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    Home » DIY And Crafts

    Refurbishing A Garage Sale Chair

    Published by Pam Kessler | 341 words. · About 2 minutes to read this article. - 33 Comments

    Last weekend I bought this chair at a garage sale. It was really banged up, but was only $3.00 and since it had good bones I felt it could be a good rehab candidate.
    Sort of the Lindsay Lohan of chairs.
    It had a cute flower detail on the top.
    And some really cruddy, really dusty and sort of disgusting fabric on the seat.
    We don't even want to think of how many derrieres have sat on this.
    I originally was conflicted as to whether I should refinish the wood-stained finish or just paint it, but when I attempted to refinish a small portion of it I realized that this was not a real antique and was made of three different types of wood.I didn't think it would refinish well, so I went ahead and brought out my paint.After removing the seat (unscrewed 4 little screws on the bottom), I applied Klean Strip Liquid Sander Deglosser to the finish. It's easier and faster to work with than sandpaper when you have a lot of intricate details. You just pour some on a rag, wipe it on and wait for it to dry.

     


    Once the deglosser was dried, I applied one coat of Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch Ultra Coverage Primer in white


    and followed that up with two coats of Rust-Oleum's Ultra Coverage Heirloom White satin paint.


    I decided to use the Heirloom White again because I wanted to match another piece in my living room. Besides, you can't go wrong with off-white.


    I then distressed it and applied Minwax's Golden Oak stain over the paint to warm up the off-white a little and highlight the flowers.


    The original seat was a little hard so I added a little more padding to it and then recovered it with a new fabric (after I got rid of all that old nasty fabric that was on there - three different layers of somewhat questionable fabric choices).


    And here is the finished product.


    It now matches my table that I re-did a few weeks ago.

    « Garage Sale Success
    Vintage Metal Cars »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jeannine

      August 16, 2010 at 10:51 pm

      Paint was definitely the best choice. Thanks for sharing

      Reply
    2. [email protected] Hand Me Down House

      August 17, 2010 at 10:40 am

      Love, love, loving this chair redo, Pam! It's beautiful!

      Reply
    3. Debbie

      August 17, 2010 at 11:52 pm

      Banged up no more girlfriend! Love this chair makeover....i want to go find a chair now...the one I am sitting on is wearing out! Thanks so much for joining in. Debbie

      Reply
    4. Pam @ diy Design Fanatic

      August 18, 2010 at 12:16 pm

      Fantastic makeover! You're right, the chair does have good bones and it looks so wonderful now! Great job!!!

      Reply
    5. [email protected]

      August 18, 2010 at 12:22 pm

      Love it! Especially next to the green wall!

      Reply
    6. Patti

      August 18, 2010 at 3:03 pm

      This is a lovely chair and you made it look so much better - well done!
      Stop over to enter my giveaway!

      Reply
    7. Jeralee

      August 18, 2010 at 4:26 pm

      Very pretty! It had great bones to begin with, and with a bit of paint and new upholstery, you rehabbed it!

      Reply
    8. Robin

      August 18, 2010 at 7:45 pm

      Love this!

      Reply
    9. Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal

      August 18, 2010 at 7:55 pm

      Such a cute chair and the flowers show up so well now. It looks great with that table. Love the legs on it.

      Reply
    10. The Polka Dot Closet

      August 18, 2010 at 9:45 pm

      I love the chair lets hope Lindsey does as well...she has good bones too! LOL I am visiting from Debbiedoos.

      Carol

      Reply
    11. Victoria

      August 19, 2010 at 12:20 pm

      That really turned out beautifully! And what a bargain for only $3!!!

      Reply
    12. [email protected]

      August 19, 2010 at 8:29 pm

      That's really pretty! I love the solid fabric you used.

      Reply
    13. thriftytickle

      August 19, 2010 at 11:04 pm

      Oh my goodness! I love it and the flower detail! Please come by and link up to Vintage Suitcase Friday!

      Reply
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