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Trash to Treasure Chair Makeover



June 1, 2015

I’m so excited to share today’s post with you! I’ve teamed up with a group of bloggers for a monthly challenge series! Each month, we’ll complete a different challenge and share our results with you. This month’s challenge was to revamp something we thrifted at a yard sale or thrift store. Fun, right?!
Check out all of the awesome projects! 

Erin at Meadow Lake Road- Upcycled Metal Paper Organizer 

 Stacey at Addison Meadows Lane- Salvaged Wooden Silverware Caddy

Leslie at Oh, the Fun!- Customized Curtains

Jenny at Refresh Living- Vintage Sewing Chair

Here’s my trash to treasure project!

I was on the hunt for a chair for our playroom desk. Little Man loves to color at the desk and has been borrowing the breakfast nook chair for months. Time to get him his own chair! 🙂

I came up empty handed after stopping in at Goodwill, but struck gold at the first yard sale I went to! I found this little beauty with a $20 price tag and haggled it down to $10. It’s a sturdy chair in good condition. The only blemish was some broken strands on the rush seat. It was previously painted dark green and had a rough, primitive vibe going on. It actually pained me a bit to paint over it since it was in good condition, but it really clashed with our playroom.

I felt like the tall, pointy chair back was a bit too primitive for a playroom, so Jeremy cut a couple inches off the top and rounded the tops with his sander.

I painted the chair with Sherwin Williams All Surface Enamel Paint in Surfer lightened to 75% strength. I am really happy with the paint! It is very thick and goes on with a lot of brush strokes, so I was worried it would look horrible. But, it leveled out nicely and dried smooth! The best part? I simply did two coats–no priming or polyurethane needed!

Images via Sherwin Williams

After I painted the chair, I prepped the rush seat for upholstery. The seat was not removable, so I had to get creative and figure out a way to recover it. I flipped the chair upside down and screwed skinny, thin pieces of wood around the perimeter of the seat bottom to give the upholstery staples something to go into. I started with paint sticks, but after one split, I switched to wood shims.

Finally, I placed my upholstery foam, covered and stapled the seat in a layer of batting, then finished with my fabric. To keep the extra fabric from hanging down and being visible, I hot glued the excess to the bottom of the rush seat. Problem solved! Sorry I don’t have pictures of this part! I’m really kicking myself! Hubby was sick, so I was doing this by myself, trying to get done before the kids woke up from their naps. #excuses 😉

I love this fabric that I found at a nearby fabric outlet! It’s an outdoor fabric, so it’s extra durable.

Here’s the finished chair in the playroom!

I’m loving the chair in the room, although that red desk top is really making me twitch! I’ve been planning on replacing it with a white desktop, but have gotten several comments from people loving the red which has me second guessing. What do you think? Leave me a comment with your vote- go white or leave it red!

Little Man is so excited to have his own chair! He keeps telling me, “You did a great job on my chair, Mommy!” and “I love my new chair, Mommy!” So sweet!

Now we are one step closer to being finished in the playroom! Hooray!

Don’t forget to check out the other awesome projects from this month’s challenge! They are all amazing!

Linking up to Savvy Southern Style and many other awesome blogs!

CATEGORIES ~ Blogger Challenge, DIY, Playroom, Trash to Treasure 24 Comments

Comments

  1. Karen says

    June 1, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    I love that fabric. The chair is so cute now.

    I think the red desk is a fun pop of color. If anything, I'd paint the black support pole a bright color and add some fun knobs to the drawers.

    Reply
  2. Stacey Cartwright says

    June 1, 2015 at 5:44 pm

    I love this the fabric choice is absolutely beautiful! Good job Samantha

    Reply
  3. Jenny Leads says

    June 2, 2015 at 12:47 pm

    This chair is adorable! Nice work with the re-upholstery, even without a seat. Those chairs sometimes scare me, but your shim idea is perfect.

    Reply
  4. Samantha says

    June 3, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    That's a great idea to paint the pole, thanks! And, I just replaced the closet door knobs and was kicking myself for not getting some for the built in. Fingers crossed Home Depot still carries them! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Samantha says

    June 3, 2015 at 1:46 pm

    Thanks! I usually have tons of trouble picking out fabric, but this one won me over right away!

    Reply
  6. Samantha says

    June 3, 2015 at 1:47 pm

    Thanks! I love how your chair turned out, too! That drawer is fantastic!

    Reply
  7. Karen @ karensuponthehill says

    June 5, 2015 at 12:46 am

    Samantha, this is such a great makeover! I love the color and the fabric!
    Thanks so much for sharing at Something to Talk About!
    Pinning!
    Karen

    Reply
  8. Lisa Nelsen-Woods says

    June 5, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    I love love love the color!

    Reply
  9. Meredith Wouters says

    June 5, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    This is adorable! I love the color, and it looks great in the room. So nice to meet you on the Home Matters party, and heading over to follow you on instagram…

    Reply
  10. CONNIE CHUHA says

    June 6, 2015 at 6:56 am

    I really love the color. So fun and bright. You did an amazing Job.

    Reply
  11. Southern Couture says

    June 6, 2015 at 6:56 am

    What a great upcycle! The colors you chose are gorgeous too with the printed fabric. Thank you for sharing at Motivational Monday Link Party! Hope to see what you have been up to again this week.

    Bethany from The Southern Couture

    Reply
  12. Donna Wirthlin says

    June 7, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    Very nice! Love the color choices!

    Reply
  13. Mary Clark says

    June 8, 2015 at 7:08 pm

    I always need a pop of red, and yours is awesome.

    Reply
  14. Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai says

    June 9, 2015 at 6:43 pm

    Wow, what a difference! This chair turned out amazing. Love the colors. Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty – we're looking forward to what you have to share next week. 🙂

    ~Lorelai
    Life With Lorelai

    Reply
  15. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:02 pm

    Thank you! It was fun to pick something a little more bold than I normally do!

    Reply
  16. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:02 pm

    Thanks! It's a cheerful color, for sure!

    Reply
  17. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    Thanks for the kind words! Hope you are having a great week!

    Reply
  18. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    Thanks so much!!!

    Reply
  19. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:04 pm

    Thanks so much! Hope you are having a great week!

    Reply
  20. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:04 pm

    Thanks! It's such a fun, cheerful color for sure!

    Reply
  21. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:05 pm

    Thanks! So far, the vote is unanimous to keep the red…including my husband's vote! It's growing on me!

    Reply
  22. Samantha says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:06 pm

    Thanks so much!!!

    Reply
  23. Kendra Joy says

    June 15, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    Such a fun challenge! And love the chair makeover!! The color is perfect!
    Kendra @ http://www.joyinourhome.com

    Reply
  24. Wilma Hovius says

    July 2, 2015 at 3:38 pm

    I would change the red, if possible. Chalkboard paint? Mod Podge something on it? I agree with a previous commenter about painting the support pole, though I'd probably boring-ly stick to white. Chair is pretty awesome.

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Samantha! I'm so glad you stopped by! When my husband Jeremy and I aren't busy chasing our kiddos, we're usually up to our elbows in paint and sawdust! Join us on our DIY adventures to make this house our own!

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