From Dumpster Bound to Retro Groovy in One Day!
$25
3 Hours
Easy
We picked up the card table and matching chairs at a yard sale in the boondocks for $3, then we found the brown chairs behind a thrift store ready for the dumpster. I sent my husband in with a $5 but they would only take $2 for them because they were going to the trash. A Walmart stop and some elbow grease later and we have a great outdoor entertaining set for the summer! 3 hours of hands on work and it was done!
Can you see that the seat of the brown chair on the right is just sitting on there? And the covering is actually some contact paper from the 60's.
We started with these - they were all dirty and lackluster. With a little work, we gave these workhorse metal pieces new life - you can do it too, it was so easy!
The entire process took 2 cans of Rustoleum brand primer, 1 can each of these colors and this shower curtain but that's it! There was primer, paint and shower curtain left over too. Directions: Sand a little, spray with primer - let dry for at least 2 hours if it is warm and dry outside but at least 12 if it is not. Then spray paint each piece the color you want. Cut out the shower curtain the sizes of the table top and chairs and then staple (or duct tape if the seat is metal) and re-attach. You are done!
I am really very proud of these - besides drying time it only took 3 hours of hands on work to transform these dirty, but still very sturdy pieces. I am showing off my handiwork here: http://www.pluckys-secondthought.com/link-43/
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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My mother got that set of four chairs (the ones with the wire backs) and a matching table with the same original upholstery, but in black with greenish upholstery, in exchange for our S&H green stamps back in the early sixties. I remember going with her to the redemption center to get it. I still have the set, but like you, have reupholstered it and repainted the metal with a new coat of black. Mine is definitely an indoor set, though. I used cloth upholstery.
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The upholstery is a red retro pattern. It's pretty striking.
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