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Refurbishing A Garage Sale Chair

Published by | 341 words. · About 2 minutes to read this article. -

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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. [email protected]

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

  2. Victoria

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

  3. The Polka Dot Closet

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

    Carol

  4. Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal

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

  5. Robin

    Love this!

  6. Jeralee

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

  7. Patti

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

  8. Erin@likegrandmas

    Love it! Especially next to the green wall!

  9. Pam @ diy Design Fanatic

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

  10. Debbie

    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

  11. Amanda@The Hand Me Down House

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

  12. Jeannine

    Paint was definitely the best choice. Thanks for sharing

  13. Maureen

    I love the curvy lines and roses. Your redo is great!

  14. Nellie's Cozy place

    what a beautiful swan from that ugly duckling chair. I love the floer carved on the top of the chair and the painting technique you used really enhances that!! it is really beautiful!!
    Blessings, Nellie

  15. Laura @ House of Thrifty Decor

    Great job! It is amazing what a new coat of paint can do.

  16. Debbie@Debbie Sews Retro

    I love the re-do. Adding the stain was just the finishing touch that it needed to bring out the carving at the top.