It seems like shopping at thrift stores is becoming more and more common, but I never really understood why. But as I have gotten more and more into design, I thought that maybe I could do what I see all over the tv decorating shows or on blogs and take something not so great and turn it into my own little master piece. A few months ago I did some research and found out that I had a goodwill store close to our house. So the kids and I ventured out and made our first trip to Goodwill. I went with an idea that I wanted to refinish a chair. It seems like when we have a lot of people over for dinner, we don't have enough seating. Therefore, if I could find a chair it would be a fun experiment and if it turned out I could actually use it in the house. When we got there we headed for the furniture and to my surprise I found a chair for $3.99. It was a little wobbly but I thought that I could just tighten up the screws and it would be fine. It also had plastic on the seat so I thought maybe it wasn't as dirty as other things ( I am a little germaphobic) and decided to buy it. I started carrying it up to the front in one hand while pushing a double stroller in the other when a worker told me that I only need to take the tag up to the front (good to know for future purchases). I was so excited and couldn't wait to get started.
This is what it looked like when I bought it:
- Using a sander, sanded the wood part of the chair.
- Dusted off and washed the chair with a slightly wet rag.
- Took the seat cushion off and tighten any screws that need to be tighten.
- Applied 3 light coats of spray paint letting them dry for 24 hours between each coat ( it was cold outside)
- Using pliers, took out all the staples that were holding the plastic as well as the fabric to the wooden frame of the seat.
- Measured the wood frame to see how much fabric and foam I would need to recover the seat. Add a few inches, my philosophy: better to have too much then not enough.
- Lay the foam on top of the wood frame and trace with a pencil the shape of the seat. Cut the foam to that shape.
- Cut the fabric, making sure the pattern is centered and how you want it to look. Take into consideration how big your foam padding is and add enough fabric so that is will cover it.
- Lay the fabric down, then the foam, and finally place the wood frame on top. Using a staple gun pull the fabric up and over the wood frame and staple away. Make sure you are pulling the fabric tight as you go because you don't want to to bunch and it will loosen up over time.
- When doing the corners (this gave me some trouble) the best way I figured was to wrap it like you are wrapping a present. Lay the one side of the fabric down and wrap the other part over it.
- Screw the newly covered seat cushion onto to the chair.
- Have a seat!
Finished Chair
I am very happy with how my first thrift store project turned out and can't wait to do another.
That is awesome Deanna! Way to go
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