Weekend Project: Chair Makeover

Please excuse my grainy cell phone pics.  I brought my camera, but no memory card...

One random day after work, over half a year ago, my coworker asked me to join him to rummage through a "free" furniture pile near our workplace.  Boy, was I glad I joined him, because I fell in love with this chair.  Although the colors were a bit disconcerting, I saw the potential in it.  Plus, I could tell that the materials used were top notch.  The chair was lightweight, yet very solid.  I adopted it and vowed to find a purpose for it and to find a new color scheme.  All this ended up being a very pleasant and easy weekend project.

I decided that this chair would be my desk chair, which is an upgrade from a black folding chair.  I, unfortunately, had to paint it to match my desk, which is usually a no-no for real wood furniture.  I don't think this chair was especially expensive or is an antique, so I think it's okay. Next, I obsessed over my leftover fabrics to see what I would reupholster the seat in.  I had a choice between the same grey I used to wallpaper my bed's accent wall (you can kind of see it in the top left corner of the second picture of the framed pegboard post, or the same grey/green brick patterned fabric as my pallet sofa.  Obviously, I chose the brick patterned fabric.  I tend to like patterns for chair upholstery as a more interesting accent.

I also tested the chair while typing up my previous post.  My butt hurt after about an hour...sooooo, I decided to invest in some foam.  It's got to be comfortable, after all.  =P

Without further ado, the instructions:

For the frame, I needed 4 things:  a coarse (about 60 grit) sanding pad (paper works as well), an allen wrench that fit the screws holding the arms to the back of the chair, an adjustable wrench to remove the seat from the legs, and my fave brand of spray paint:  Rustoleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover paint in black semi-gloss finish.  =P  It's the same one with the larger nozzle that dispenses amazingly cleanly.

1)  Disassemble the chair, 10 minutes (I AM a girl, after all):

2) Sand every nook and cranny of the frame, 1 hour:

Was I nervous about the two rain spots that appeared on the sanding dust right as I took this pictures?  Why, yes I was...

I used very little pressure because with a coarse grit, I don't need to use any effort at all.  We don't want gouges; we just want to roughen up the surface a bit.  This is what the wood should look like after sanding, before I used a Swiffer to remove all the dust.

3)  Remove the dust and paint the pieces, 2 hours, including dry time:

I used two coats.  It took about a can and a half to cover all the surfaces from all angles.  I worked the paint on in short bursts, working my way down the pieces.  This prevents any drips because if you do longer strokes, you risk moving the can too slowly and the paint packing on too thickly.  I didn't take any pictures of this step, as painting is pretty self explanatory.

4) Shape the foam, 10 minutes:

I kind of just bought random foam without even measuring anything, which is probably not smart.  I got lucky that the size was pretty close

I put the foam on top of the chair as centered as possible

I just trimmed the corners of the foam to match the chair using a pair of fabric scissors

4)  Staple gun the fabric to the fabric over the foam onto the chair, 10 minutes, 3 people:

I actually did this the next day, at my mother in law's house.  She, my hubby, and I were way too excited to take pictures of the progress.  The light at the end of the tunnel was too bright to think clearly.  We made a hem of sorts by folding over the raw edge to the ugly side of the fabric (the side that would be hidden after you're done). Then, we stapled the fabric to the bottom of the seat along the hem on the front side, right over the original fabric, making sure the lines of the pattern were parallel to the front bottom edge of the seat.  We then stretched the fabric over the foam, made a hem, and stapled the fabric to the bottom edge of the seat on the opposite side.  We continued to staple the bottom of the sides.  For the corners (where the legs of the chair will fit in), we just folded the fabric the best we could, cut the excess fabric, then did a sloppy stapling job, trying to reduce the appearanve of any folds as possible.

5)  Reassemble, et voila!

What's next for the chair?  I had already purchased some casters.  As soon as I get a plastic flooring to protect my carpet, I will attach the casters to the bottom of the legs so that I can roll around like a real hardworking person.  =P