Turning Thrifted Dining Chairs Into Beautiful Outdoor Seating

I Needed 2 outdoor chairs for a covered patio off one of our guest rooms. I wanted them to be fancy but did not want to spend a lot since they would not be used that often. Goodwill had these 2 metal dining chairs for $10 each. They were dirty and worn but I knew with a little TLC they could be beautiful.

Chairs that have a lot of detail work look so pretty when they are painted to highlight it. Since the chairs were iron I knew they could withstand the weather.

I thoroughly cleaned the chairs and steam cleaned the cushions. Removing the back and seat I recovered them using outdoor fabric in bold black and ivory stripes that I purchased from eBay for $11 a yard.

Laying the seat face down on top of the fabric I stapled around the edges, checking in between to make sure the stripes stayed straight, cutting off the excess fabric when done. Make sure to not cover the screw holes so you can reattach them easily.

The backrest had a groove at the top to screw into the chair with nothing but that to staple into. After tracing the backrest onto the back of the fabric, plus adding a 1/2 inch seam allowance, I sewed 2 sides together in what looked like a small pillowcase, inserted the backrest, and then folded and stapled the opening. The backrest fits tightly so the fabric would not be going anywhere.

I did not take photos of the painting process, after a mishap with spray paint and my phone I left it inside, but I will walk through how I did it. After cleaning the chairs and removing the cushions I spray painted the parts of the bases I wanted gold with Rustoleum. Once that was completely dry, I taped the gold parts off with painter's tape and spray painted the rest of the bases with satin black Rustoleum. Once that dried I hand-painted the top with leftover ivory exterior paint. The next day I sealed them with 2 coats of exterior polyurethane.

The back view of the chairs

All finished. I LOVE them. They are outdoor safe but look cute inside too. They do sit on a covered patio so they do not get full sun. I do bring them inside during the winter and extra rainy months just to keep them from fading and getting too dirty. Even though they are covered in outdoor fabric the Texas sun and blowing dirt are really tough on any outdoor furniture.

A day and night difference! Sometimes those ugly thrift chairs can have new life if you just give them a little love.

Blessings,

Eden