Craigslist Find Gone Bad Then Good

I had several names swirling in my head to name this post.  Another fine mess I've gotten myself into, or Why don't I listen to people, or Seriously what was I thinking.  It all started last week when I was scanning Craigslist.  I was searching for chairs I could recreate for a game table I want to have in our basement family room.  I came across four Pottery Barn Teen Oh La La armchairs.  They were listed for $200 and I offered $100 for the four.  We ultimately agreed on $160.  They were admittedly badly stained and on one of the chairs the seat was sunken.  They would definitely need reupholstering.  I asked friends and family and pretty much everyone advised me not to buy the chairs.  Did I really need to take on such a large project?  For one week I kept thinking about the chairs.  I could picture how beautiful I could make these chairs.  So on Saturday I went into the city to pick up the chairs.  

I did ask the seller how these chairs could possibly have gotten so abused in such a short amount of time.  She was young and living in the city and she said that her sister liked to have parties.  Ya think???  The whole car ride home I had buyer's remorse.  This was going to be a big job.  

I decided to start with the worst of the chairs.  

I took it apart and saw that the webbing had totally sunk.

I re-stretched it and stapled it back into place.

I then flipped the cushion and started to pull off the rest of the upholstery.  Several hours later all I had was blisters all over my hands and was struggling to get off the rest of the upholstery.  Now I seriously wanted to cry.  I was so annoyed with myself for not listening.  Why do I ask for advice when I don't listen?  Ugh!  I walked away from the project and started to think....and think.  

I decided to try to clean the upholstery.  After an hour of scrubbing, it didn't look any better, and now was wet.  So I walked away from the project again, and started to think again.  

Then it hit me.  I searched on the internet for painting upholstery.  I remembered seeing this somewhere.  I read every tutorial I could and they all said basically the same thing.  I just needed latex paint, fabric medium and water.  I had everything I needed in the house.  I decided to test it out on the fabric I had removed from the first chair.  To speed up the drying process I used a hairdryer.  It felt soft and the coverage was great.  So I went to the other three chairs.

Here's what they look like after just one coat of paint.

Wow, right?  I kept saying to myself that I was so clever.  The truth is if I was so clever I should have figured this out before I completely stripped the first one.  I still will have to do something with that chair. 

I am definitely hopeful.  I am letting it dry overnight and then will paint it with a second coat.  If this is successful I will definitely post a full tutorial.  If it's a bust, I'll let you know that as well.  Stop back tomorrow to see how my Craigslist chairs turn out.  

-Judy

Chair Makeover

I spent the weekend working on my craft closet.  It's taking a while to go through all of the closets where I have stuff stashed and organize it all in my new space.  Hopefully I will be sharing it with you in the next few days.  I needed a chair for the space, so I went up in the attic and brought down a chair which has gone through many makeovers in the past.

Here is it's latest transformation.

This chair was in my daughter's room a few years ago. I probably could have left it white with the pink fabric, but I really wanted something more fun for my new craft space.

When I saw this awesome fabric, I was inspired to spray the chair turquoise.  Unfortunately it's still cold here, but patience is not one of my virtues, so I went outside and spray painted it quickly.  Then I carefully brought it inside to dry.  I figured even though it was under 40 degrees outside, it was warm inside and hopefully it would all work out.

Here's some tips when covering a chair seat.  First, if you are using a large scale pattern like I have, be sure to decide which part of the pattern you would like for your seat.  In my case I decided to focus on the paisley section with the flower in the center.

I start on one side and then work my way to the corners.  

I fold the corners into thirds and staple as I go.

After I finish off the bottom I cut off the excess fabric.

This chair is going to look so good in my new craft closet.

Here's a reminder of what the craft closet looks like so far.

Can't wait to share the finished closet!

What do you think of my fun, funky turquoise chair?

-Judy

Chalk Paint Project Finished

My first chalk paint project is finished.  I am very happy with the results.  This project started with an awesome Craigslist purchase.   $20 - what a deal!

photo from Craigslist

The chair had some great bones.  I started this project by stripping the chair of all fabric.  It wasn't easy...it had nailhead trim all over it.

It was at this point that the fun began.  I had ordered Anne Sloan's chalk paint from Robyn Story Designs, a retailer in Florida.  They were awesome to deal with...I ordered late on a Friday afternoon and received my Anne Sloan paint, waxes and brushes by Wednesday morning. Don't you just love instant gratification?  If you are in the market for chalk paint, you should call Robyn Story Designs...they have inventory of Anne Sloan paint and waxes and are so helpful on the phone.

I started by painting the chair a combination of Duck Egg Blue with highlights of Old White.

After painting the entire chair, I used the clear wax.  I had ordered the wax brush, but because this chair had so much detail, I found it easier to use a rag to apply the wax.  I will use the wax brush on my next project.

You can see in the above photo that when you first apply the clear wax it slightly darkens the paint color.  However, once it dries, it lightens up again.

I tried to get a close up of what it looked like when I went to sand it to start distressing.  I think this is where you can really see the benefit of chalk paint vs. latex.  You know when you go to distress latex how sometimes it doesn't evenly sand off...or it will peel?  That doesn't happen with chalk paint.  It's super easy to distress and even easier to control how much you want distressed.  One tip...definitely wear a mask when you sand.  There is definitely more dust that with latex (however, less after waxing than before...I had sanded some before and then it's like clapping erasers together).

I also ordered the dark wax.  I used this extremely sparingly.  I again used a rag, dipped it in the wax and then wiped off most on a paper towel before applying it to my chair.  I just wanted to give some dimension to the detail...not totally change the color.

I had saved all the pieces from when I took off the original upholstery.  Makes it very easy to use it as a pattern.  I used foam I had for the under cushion.

Using my electric bread knife, I cut the foam to size easily.

I used a drop cloth I purchased from Home Depot as my fabric.  I cut a piece a little larger than I needed and laid it over the seat.

  Using the air compressor staple gun I got for Christmas...

I started stapling...

...and stapling.

Once it was stapled all around, I cut away the excess fabric.

I then cut out the fabric for the arms and the back and front.  I added foam and then stapled it all around.

Again, I cut away the fabric.  It doesn't have to be perfect...the trim will cover all of the staples.

For the back I started by stapling the fabric from the front.  I cut away all the excess.

I then added a piece of batting.

Then I added the cardboard (I used the same piece I had removed...it was still in good shape), then the foam, more batting and then the top fabric.  Yeah...this part wasn't so easy.  With that many layers it was hard to get it all to line up.  However, after I got a few staples in, I was home free.

It was now time for the trim.  I bought the trim from JoAnn's for $0.99/yard and then someone handed me a 10% off coupon when I was checking out, so I only paid $0.89/yard.  I bought eight yards ( I had about a yard left, but my rule of thumb is to always buy more than less...nothing is worse than having to go back out when you are in the middle of a project).

Using my hot glue gun and my scissors (rather than my fingers to push it into place) I attached the trim.  If you've ever worked with hot glue you know that you can burn your fingers so easily, so I like to use my scissors...the glue peels right off the scissors.

I'd like to say I was done at this point, but I still had to make the box cushion for the seat.  Again I used the old fabric as a pattern and cut out a front and a back to the seat cushion and the side panel.  I also made cording to coordinate.

I pinned and then sewed the three layers together.

Here is the final product.  I love how it came out.

I added the pillow as a final touch.

Remember this pillow?  I made it out of two dinner napkins.  All I did to make it fit the new chair was open up the pillow, remove the insert, add a smaller insert and sew a smaller seam.  The width of the pillow stayed the same.

So what do you think of my first attempt at re-upholstery?  It's the perfect addition to my guest room.   I have to be honest...it was so much work.  It took way longer than I ever anticipated, but I love the result.  Can't wait to hear what you think.

-Judy