Moore, Semi-gloss 925: $20.00 (used about a cup-full)
- Fabric: Silk Ikat, scrap from another project, originally $13 per yard
You like?