Curbside Chairs Get a Makeover

ScavengerChic
by ScavengerChic
Driving home from my local Home Depot one day, I spied this set of 5 beautiful dining chairs just sitting on the side of the road with a big sign…take me home, free!
Well I didn't really need chairs, but they were free after all!…and they actually were in great shape. After driving by a few more times and debating whether I should take them home, I finally shoved them into my too tiny car.
Somebody had taken care of these chairs over the years. There were a couple of breaks that had been mended really well, a couple of the seats had been rebuilt and they were still really sturdy…oh, and did I mention, free!?
Needed more padding on the seats. Using the existing seat traced the outline onto a 1 inch piece of foam and cut with scissors. I hear, an electric carving knife is the way to go for cutting foam, but not having one, scissors will do just fine.
Trim off the corners of the foam to give it a softer finished edge.
Cut a piece of batting a couple inches larger on all sides than you’re chair seat.


Use a couple of staples to hold the batting in place. Don’t have to do a thorough job just yet, since the staples from the material will hold everything down.
Last step for the chair seat is to cut a piece of fabric the same as you cut the batting, a couple of inches larger than the chair seat on all sides.


Make sure that if you have a pattern, it’s lined up on the seat, and you’re ready to start stapling. Work from the center of the seat out, alternating sides and pulling tight as you go.
For the chairs, I wanted a chippy paint finish.


Sanded down the chairs to give the paint something to adhere to.


Wherever I wanted the chipped paint look, applied dollop of vaseline…mostly just to the edges and where it might look like the paint got chipped away naturally.
Chairs were given a couple of coats of white spray paint. If you’re using the vaseline chippy method, spray paint is the way to go or the vaseline will get caught up in your brush.
Once the paint was dry, rub off the excess paint. You’ll be able to see where you applied the vaseline since it sticks out a bit.


Another added benefit of using vaseline..your hands get moisturized.
For more photos, you'll just have to come by and visit.


ScavengerChic
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 79 comments
  • Mary Mary on Nov 08, 2018

    Stunning

  • Camilla Camilla on Aug 22, 2021

    Those are gorgeous chairs! So happy you saved them. I have very similar style passed down from family, and I had needlepoint from my mother that fit when I redid the seats! Truly, a treasure.

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