Giving New Life to an Old Chair

I'll admit it wasn't much to look at, but for $5 I just couldn't pass it up (hang around long enough and you'll learn that I have a thing for wooden chairs, mirrors and old cupboards). I found this old black chair with a vinyl seat complete with stickers at our local Goodwill Outlet.



I knew I could do something with it, so I dragged it home and set about taking it apart. I used my electric screwdriver to remove the four screws that held the seat to the wooden chair frame. When I was done, here's what I was left with.



The seat was pretty nasty looking, so I added some new batting and recovered it in this fun pink and red fabric. The color scheme might not be for everyone, but I like it. Just wrap the fabric around the back like it's a present and use a staple gun to secure. The trick is to pull the fabric taut but not too tight. I staple the middle of each side to make sure it's even before finishing the rest.



While the cushion was removed, I used my palm sander to get the shiny finish off the black paint. It gave it a nice distressed look. I could have called it a day at this point (the pic below shows what it would look like if I left the frame black), but I really wanted to paint the chair frame and brighten it up.



Once our recent rain deluge finally stopped, I was able to get outside and spray paint the frame a bright, glossy red. My dad would be appalled to find out that my lawn looks like a furniture graveyard -- it's perpetually covered in paint outlines from various projects -- but its a small price to pay to get something so cute. Once it was dry, I reattached the seat to my refurbished chair and voila! By tomorrow it will be in my antique booth. Here's hoping it finds a home soon!