Make It and Love It

Free and Inspirational Crafting/Sewing/Decorating Tutorials

Home » Crafts, Sewing, & Home Decor » Home Decor » Decorate My Home, Part 2 – Chair Facelift

Decorate My Home, Part 2 – Chair Facelift

by

Are you a craigslist-er? 

Craig and I have become the best of friends.

He finds me the best deals.

And I thank him for that.

I found 2 chairs off of craigslist that had awful cushions…

And were moderately beat up…

And came up with these:
1

 

And I love the new vibrancy of this fabric.

These chairs are in a little sitting area, and I kind of just want to sit on them all day.
Especially because the sunshine streams right in on them.
And that’s a good combination.

To make them, I sanded all of the previous stain and shine from the wood. Then I headed to Lowe’s and found a color of stain that I wanted. I applied the stain several times and then polished it with polyurethane. (follow instructions on can)

Then I stripped the old fabric off of the cushions.
Okay, let’s be honest. I asked my husband to.
He likes that sort of thing.

I didn’t have to add any new foam because the old stuff was in good shape.

And then I covered it with sturdy upholstery fabric from Hancock fabric. I used a staple gun to secure the fabric in place.

Then I screwed the cushion back on the chair.

The finished product put an immediate smile on my face.

Things I learned?

  • Sanding wood takes a LONG time.
  • Stain is finicky. But doable.
  • Stain is messy.
  • There is a lot of stuff out there that looks like junk, but has a lot of potential underneath.
  • I impress my husband each time I use a man tool… Haha!
So it was well worth it.
Share15
Pin599
Tweet
Email
614 Shares

Related Posts

  • Decorate My Home, Part 12: Decorate with Plates

      I had a great idea to put plates on my wall......to finish off our bedroom. So I bought three of them. In a nice…

  • Home Decor

    Click on any of the images below........and you will be directed to the full tutorial.(Tutorials are listed from the most current, down to the very…

  • Decorate My Home, Part 16 - Bathroom Decor

    . Remember the curtains I just made? That bathroom needed more to brighten it up. Those walls were painfully bare. And I was really diggin'…

  • Decorate My Home Series

    Click on any of the images below........and you will be directed to the full tutorial.(Tutorials are listed from the most current, down to the very…

House of Ideas

Check out Ashley’s featured Disney Costume tutorials, baby costumes, DIY halloween crafts.

Comments

  2. I love your chairs! I have an old chair that I threw new khaki fabric on, but I'm not in love with it. I just might need to grab some stain and a pretty pattern for it!

  6. I want a tour of your house! Pleeeeease! Then we can see the before's and after's.

  9. The chairs look awesome!

    I don't know if there is something wrong with my Google Reader, but your posts aren't coming up all the way. The first few sentences are there, but that's it….and no pictures! :( Don't know if you've had anyone else have the same problem?

  10. I can't get over how gifted you are! I'm so impressed with everything you do. I love these chairs. Good work!

  12. THe funny thing is that they still had some of the plastic covering still on the seats.

    Beautiful work, I love it!

  15. fabulous! It looks so elegant. Love your what you learned summary too to give me more insight

  17. I love these chairs!! And I too impress my hubby with my man tool skills! Doesn't it feel great???

  18. Thank you for going these tutorials. We just moved into a new house and I have no idea how to decorate anything, but would love to learn.

  19. very cute! The chairs look great. I love finishing furniture. It is so fulfilling and I think it is fun. The new fabric is great! I love the color and sunny appearance.

  21. I'm diggin the sitting corner! Your house looks like something off of HGTV. :o)

  23. I seriously LOVE you :). Thanks for these awesome tutorials. It has been so eye-opening for me!

    Is it bad that I'm hesitant to share your sight so I can continue to seem like a creative genious with the things I crafted around the house these last few weeks. Don't worry though, I will share soon ;)

  25. These are beautiful! I think you found an awesome home, too, didn't you? The wall paneling and moulding are gorgeous!

  26. i love craigs list too. i have bought and sold much from good ol' craig!

    i love the fabric you chose. it looks perfect with your curtains!

  29. They look fabulous!

    Question – Did you make the curtains that I can see behind the chair? If you did I'd love to see a picture of them! (I'm still working on my curtains from your last tutorial and I admit it's a bit overwhelming to choose the right fabric for the space).
    Thanks!
    Anissa

  32. Those chairs look fantastic! great job.

    I used to re-do furniture all the time but have gotten out of the habit. Might be time to start again.

  34. I really like these chairs and the fabric…I have always wanted to finish a chair, but I have an obsession with buying chairs, and as a result have more then my house can hold. So refinishing one sound's great, but I better not add another chair to my mess ;-)

  36. I need to find my staple gun! Where did you do the staining? At the moment it's too cold here to do anything outside.

  42. Ahhhh memories! I am a true craigslister! I decorated most of my condo with craigslist "goods." Your beautiful bistro chairs remind me of my dining chairs. Started out as unfortunate looking seats, and turned into a great green chair with vintage floral cushions—all done by me! What a feeling! Looks great! Keep it up–

  45. This is great! I keep trying to convince my bf to let me attack his chairs… the fabric is off white and stained in places. We found the table and chairs on kijiji for a good deal. I keep sending him links to great stuff link yours…maybe it'll work yet!

  47. OH yipee!! I can do this one cause it doesn't involve a sewing machine!! It's funny cause tonight I was downstairs cleaning and actually looking at my nasty kitchen chairs that have a white seat and are now dirty! I'm excited to give mine a make over!! Oh and P.S. my Mom was considering buying me a sewing machine for Christmas but then did not, I was so bummed! I think with her amazing seamstress talents I must have a little of that in me, right?!?! Love ya!

  48. Alright Listen Sister! Have you heard of freecycle? We just picked up a FREE armoire and dutch door tonight if you like craigslist, you will LOVE freecycle :) Buy the way Bullseye 123 is awesome paint. Primes and paints over anything old Its lovely!

  49. Awesome! I love making old new again!!! Spray paint and I have been doing this a lot the last few weeks!

  50. These turned out so great! I alos really love those roses… they match perfectly. Thanks for sharing!

  51. I wish I had your eye for fabric! Those chairs are stunning, you did a beautiful job! I'm still working on those curtains and when I went to get the fabric, I brought the hubby along and said, "Okay honey, we need to find some Ashley fabric for these curtains." haha, he gave me a funny look, but I think we found some great fabric. So thanks for the inspiration ;)

  52. I LOVE the fabric. So cheery. Thanks for showing how easy it can be.

    Tierra
    pebblesandpoppys.blogspot.com

  54. Ash… that is seriously cute. If you have any of that BEAUTIFUL fabrice left it would be fun to cover a picture frame or some coasters or something to incorporate the hot fabric on that hot lil table… As always, you rock ;)

  59. I got that fabric at Hancock Fabric. They were having a big upholstery fabric sale…..and may still be having it. Good luck!

  60. "Craig" is a very busy ladie's man… he has ladies all over the country who LOVE him.

    Great finds! Great finished chairs!

  61. I know this is an older post, but I think you said you see all of them…why does Hancock seem to be so much better than JoAnn? I can't seem to find such vibrant, bold prints there at all.

  63. I too love craigslist erm, shopping shall we say, but I live in NYC and I am so afraid of bring home bed bugs. How do you get around that?