vintage chair redo

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Are you one of those people like me who love restore old furniture?

When I saw this vintage chair at a garage sale for only 30 bucks (over 300 miles from home) I just had to get it.

I don’t know what it is but when I saw it, I immediately had big plans to repaint and reupholster it. –What can I say I had a vision!

Thank goodness I was with one of my besties and she (and her husband) know that when this girl has a vision I have to see it through.

So, I paid for it and my bestie’s husband went and picked it up for me and they stored it in their garage for-ev-er because this was pre-kid time for me so I drove a VW Beetle (which doesn’t allow for large furniture purchases on a whim.)

Finally about a year later they came down my way and brought it to me.

This eye sore sat in my home for way too long. (I was busy doing things like having a kid and moving into our home). But wasn’t it worth the wait???

Is it possible to be in love with a piece of furniture? I just love the lines! And did I mention it is down filled so it is super comfortable too! Score!

How I restored this wooden chair

The wood frame:

First, I lightly sanded the whole thing and painted it with two coats of Glidden Trim and Door Paint.

This paint is AMAZING!

It has some sort of “Gel-Flow Technology” which is a just fancy way to say it dries without any brush marks and the very hard thick coat makes it look like you spent hours lacquering the heck out of it.

Warning, this paint does have a very strong odor so I would recommend doing your project in a well ventilated area that’s bug and dust free.

It also takes a long time to dry and you don’t want a fly to get stuck in it. (Which has happened to me before…no fun for me or the fly.)

The Cushions:

I bought the fabric from West Elm. Did you know that they sell some of their fabulous fabrics by the yard?

I ordered this Faux Sued Herringbone fabric because I wanted something durable with just a hint of texture.

West Elm uses this fabric on a lot of their sofas so I knew it would be durable.

And because I knew this would be a popular place to sit I took the cushions to an upholsterer. I’ve done my share of reupholstry projects but I knew this was a job for a pro and because it was only 2 cushions and I wasn’t in a hurry (I mean I had waited this long) he gave me a super deal!

He was also able to guide me when it came to getting the back cushion to have a bit more structure.

Do you see how the back cushion in the before picture is all slouchy? Well, the upholsterer fixed that by tufting it with 4 covered buttons. Now, even with it’s popularity it holds it’s shape!