Thrifted Chair Makeover

Alright, I’m finally done with my chair!  Of course, I haven’t screwed down the seat yet, but I’m satisfied with it finally!  Sometimes I start a project with a vision of how it will end and it changes 20 times before the final outcome is revealed.  This chair is a great example of that!

Okay, here’s what I started out with:

I found this gem at a stop during the 100 Mile Peanut Pickin’ Yardsale.  It was only $3!  Even though the cane seat was missing, it was a sturdy wooden chair with great features.  Did I say it was only $3?

I had to remove all the leftover caning first.  I actually found this little screwdriver in the filing cabinet I made over in my DIY Weekend post!

I decided to strip the chair because it was really sticky feeling, like it had been varnished and never set up right.  The chair appeared to have been painted or varnished several times.  This is a more natural stripper Dad had in his shop.  It cleans up easily with soap and water, doesn’t have a strong chemical odor, and changes color when it’s ready to strip.

More importantly, it works!  It does claim to remove 7 layers of paint, but I had to apply it all over twice and in some areas a third time.  Dad used it on some metal chairs with several layers of paint and it came right off the first time.  I think outside conditions, the type of paint or stain being stripped, and what you are stripping will affect the outcome.  That being said, I’ll be using it again because of the ease of clean up and it’s more natural.

Now, this is the first coat of paint I put on it, but certainly not the last since I wasn’t satisfied with it!  I sanded it down with this nifty sandpaper Dad gave me.  It’s really flexible and helps get into the grooves!  This just helps smooth out the first coat so the second one goes on better.

At this point, I had decided to use a slate blue type color for the chair and use this orange and white fabric for the cushion.  Unfortunately, the blue I chose was more of a navy blue and I didn’t like it!

Just not what I was envisioning, ya know?  I thought about what I wanted to do next cause I’m kinda over the chair at this point!  Then I decided to use some off white paint Dad gave me and go over it again.  I scuffed it up with some sandpaper to let more of the navy blue show through.

Finally!  Something I can live with!

The blue shows through and gives it a milky, ombré type effect.  Not what I originally intended, but I like it!  Yep, I made the seat cushion too, but that’s a whole other post!

What do ya’ll think?  Of course now that it’s finished, I have no idea where to put it!

Ya’ll have a marvelous Monday and hope to see ya’ll back Wednesday for my Unstuffed Peppers recipe!  Go get creative!