I hope everyone is off to a happy healthy start in 2016!
While out shopping this week I came across fabric at Goodwill. I was excited to find it for multiple reasons, it was a significant amount of material, I loved the design and as always the price was right! It was perfect for the project I’m going to show you – creating a comfy side chair.
First I took the seat cushion off and lightly sanded the wood frame of the chair.
I wanted the chair to look worn and have some of the wood show through so I put a very thin layer of paint on the frame.
While that dried I started working on the seat cushion.
The padding on the cushion was very thin so I decided to add to it. I purchased a roll of one inch padding, cut it to fit the seat and then hot glued it to the current pad.
I then placed the seat onto the material and measured then cut. To staple the material to the seat I used just a standard hand-held staple gun. The wood was pretty thin so I used the 1/4 sized staples.
Once the material was attached I started to make the trim to go around the seat pad. You don’t have to add this, but I personally think that it makes the pad look so much nicer.
Trim is sold at most fabric stores, but I almost always make my own from material that is left over from other projects. I like the look and it saves on money.
To make your own, first I measure around the outside of the chair pad and cut the amount of Jute (cording) that I needed.
Cutting in the direction of the longest length of your left over material make narrow strips. If you don’t have enough to go completely around the chair don’t worry you can always add more material if needed.
Then I used a hot glue gun to secure the Jute inside the strip of material. Since my strip was not long enough to cover the entire length of Jute I added more material. I hot glued the edge of the material down so it had a more finished look.
Now it’s time to attach the trim to the seat. After the trim is in place I always use a material called cambric to cover the bottom. This is super cheap material that you can find a fabric store. This is not a necessary step, but it really does clean up the look of the pad.
Chair pad done! Onto putting antiquing glaze onto the dried chair frame.
For this I used, as usual, Minwax stain. I applied with a soft cloth and left a heavy coat of stain on it. Stain seems to take forever to dry so I let the chair sit overnight.
The next morning the stain was still a little tacky, but I have found that is usually the case with stain. I went ahead and put a clear polycoat over top because I find that it helps the stain to dry.
Once the clear polycoat dried I attached the seat cushion and now I have a comfy little side chair!
Thank you so much for reading. Now I’m off shopping to look for my next project to share with you!
Amy
Facebook: Sirpilla’s Shabby to Chic
Hi, I’m Amy. I love to repurpose, refinish and decorate with thrift store finds. Making something new out of something old is what inspires me! I’m a thrift shop addict who would like to share my DIY projects with you.