Thursday, December 1, 2016

{ Trash to Treasure } Accent Chairs Before & After!




I have a confession: I love to make old things new. I really really do. I've been doing this so for as long as I can remember. Like when I was 10, I would make Barbie clothes out of old clothes and orphan socks (strapless dresses #allday). As I got older, I was into hardcore up-cycling: shoe boxes into glam memory boxes (still do it to this day!) and upgrading my wardrobe with bleach, paint or scissors. But today, nothing gets me going like flipping furniture, oh yeah!


Take my latest furniture flip as the perfect example.







I found these chairs and turned their dark, dreadful exterior into something I could live with - literately and figuratively. The BEST art however, is that this project only cost me a total of $13!!

The chairs = FREE, I found them up the block, around the corner. True story.
The Fabric = $4.00 A Target Threshold curtain from the Goodwill ($24 original price)
The Paint = $9 Behr Paint, from Home Depot's "Oops Paint" selection; paint left behind by a customer)
Total = $13


I have this motto I found on Pinterest (really wish I knew the author, so I could give them a long hug)
"Do what you can, with what you have". I apply this mantra daily, maybe multiple times a day.

With that said, I use my apartment's "foyer" to do my DIY projects. {Clearly, a separate garage is at the very top of my dream home must-haves} Fortunately, my neighbors have accepted this side of me. When working on this project after breakfast, one of my neighbors came out and gave me some plastic gloves, she said "don't ruin your manicure". #heartwarming




My littlest and bestest helper, my daughter. She's always volunteering to help. 9 out of 10 times I say no #sorrynotsorry, its just that 9 out of 10 times I'm working with products and equipment not safe for kids, except today! I allowed her to help me paint because the project was fool-proof! I made my own chalk-paint. And one of the best things about chalk paint (besides the fact it dries super fast) Its that it doesn't leave streaks!! She couldn't mess up the paint job, if she tried! So while she gave the chairs their first coat of paint, I got to work on the upholstering part of the chairs.

Here's what I used to upholster the chair. But all you REALLY need is The Staple gun.



This was an inexpensive staple gun from The Home Depot. If you've never upholstered before, I don't recommend getting a more sophisticated tool, keep it simple until you've mastered the skill.

The first thing I did, was remove the (disgusting, dusty) vinyl that the seats had. I used a letter opener,  to pry off the old staples, so fancy.



What is not shown: when I cut the fabric to size. 

All you need to do: trace the old piece of fabric on your new fabric, cut it and staple it.
Important step: Start with the corners.
Give it a clean and neat appearance by folding a pleat as you staple.  




I also considered the pattern on the fabric, I did my best to keep the pattern symmetrical. This especially necessary when working with stripes.

Once the chairs were completed, I screwed them back to the chair frame. It was a really simple project. I can't wait to do it again!





Aren't they grand? It definitely gave our living room a little special something. 

Thanks for stopping by & Happy Thriftin'

Sincerely,
Sarah