Image Map

January 9, 2010

My Shabby Chairs

Today is a cold, chilly Saturday and I am feeling crafty.

Waking up to 38 degrees in Florida is just crazy... and if it is this cold...we Floridians are allllll inside acting like it s a blizzard out there. And since we are indoors, I wanted to work with felt since it is such a warm and cozy material.

While doing this, I realized that I have not done a creative, craftyish type post in a long while so I thought I would share one of my most favorite things in the whole wide world that literally went from trash to treasure.


And no, it is not felt but whatever. I can be random like that and I wanted to share what I was thinking.



A few years ago (oh my word, it looks like it was over 4 years ago...PRE-KIDS!) I found this old chair on the side of the road waiting for the trash pick up. It was pretty beat up and the torn, dried out leather seat had seen better days. But all I saw was its potential at no cost to me and I jumped at this opportunity! I snagged the chair and got to work.


This was the final result!

I had picked up this fabric in different colors but in the same pattern in an antique store (though it was not vintage, it looked it and loved it) and I put it away for a rainy day. I was so excited to use it for a project like this.

I sanded the entire chair, painted it, and sanded it over and over resulting in a texture that is incredibly smooth. I used a very light green with some brick color reds thrown in to add depth to the staining while still revealing the grain of the wood. This is probably some type of painting technique called something which I have no idea about. I am all about winging it.

How fun that it ended up looking great. I absolutely love this chair! I am always drawn
to something that looks worn, old, and distressed but with a feminine touch.


Another trash find was this chair that was really not salvageable. The back of the chair was broken with the wood splintered and cracked in the seat.

So I took the back of the chair off, had it sanded completely and added batting and used the same fabric (in blue) to make this into a stool of sorts. When we had a guest room, I placed it in there for additional seating or to lay a suitcase on.


I get incredibly excited to take something that no longer seems salvageable and not only make it useful but find a NEW use while making it pretty too!

Do any of you do stuff like this? Have you posted it? I want to see! I want to see!

13 comments:

  1. I love stuff like this! your so crafty. I love the distressed world look.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i love the chair! i wish i could be as crafty & creative as you are, but I just don't seem to have that gene! I can't even decide where to hang pictures on my wall! Love the post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Both of those pieces look amazing!! That stool is gorgeous! I repainted an old dresser that was in my room growing up, its white and distressed like your chair. I need to post it. Thats for the inspiration!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my, I LOVE these!! We have the same taste. Trash to treasures is the way to go.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love your trash to treasures makeovers. Great work! Peace & blessings, Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  6. aww these are So pretty! love the old vintage look..you did awesome!! :)
    xo
    Keren

    ReplyDelete
  7. I LOVE YOUR CHAIRS!!! = ) And what SWEET little girls! We were 10 years without children. We thought we were not meant to have children. Then...after much prayer and a word from the Lord, I now have 5 precious flowers in my garden!

    I just discovered your blog...it's BEAUTIFUL!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi again! I would LOVE to put your button on my blog but it is not letting me pick you up. How can I get your button on my blog? = )

    ReplyDelete
  9. Super cute!! I left you an award on my blog today; stop by and pick it up when you get a chance!

    ReplyDelete
  10. How thank you so much for all your lovely comments. As for my blog button...I think it is working now! Woo Hoo!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is such a creative idea and I love the outcome. Thanks for sharing this idea! I never would have thought to make a stool out of a chair but it works! Your blog is so cute :) I hope you have a great Monday! xo, KA

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love these chairs. They turned out great!

    I didn't exactly restore pieces that had been trashed, but I got an AMAZING deal on a piece that was badly in need of a little TLC. After a little polishing, new keys...I got something great. I had to strip off the horrible, decaying upholstery from the bench too only to reveal wood that was in great condition. Want to see?

    http://thelifeofjenniferdawn.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-baby.html

    While you are there you can register to win my book giveaway too.

    Take care and keep blogging!

    ReplyDelete

I love, love, love, comments and I read every one! Please keep in mind that I sometimes moderate each one so it may take a bit before it appears on the post. Thanks my sweet friends!