My Curbside Chair Transformation

by Katy on April 8, 2012 · 27 comments

Portland, Oregon experienced a rare and special day of sunshine yesterday, which meant it was time for lots of healthy outdoor aerobic activity spray painting! And the project of the day was was to finish my most recent curbside chair. Remember it?

Free sturdy bentwood chair with torn caning? Yes, you can come home with me.

 

With all the caning carefully cut away and the wood sanded, it’s ready for its coat of primer.

 

What was that, Captain Picard? We must always consider the Prime Directive? Well then, make it so!

 

Even though it looks like there’s perfectly good caning on the seat, it’s actually kind of messed up from having been attached to the seat. It took 1-1/2 can of Krylon Fusion gloss spray paint to cover all the nooks and crannies on this chair. Luckily, I only had to buy one can, as I already had some leftover from my last painting project.

 

It took a bit of fussy adjusting, but I used our staple gun to attach new fabric to the existing seat.

 

I’m not sure how many staples a normal re-upholsterer uses, but my motto was “The more the merrier.”

 

And . . . here’s the completed chair! 

I do believe this chair just bought itself a spot in our living room. Lucky chair.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Twitter.

Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Pinterest.


{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }

sherry April 8, 2012 at 10:19 am

Beautiful job! A keeper for sure…

Reply

Katy April 8, 2012 at 10:24 am

Thanks!

Katy

Reply

Carla April 8, 2012 at 10:23 am

Love the line green colour & fabric you chose! Well done!!

Reply

Katy April 8, 2012 at 10:27 am

Thanks. I used this fabric from the closet curtain I wrote about here:

https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/2012/01/how-to-make-a-closet-curtain/

Katy

Reply

Julia April 8, 2012 at 11:20 am

love! My favorite color!

Reply

Diane April 8, 2012 at 11:59 am

Terrific work! Another chair is rescued to live a new life with you!

Reply

Katy April 8, 2012 at 2:42 pm

My name is Katy and I have a chair problem.

Katy

Reply

Coral February 13, 2023 at 2:46 pm

I have a weakness for chairs myself, still mourn the ones I had to rehome when I downsized!

Reply

Kathy M April 8, 2012 at 12:27 pm

Love it!

Reply

Jen April 8, 2012 at 2:01 pm

Looks GREAT!! Well done.

Reply

Laura's Last Ditch--Adventures in Thrift Land April 8, 2012 at 2:18 pm

Yay! Good job breathing new life into this chair!

Reply

Barb April 8, 2012 at 2:31 pm

It looks great! If you have more fabric you could make a backing out of a simple padded rectangle with ties at the top and maybe even the bottom. (A pillow really). It looks good just as it is though and I love the paint color and fabric selection.

Reply

Katy April 8, 2012 at 2:42 pm

Argh, that sounds like more work, when I really like is that this project is finished!

I tell you what, you can come over and make an extra cushion and I won’t even charge you very much for the privilege. 😉

Katy

Reply

Barb April 8, 2012 at 5:09 pm

Yeah…I’ll get right on that!! 🙂

Reply

gabrielle April 8, 2012 at 4:36 pm

I’m not sure how many staples a normal re-upholsterer uses, but my motto was “The more the merrier.”

That looks about right to me. (Not that I’m an upholsterer, normal or otherwise.)

Love the color scheme!

Reply

Sandra j April 8, 2012 at 4:49 pm

I wasnt sure about the green – but it turned out beautiful!

Reply

Katy April 8, 2012 at 4:53 pm

Thanks. It’s just so cheerful! I’ve never been a beige kind of gal.

Katy

Reply

Beaner April 8, 2012 at 5:18 pm

Amazing! Is it comfy?

Reply

Katy April 8, 2012 at 5:43 pm

Nope.

Katy

Reply

Jo H. April 8, 2012 at 5:56 pm

I would never think to paint something a bright colour, but I have a mighty liking for this 🙂

Reply

Practical Parsimony April 8, 2012 at 7:19 pm

That is gorgeous!

Reply

Valerie Heck April 9, 2012 at 2:58 am

Well done I love it!

Reply

Linda in Indiana April 9, 2012 at 3:59 am

OMGosh!!! I love,love, love it! And my favorite color!! I gravitate to it! My friends tease me that I have a “slime lime” obsession as that is the color I automatically head for–it is such a summery and cheery color. You did good, girl!

Reply

Yankeegal April 9, 2012 at 6:11 am

I agree with the others about the color-love it!

Reply

emmer April 9, 2012 at 6:40 am

i think what a real upolsterer would do would be hammer those staples in firmly (you get to vent some aggresions there) and then glue on something nonwoven over the bottom to cover all–maybe felt. that’s assuming you planned to have folks gazing at the bottom a lot.
🙂
serious improvement on how the chair looked when you got it!
i do like the idea about more fab for the back, probably because i am a seamstress (and retired nurse), so i think everything is fixed with more fabric. 🙂

Reply

Christy April 9, 2012 at 7:45 am

Beautiful paint and GORGEOUS fabric!

Reply

Katy April 9, 2012 at 8:18 am

Thanks, I’m rather partial to it myself!

Katy

Reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: