I picked up a new chair on a recent visit to my favorite furniture store.
ok. so it was only thirteen bacon double cheeseburgers. Twelve if you include tax. Not exactly a huge investment…
and it wasn’t exactly from a furniture store, per se. I got it at Goodwill. And because I am paranoid about just taking the tag but leaving the piece at the back of the thrift store for all the other deal-hunters who would cut the legs off from underneath you to get ahead, I must admit that I dragged this sucker around behind me while I shopped. It actually came in handy when my 8 month pregnant legs needed a bit of a rest in the housewares department.
But anyhoo. I brought the chair home and decided that the perfect spot would be at the top of the stairs right outside the still-in-progress nursery.
I love the black lionback chair (also a Goodwill purchase years ago) but the style really doesn’t match the rest of our house. Plus, I figure that I can sell it on Craigslist for twice what I paid…which was only $10…or I can paint it bright turqouise for a one-day Domino style office. Either way, the formal inspired chair wasn’t fitting in with the rest of our laidback home and the new chair with it’s arch details and bamboo material was more relaxed and less stuffy.
But this chair, like all child-stars, had some issues.
First – the finish needed a redo. The polyed coat on the arms had worn down and had exposed a different color wood than underneath the rest of the chair.
Secondly – the legs looked like they had been chewed by a small rodent.
Lastly – the seat had seen better days. It had been gouged worse than a whitehead at the fingertips of my Dominican facialist.
To start the makeover, I flipped the chair over and examined how to remove the seat. All I needed to do was unscrew the four screws holding the seat down.
This is when I discovered the tag. I love it when I find tags on furniture. It’s like a glimpse into the piece’s past life. And the past life on this chair was in the commercial world. Shelby Williams is a company that makes chairs for the hospitality or foodservice industries. So the vinyl chair fabric and the tag led me to believe that this chair probably was in some dining area at a casual motel.
Let’s get back to makeover…
After I removed the chair seat,
I did a quick wipe down of the entire piece.
And then I used a fine grit sandpaper to remove the rest of the polyuerathane and smooth out some of those marks from the imaginary rodent.
Then I picked out a wood stain that was close to the existing warm finish.
Over the course of two nights I applied three to four thin coats of the stain allowing dry time in between. The finished product was definitely a more even finish.
I especially liked the areas that had the deeper scratches. I even applied the stain to the bits of leather that were binding the legs together. Looks pretty good huh?
Then I used Minwax Spray Polyureathane on the entire piece. And yes, preggo-police, I wore a mask and did it in a well ventilated area. All I had to do was apply two thin coats and let dry for an entire week.
There she is:
I am super happy with the end result. The finish is exactly the dark warm look that I wanted. And the total cost so far was $17 (the chair, the stain & the foam brush…I already had the spray poly). But there is more to tackle…specifically, that seat needs a new piece of upholstery to look brand-spankin’-new (part 2). So keep on the lookout for that later 🙂
So what do you guys think? Do you agree that the black chair is just a little too formal? Or maybe you just redid a chair and want to link up? Please please share in the comments if you have tackled a chair makeover recentl…I love seeing the transformations almost as much as I love Tums. It’s a pregnancy thing.
Looks great so far! And it’s awesome you did it yourself. I hate how everyone gets so on preggers ladies about EVERYTHING. Just because you’re with child doesn’t mean everything you love to do has to stop! Have a lovely weekend.
<3
The new chair looks great! I would buy the old one in a heartbeat! You just let me know.
That chair is fantastic!
Currently starting on a chair re-do on two that we “rescued” from someone else’s garbage on over-sized trash day. The cheap have no shame. 🙂
It looks great – I love the way the stain really cleaned everything up. The chair was too cheap to pass up! Maybe you’ll find another spot in the house for the black chair.
well I would love to have that black chair! I cannot ever find anyhting like that at goodwill or on craigslist! Whats up with that Colorado?? New chair looks great!
It’s nice to see a piece of furniture that hasn’t been painted black or white. Don’t get me wrong – I love that stuff – but it’s nice to see someone try to restore a wood finish as opposed to cover it up 🙂 Very nice work! Can’t wait to see the upholstered seat.
Love the chair! Can’t wait to see the seat 🙂 During my pregnancy, I had to take 10 Tums a night (I became quite partial to the “smoothies”)- we were definitely BFF’s for several months!
Looks great. Can’t wait to see the fabric you chose. I had a recently attempted chair redo that just didn’t work out. I couldn’t get the cushion unattached without disassembling the whole chair. Then I realized I have about 6k other things to do around here and just let it go because the fabric wasn’t that bad anyway. Then I forgot until I saw your post, and now I ashamed…;o)
The chair looks awesome and I can’t wait to see what you do with the seat. Redoing furniture is one of my favorite projects. Sorry I don’t have a link, but I re-did a Craigslist dresser last summer and it turned out pretty great.
I wish I lived in your area so that if/when you do put that fabulous black chair on craigslist I could purcahse it! have been hunting for the perfect bedroom chair and what you have is exactly what I’m looking for! Too bad it seems out local thrift stores don’t seem to have much of a selection…
My gosh, Katie Bower, you are looking cute as a button these days! 🙂 Not saying you didn’t have beautiful hair before, but it looks gorgeous and healthy in that pic.
Your chair looks awesome! Can’t wait to see the fabric you pick out. We recently did re-do a chair, but since it was going to be a very complicated reupholster job, I had a professional do it. I think it turned out so well though, and it didn’t cost too much! http://oneluckycouple.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/it-looks-like-a-new-chair/
Looks great! I recently made over a chair, myself. Check it out: http://athomewithh.blogspot.com/2010/02/chair-makeover-story.html
What an awesome transformation – both the chair and you! I love the shade of stain you chose and your baby bump is absolutely adorable! Congrats on both 🙂
Looks great! Can’t wait to see how the whole thing looks done.
No offense whatsoever to the new chair (it’s totally cute), but for goodness sake, don’t get rid of that absolutely gorgeous black chair!! Well, if you do, sell it to me!
I really like the black chair. Course I’m really into black furniture right now – trying to redo my master bedroom.
ok, both you AND the chair are adorable! i have been waiting to find a good accent chair at goodwill but no luck yet. excited to see your finished result.
You really are stunning KB 🙂 I complained a few posts back about you not blogging enough (but it’s only because you are so much fun) and I want to apologize. I’m sorry – don’t stress about finding time to put a post together for us… i’ll be your fan irregardless of how many posts you publish. Just enjoy your remaining pregnancy period, and take it easy 🙂
Oh – and I do love what you’ve done with the chair. My boyfriend’s father recently retired and opened up an upholstery business to keep himself busy. I am constantly running in line to have something re-upholstered… and I always join him for the activity. There is some real satisfaction in giving dingy items a new facelift.
Okay… better stop hogging the comments section. Happy Friday to you & your boyfriend 😉
love the black chair–you must keep it!
I personally think the black chair looks perfect there, not too formal at all. It is amazing what some love can do for old furniture.
Love the new chair…it looks great! I would love to buy your old chair if you are wanting to get rid of it!
I like the new chair a lot and agree that it goes better than the old one did outside your nursery, but I LOVE the old chair. It’s just so elegant and beautiful. If you opt not to keep it and would be willing to ship it, send me an email. I’d gladly take it off your hands.
I think it looks great! I recently purchased a cane back chair for my bedroom. Looking at this makes me realize I need to get started on refinishing it!!!
Looks great so far! Can’t wait to see what fabric you pick out. And btw- you look adorable with your baby bump! 🙂
Loving the new chair! My Goodwill is just not as awesome as yours (never any furniture) – I’m going to live vicariously through you!
You are soooo the most beautiful preggo lady I’ve ever seen. Pregnancy seems to fit you well. You look wonderful.
oh yeah.. the chair does too.
oh how i love goodwill finds! i had a similar experience last fall, but i got 2 matching chairs and they were only $2.97 each. i wrote about the makeover on my blog here: http://susanwitmer.blogspot.com/2009/09/trash-to-treasure.html
Much like many other commenters, I would love to own that black chair..only bad thing is I live in TX. Boo. But I love the new one too. 🙂 I need to go hit up Goodwill now, thanks.
I like the new chair, especially how pretty you made it look! However…I LOVE the black chair–please keep it! It’s not too formal, it’s awesome! I promise! Cross my heart, hope to die. Turquoise with a fun pattern sounds like a great idea!! ;*)
Love, love, love it! Agreed that your old hallway chair wasn’t working and I would hold onto it for that Domino-esque office you hope for someday! I can see it in a turquoise or sunny yellow with some black and white upholstery. Whatever you end up doing with it will be great, I’m sure!
For me it’s not the formality of the black chair but the harsh contract of the black to its surroundings.
We did a chair makeover a few months ago, it’s amazing what fugly-ness some woodstain and modern fabric can overcome! http://craftywaffles.blogspot.com/2009/07/from-beast-to-beauty.html
Katie-
I agree that the black chair is probably too formal, bbuuutttt I love it!! Since I am too far away to buy it off you (I’d even give you the $20) I definitely think you should go with the your second idea and paint it turquoise or another funky color (fuscha? orange? purple?) It would “take it down a notch” on the formal scale and add a wild punch to a room that you want to be really fun… like a craft room!
Great job Katie!! I agree with you the new chair fits into ya’lls house a little better, but the old chair is stunning. You’ve got an eye for chairs girl! Are you going to use fabric that matches the nursery scheme or are you going with something totally different?
I love your lionback chair, and think it would be fabulous in tursuoise, or orange, or any bright color. Gotta love the Domino look.
The bamboo chair isn’t making my heart thump with excitement yet, but I have a feeling it will once you share the after pics. 🙂
Katie – I totally want the chair you already had! I have an aunt that lives in ATL – can I send her to buy it for me? I’m only have kidding!
I love the new chair too and your are rocking the pregnancy glow!! You are too cute 😉
It makes me so glad to see someone else with a grand love of “ugly” chairs. I don’t have many finished chairs to share because we are moving and that makes it hard to pick out fabric when you don’t know what room it will end up in. Here’s a link to my only “after” picture: http://mattandallisonkelly.blogspot.com/2009/11/before-and-afters.html
My blog is still in it’s infancy, so don’t judge. I’m still getting the hang of this. One of my chairs did come from Goodwill. I haven’t paid more than $10 for any of them.
Okay Kate, the votes are in. You must keep the “formal” chair! I think it would look great painted a bright turquoise like you mentioned, or keep it black and recover the cushion with an awesome turquoise fabric. Either way, you’ve got to keep it – how are you going to decide which one of your readers should have it?? It’s a beaut!
Hope you have a fantastic weekend 🙂
Beautiful job!
i love it! do you know what fabric you’re going to use?
Love the chair but do not get rid of the old one. You will kick yourself down the road. You could certainly change out the seat fabric on that one to make it more appropriate for another room. Or let me know and I will buy it from you.
My comment above should say HALF not have! I’m a horrible proof reader!
1. I will buy the other chair 🙂 (and come pick it up & take you to Mex again)
2. If you weren’t so awesome I would not like you because of your AWESOME Goodwill finds… our Goodwill here blows!
3. You look sooooo precious! CUTE CUTE CUTE!
I’d take the first chair, but it might cost a pretty penny to ship it to Canada 🙂 I just sent you an email with a link to photos of a chair that I redid a couple of summers ago. It’s great fun and I want to do another one!
Happy New Year!
Abby