Monday, November 15, 2010

From "Blah" to "Ta-Da!": Aunt Gladys' Chair Makeover

This chair has been sitting in the Mister's parents basement for years (and years).


Apparently she belonged to the Mister's Aunt Gladys (who I think was his dad's sister). He remembers her sitting and looking out the window for hours, from this chair. But unfortunately, she (the chair, not Aunt Gladys) was a full-on Monet (quick! Which movie?). It was lovely from a distance, but up close it was faded and chippy.


Which is really a shame, because the crewelwork pattern and colors were lovely. The frame appears to be finished wood, but it's actually painted brown and I detest anything brown that is not: wood, leather, or an animal. Ick.

Actually, it's lucky the seat needed to be re-covered, because when I took off the fabric I found this:


It was four layers worth of snapped, brittle 1/16 in. plywood.

So I cut a new seat base from 1/2 in. plywood we had on hand using the Mister's jigsaw:



And I painted the chair with Rustoleum's Semi-Gloss Black:

I ran out of spray paint and didn't want to make a 30 mile trip to Home Depot. 


I couldn't get anything small enough through the holes in the frame to mark the new seat for screws, so I taped the seat in place and stuck a really long drill bit in the holes:



I cut a new piece of 2 in. foam that I had left over from the last chair:





I sprayed both the foam and the seat base with Krylon Easy-Tack (just to make it easier to work with, so it wasn't sliding around) and wrapped the whole thing in a layer of batting (that I also had from the first chair and then two layers (because you could see through the first) of my fabric of choice, the Lenda Bleached curtains from Ikea:


I love the pinstriped detail, the color, and the price! It's a lovely neutral without being too beige or too white or too cream. It's not permanent, just until I can pick a fabric or at least figure out where this chair is going to live.

So here's the before again:
BEFORE
and the
AFTER
With my lovely Halloween pillows from LilyBethGoodies on etsy


I just love the detail on this chair:




What have you made over lately?

I'm linking up to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

 

10 comments:

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

It looks really nice in black. I think it shows off the lines better. And I really like the fabric you chose. Great transporation!

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

Okay, and clearly I meant transformation. Not transportation (misspelled). It's time for bed.

Erin said...

Nice Clueless reference - and great chair!

LizzieBeth said...

Loves it! I agree with Kim-- the new look shows off the great lines of the chair!

I have a banana yellow, cane back chair sitting in the corner of my great room that is mocking me. I desperately what to refinish it, but I am waiting till we have a house because I'm not sure what room I want to put it in. Le sigh. It's day will come.

LB

PS.. I love me some Clueless "You're a virgin who can't drive."

Unknown said...

I like brown tones, but this chair is stunning in black! Great job with the redo

Danielle and Clint said...

This is so perfect! And the pillow to go...I am jealous. I think you saw my rocker I just redid. I don't think it competes with yours. :-P

Kate said...

I love a good Clueless reference. It looks great!

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

Love the clueless reference, and the chair looks fantastic!

larainydays said...

That turned out really well.

Anonymous said...

It looks great! I really need to rescue my grandma's chairs from my parents' basement. I just don't know where I would put them!