Can I refurbish my old chairs with paint? Yes you can!!! Easy DIY Chair Makeover for under $20

 
This was an experiment. 

I have no training in upholstery but after doing the research I figured I couldn't do any worse, it was make an attempt to repair them or throw them away, I had been quoted a hefty $325 each for four chairs!

SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED

• Chair
• phillips screwdriver
• flat head screw driver
• staple remover
• chair padding
• 3 feet of 1/2 inch crown molding
• 1/2 yard fabric
• 1 sanding block
• staple gun with staples
• tsp cleanser
• quart of paint I used Glidden High Endurance High Quality in BLACK
• spray bottle filled with water
• 1 1/2 inch paint brush
• drop cloth
• *optional* small empty can

THE VICTIM

She still has all of her sexy curves, but her hey day, long gone. She is dinged, ripped, chipped, stained and worn, but her frame, still as strong as the day she was purchased.

DECONSTRUCTION

I figured I would recover what I could, there are screws on  the underside of the seat that attached them to the frame so I removed them and the seat came off easily. Put the screws in the small clean empty can and put aside.

After removing the cover, it was easy to see that the supports had completely deteriorated and the reason for the slump in the chair.

DIRTY DIRTY WORK

Remove the staples, this was the most tedious part of the project. After using a flat-head screwdriver for about 20 minutes I tried a staple remover, faster process but be prepared to throw the staple remover away afterward, the process will damage it. Watch out for splinters.

Messy

ADD SUPPORT

The chair was sagging and the reason was the degraded elastic strapping, in an effort to not have to deal with that ever again, I chose to support the space that was left open with 1 1/4 inch trim molding.

Sawing stuff, gritty

Use tiny picture frame nails to attach the boards, you want them to connect to each other and not poke through the wood, trust me on this one.....

ADD PADDING

When I visited my local craft store I worried my budget for this project would be forced over my limit, upholstery padding averages around $25 PER CHAIR! I was devastated. I had to think and get creative. 

At my local Wal-Mart store I bought a twin sized foam mattress pad for $8.88! Fold it in half and it will easily cover two chairs with padding to spare!

MEASURE FOR PADDING

First fold your twin foam mattress in half and cut it in half. Take one of the pieces and fold that in half. Use your old padding for the template. Trace with a marker leaving approximately a 1/2 inch allowance all around. Cut it .

Ok, yuk, just yuk

 Place your wood frame. on top of your padding, close enough...

COVER YOUR SEAT

Get out your coupon and purchase 1 yard of a coordinating fabric of your choice, staple tautly around the perimeter, if you have never stapled fabric over padding, please review via tutorial before attacking this project, you will thank me later.

 PRIME THE WOOD

I did not do a lot of sanding, just lightly with my sanding block, I cleaned the surface with TSP and let dry.

PAINT THE WOOD.

Place your lovely  chair frame on your drop cloth and paint her. If you encounter any drips, let them dry, sand them, paint. I chose a paint with a sheen, I wanted a new look.

PAINT THE FABRIC 

I did not go crazy over thinking this, I simply took the plunge. Spray the fabric with water lightly. Thin the paint by adding 1/4 cup of water to approximately 2 cups of paint and spread evenly with your paint brush. Do not blob it on even strokes heavily laden with paint as equally as possible. You want to simply change the color of the fabric, letting too much paint soak in causes it to be uneven and "crunchy". You only want to do this once, one time and one coat of thin paint.

Let dry over night.

ASSEMBLE
Find that small can and attach your seat to your frame

VOILA!

Such a hottie

For a few dollars and some elbow grease, super easy recycle project for you! And the painted fabric will look like it was always meant to be!

I salvaged the braid from around the bottom of the chair, turned a left over piece of the new fabric inside out, sewed it on top of the old trim and attached it to the chair before I reattached the seat to the frame.

If I can do this, so can you!