Goodwill Chair Makeover {with drop cloths}

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A couple of weeks ago, I guest posted at Melissa’s precious blog, 320 Sycamore, about my Goodwill Chair makeover.

In case you missed it, I am reposting it today.

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When I spotted this chair at Goodwill for $5.50, I knew I had to buy it.

I love cane chairs, and this one was in pretty good shape.

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It just needed a little TLC.

So when I got it home, I started taking it apart piece by piece.

 

 

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It wasn’t pretty, folks!

This kind of work is not for the faint of heart.

I am so glad that pictures do not smell, or you may be clicking off this post. :)

I was hoping to re-use the cushion, but when I saw the condition of it, I knew I had to come up with another plan.

Yikes!

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If you ever decide to recover a chair, here’s a helpful hint:

When taking apart a chair, be sure to take pictures along the way, so you can remember how the material looked on the chair.

It helps a ton…believe me!!

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When my chair was completely “nekked”, this is what it looked like…

(sorry for the blurry picture)

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I know she’s not much to look at yet, but with a little white paint and some batting to cover the seat, she was already looking a little better.

 

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I used my staple gun to attach the batting to the chair.

I also used my staple gun to attach the fabric.

For the fabric, I used a drop cloth that I already had.  (FREE!)

If you hang out at my blog for very long, you will discover my love for dropcloths!

 

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For the back cushion, I decided to use a pillow form I already had.

I cut two pieces of drop cloth 23 inches squared.

 

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Then, I used some brown paint to stencil on my monogram.

 

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I sewed up the two pieces of material to form my pillow cover and then inserted the pillow form.

(I know I am leaving out a lot of steps, but I didn’t want my post to be too long and bore ya!)

:)

When I was all finished, I had a new chair!

 

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I am thrilled with the way it turned out!

 

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If you look closely, you will see a lot of imperfections….

(so don’t look closely)

:)

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But overall, I think this chair was definitely worth the time and effort I put into it.

 

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The drop cloths give it such a crisp, clean look.

 

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Here is a breakdown of the costs:

Chair: $5.50

Thread: $2.00

Batting: $6.00

Drop cloths:  Already had

Pillow form:  Already had

Paint: Already had

TOTAL:  $13.50!

Not bad!

(Of course, it would have cost more if I had to buy the rest of the materials.)

 

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If you like the tufted cushion, you could have definitely created one for your chair makeover.

That is the fun of it!  When you find a little treasure at a thrift store for not a lot of money, you can afford to take a risk and try something new.

You can re-do your chair (or treasure) to fit your personality and your style.

 

side view

 

 

25 Comments

  1. Wow… what a difference! I like the use of drop cloths (especially re-using drop cloths you already have!). The chair turned out great!

    I have one question: what was your solution to finishing the back of the chair (do you have a picture of the back)?

    I’ve never attempted a full reupholstery project because I’m worried that the backs of the chair wouldn’t come out well, the only thing I could think of was to use exposed tacks – which is fine, I love nail-head or exposed tack trim… but I would love to know how you finished the back of this chair…..

    Great job :-)

    ~Stephanie C
    thediyprincess.wordpress.com

  2. This is a great makeover! I have a similar chair that I may have to re-do one day. I have never thought of using drop cloths but it is a good idea.

    Have a good day!

    Linda @ Truthful Tidbits

  3. Gosh that turned out so nice! You really had a vision with this one. I was thinking “No Way!! That is one ugly chair!” But you sure made it nice!~Ames

  4. Amazing!! $13.50 well spent, my friend! and you know I love the drop cloth :)
    I will not be so quick to walk by cheap ugly chairs ever again now that I know how gorgeous they can turn out!

  5. This is a beautiful re-do! I love how you tackled the upholstery. An antique tufted chair caught my eye once but was way too overwhelmed to try it!

  6. Definitely not for the faint of heart! I love doing it eventhough I don’t really know what I’m doing. It always looks acceptable in the end, so I can totally live with that. I love what you did! I should do more pillows. It’s a great finishing detail!
    -Bethanie

  7. Your chair turned out beautiful! Great deal too. That chair at my Goodwill would cost at least $32.00. Our goodwill never has sales, does yours?
    love this chair! (I love drop cloths)
    gail

  8. As always, so inspiring. I have an ugly antique spring-sprung chair that is taking up a corner of my living room & I have been thinking that I want to re-do it to put in bedroom as I re-make it. The drop-cloth is perfect. I think that I will be making a matching bed skirt with your Velcro method. I already used that method to make one for for my daughters bed. So easy!

  9. Hello!

    Great Job! I’m reupholstering a sofa that I’ll finish someday :-) but I also decided to use fabric drop cloth! I’ll have to share it with you when I find time to complete it!

    Have a great day,
    Christie

  10. love, love, love this! I love trash to treasure ideas. I do alot of furniture redo for friends. I love it! I will be posting about a table that I redid with craft paper and modpodge on Tuesday…you will have to check it out! I think we are soul sista’s!

  11. You do such an excellent job providing picture tutorials. Thanks for sharing you hard and excellent work with us!

  12. Wow! You did an amazing job! I love how great it turned out! And I love the monogram! A girl after my own heart. So glad you ditched that cushion…another amazing repurpose! Love your blog Traci!

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