Paint and Polka Dots

by Stacy | BlakeHillHouse

$15

4 Hours

Easy

Last summer I gave this beat up yard sale chair a makeover. (Oh how I miss that green grass!)

polka dot upholstered green painted chair, painted furniture, reupholster

The new chair came from a yard sale. The seat fabric was torn, the chair was a little wobbly, and the veneer on the sides had been scraped up pretty badly.

First, I removed the seat which was attached by four screws.

Then, I sprayed the chair frame with the hose, and left it in the sun to dry. The finish was still kind of sticky to the touch, so I washed it again with tsp-substitute. After the seat was removed, the chair was no longer wobbly. No additional repair was needed.

Next, I carelessly brushed primer on it. The finish was oil-based, so I used an oil-based primer. While that was drying, I worked on the seat. I thought that I could salvage the padding on the seat, but when I removed the torn fabric, I found that the padding was just too dusty and dirty to reuse. In my sewing supplies, I found some small pieces of quilt batting to pad the seat. Not everyone has quilt batting laying around, so I also suggest using layers of bath towel or old mattress covers for padding.

I covered the chair with fabric and clear vinyl. I opted to use vinyl because the fabric I chose was not upholstery fabric. It would not hold up over time. Also, I wanted to be able to wipe off the seat if necessary since we are using it primarily at our art table.

I cut the quilt batting the same size as the seat. I used three layers. I cut the vinyl and fabric larger, and I attached it all with a heavy-duty staple gun.

After the primer dried, I painted the chair with spray paint. I opted for spray paint instead of a brush because of all the grooves and details in the wood. I was not sure I could do a very good job on those with a brush.

The chair took two full layers of paint, and some touch up work. After it dried, I reassembled it and sat back and marveled that I was able to complete something 100%.