Saturday, January 21, 2012

$2 Chair Transformation






 In November I was at a garage sale and found a chair for $2.  I was really excited about it, as it had so much potential.  My husband was mortified that I'd bring something that disgusting home.  (for the record, it was very, very worn, but not as disgusting as it could have been; however, it was not allowed in the house)  :)





 We started by removing all of the cording. 
  




 The filling was pretty awful.  We probably should've worn masks...  This particular part wasn't too bad.



 My husband spent hours removing hundreds and hundreds of staples.  They were spaced out about every millimeter and were in a groove, so it was very hard to remove them.  He eventually used a Dremel tool to clean out the grooves.  At this point, it was ready for paint.





 Several coats of white paint had it looking much better.



 We kept all of the old pieces of fabric in case we needed the patterns for the new pieces.  This is from the arm (yes, very nice old fabric--I'm sure you're wondering why we didn't use it!)


We did the arms first. 



We then started stapling the fabric to the back.  We got this far and decided that it needed to be ironed.  Ironing right there was our only option.  (this picture is pre-ironed)



I used an electric knife to cut the foam and stuck it in the back.  I used 2" foam from Hobby Lobby and it seemed to fit well.




 For the seat, I used 3" foam.  I also wrapped some batting around it.





 I decided that cutting the exact pattern from the old fabric wasn't great for this part as I needed some extra to allow enough fabric to staple into the groove.  This was before I did any cutting on this piece!



This was prior to gluing on the cording.  The hardest part of this was cutting the edges of the stapled fabric that were hanging out of the groove.  I used little tiny scissors and carefully cut it so it wouldn't be seen once the cording was glued in there.


 I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of the next step.  It was gluing the cording into the grooves.  We used a hot glue gun and stuffed the cord in.  At the ends of the cord, we used a lighter to glob it together so it would cut without fraying.  Luckily it did not catch us on fire and it did firm up the cord quite well.



 I haven't quite figured out where to put it yet.  Here it is by the front door without a pillow.
  

 And with a pillow....


 Here it is in our bedroom, where it will probably stay.


So now my husband is impressed.  He had been telling me that I was crazy to have bought the chair thinking we could redo it.  (I figured we could, and if not, we were out $2!)  I think it turned out beautifully!  With the fabric, foam, and batting, I have about $35 in it.  


Thank you for coming by!  I really appreciate your visits and comments.   

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway    
HERE


Pam


I am linking to the following parties:

 
Potpourri Friday at 2805


Fine Craft Guild
Home Stories A2Z

Miss Mustard Seed's Creative Blog

53 comments:

  1. It is stunning. What a fabulous find. Love it. Hugs, marty

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  2. Great job Pam and Pat! Looks good in the corner in the bedroom with the pillow.

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  3. "Cinderella" is all ready for the ball!

    I kinda liked her in the front hall against that wood floor.

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  4. You go girl, you had nothing to loose...And it turned out fabulous! And made a believer out of the hubby and you got him involved...Yep, I bet he's pretty impressed with the missus!

    Carol

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  5. WOW Pam that turned out AMAZING!! That was one great find and you guy's worked your magic again! My husband had the same reaction when I brought that chest home, I think he thought I was losing it and now he loves it.

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  6. What a great job on the chair, I'm sure your husband is really impressed!

    Rondell♥

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  7. Gorgeous! I love the cushion on it too, it goes perfectly together.

    Good thing you had the foresight to see the potential. A dose of humble pie for hubby :)

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  8. Pam, the chair turned out just perfect. The pillow really sets it off. Great garage sale buy!!

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  9. What a difference you have made in that chair! It looks great.

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  10. Great Job Pam and hubby...that chair looks beautiful!

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  11. Wonderful job! Just love the bones of the chair and know how smart you were to bring it home! wish I could upholster things.

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  12. I understand the hard work involved in reupholstering a piece like that. You did a great job. It's hard to do! But older pieces are built to last so it's nice you breathed new life into it. The pillow pairs with it beautifully. Kudos to you, Pam. I don't know if I'd have had the patience you hubby had to pull out all the tiny nails.
    Lynn

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  13. Pam you did an amazing job! It was pretty disgusting to begin with. You hubby must be so proud of you!

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  14. The chair looks FABULOUS Pam! Great job!

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  15. what an outstanding job! great looking chair.

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  16. I never find those good, fun, inexpensive finds! I have chair envy. LOL Great job on the redo!

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  17. Pam, you and your husband did a wonderful job on that chair. Great find and great makeover.

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  18. Pam it is amazing...you did the bast job...I love it and $2...you have to be kidding me...I bought the same chair at an antique store for $70 and I thought I got a deal...I'm actually just starting to redo it...I swear it is the same one...LOVE yours!!...enjoy it...xo, Mariaelena

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  19. What a great chair for $2. Seriously, the frame is worth so much more than that! Great job on the upholstery job! Your new chair looks wonderful! Hope your new job is going well!

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  20. Pam, you did an amzing job. I'm very impressed and hope to accomplish something like this in the future...

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  21. What a lovely transformation. I love it!

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  22. That's a great chair and the frame looks very solid. You got a terrific find, even at triple the price. Lovely transformation too. I sort of thought the old picked out frame was charming but I would have painted, too, best to clean it up. Just a lovely job and best of all you will get years of use in that great spot in the bedroom. You started the job yet?

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  23. Um, $2?? Now that's my kind of investment! You should be very proud - you did a great job on that transformation!

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  24. You did a fantastic job on this piece. I love "Hopeless cases!"

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  25. It's beautiful! I love the white against the blue, great job. I love it!

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  26. It looks fantastic! I have a chair very similar that I'm about to tackle. Thanks for the step by step info!!

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  27. Pam,
    Thank you for coming to my party with this stunning $2 chair...happy that you saw something in her.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  28. Love your "new" chair! I love the contrast of colors, good job!

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  29. You are so brave to tackle this job! Good for you and fabulous results!

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  30. Wow-- great job!! Love that it was a $2 find; it's a beauty now. :)
    Visiting from Tutes and Tips!

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  31. Beautiful job, Pam! I love the dark fabric! You got such a great deal on the chair, considering its potential.

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  32. Just love it! Never ceases to amaze me how an "ugly duckling" like this one can turn out to be such a beautiful swan. I've reupholstered dining chairs before so I know what you went through with those staples. Why do they put so many in? I remember stabbing myself getting them all out.

    Found you at Fine Craft Guild!
    xox
    Nancy

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  33. wow! the transformation is so amazing! it looks astounding!:D

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  34. Hello,

    It looks beautiful! You guys did a great job!

    Love the pillow too.

    Take care,
    Claudia

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  35. Pam, that turned out wonderful! I am currently doing the same thing to a chair very similar to yours....Still pulling staples out at this point.

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  36. Pam, Thank you for linking your project to the Open House party. The chair looks wonderful and I love the pillow.
    Hugs, Sherry

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  37. Love the new look and feel of the chair! You are sooo talented! This is a great post! I'm having a linky party as well, and would love for you to join it! Here is the link http://www.thesouthernproductqueen.com/one-stop-s... Thanks for sharing!

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  38. It looks absolutely fabulous!!! Love the pillow too! The both seem to belong together!

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  39. Very pretty, I have a (kind of disgusting) chair that needs to be redone also!

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  40. You really did a terrific job, Pam! Thank you for sharing your wonderful project at Potpourri Friday!

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  41. Pam, You are amazing! 2.00?!? It turned out so gorgeous!
    Please link to WIW and share it with us, too. We'd love to show it off!
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  42. You did an amazing job on this chair. Such a great transformation!
    Sarah
    www.budgetfriendlydecorating.com

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  43. Yes, I'm jealous! What a fabulous find for $2!! You did an amazing job transforming the chair!!!

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  44. What a beautiful makeover. I would have totally grabbed that chair up for $2 also! Thanks for sharing at Restyled Sundays, I am featuring it at this weeks party!

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  45. You have and your husband make a great team! Super impressed with YOU though ...that you saw the potential in this sweet bergere chair.

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  46. Nice job! You had a vision and it turned out well!

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  48. What an awesome transformation! Great job you have made in here. Keep it up! :)

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  49. Beautiful job! I love your fabric choice, You got such a great deal on the chair.online beds for sale UK

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  50. WHAT A FIND, it is gorgeous! To think your hubby wanted her thrown away and look what you've done, such an amazing job bringing her back to it's original beauty!
    FABBY

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