A Broken Old Chair Up-Cycled Into A Succulent Wall Planter

My good friend, Andrea gave me this chair. It was in pieces! The front legs were broken off & 1/2 of the seat frame was broken at the joints. I kept coming back to the chair and looking at it’s joints & pieces and knew I could re-purpose it into something really cool!
I first took all what was left on the front of the chair off at the joints using a hammer. I was left with a flat back part of the chair.
I cut down the sides of the chair to start forming a box. Glued with Titebond Wood Glue (the only wood glue I use).
When I added the front lip of the chair to the newly formed box it wasn’t wide enough. So I mixed up some Bondo and started forming the edges. Once it started setting, I started sanding it and rounding the edges.
I then added a bottom to the box & used Durham’s Rock Hard Wood putty to fill in the rest.
Sanded the chair down to bare wood and then used a homemade wood conditioner (50/50 mix of D-natured Alcohol & Clear Shellac) recipe to guarantee even coverage of the stain. I stained with nothing but the best, General Finishes Nutmeg and their famous Java gel stain. Bondo doesn’t take stain but GF’s gel stain camouflages it very well if you paint it on instead of wiping it back off. So I painted it on the bondo and let it dry. Once dry I did the rest of the chair with both stains. I use their stain like I do when painting with multiple colors. I used the Nutmeg in some areas to give it a lighter shade and Java in areas to give it a darker shade. This technique highlights and low lights the wood beautifully.
Sanded, Conditioned and Stained!
Added some succulents and it's ready to hang.
It now hangs above my master bath toilet.
My dog, The Duke who often becomes a prop for size... just wants a treat.
You can see more of this upcycle on my website: http://rehabtofab.co/broken-old-chair-cycled-succulent-wall-planter
Stephanie  Coon/Rehab to Fab
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Wendy Tellson Armistead Wendy Tellson Armistead on Jun 06, 2016
    What a lovely idea...who is the doggie?
  • Alicia Alicia on Jun 07, 2016
    if u hang outside what about rain does the gel stain seal it so u can have it outside or water the plants ? it is very beautiful..
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  • SANDRA MOORE SANDRA MOORE on Feb 02, 2021

    It's beautiful. You might have also added a dowel rod between the two legs to hang towels from and maybe rolled some wash cloths instead of plants inside the box part since you hung it in the bathroom. The plants are pretty too.

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