I have finally completed my Goodwill chairs! I am so very excited about this makeover! It is exactly what I envisioned.
For some background information…
My husband and I are creating a guest house above our garage. (To see our progess so far, click here and here.) We are almost finished, but it needs furniture. We are on a very tight budget, so I have been frequently visiting Goodwill hoping to find something I could re-do or restore.
I came upon two chairs a while back that I instantly fell in love with. I didn’t like the color, but they had great “bones”. I loved the design on the back, I loved the wood they were made of, and they were extremely sturdy and comfortable. Best of all, I got them both for $30.00!
Here’s the before.
At first, I was going to paint the material. Yes, I said paint! I learned about it from a post at One Woman’s Cottage Life. But then I realized you wouldn’t see the cool design on the back of the chair if I left it covered with the material. So I decided to remove the material on the back.
I also removed the seat by simply unscrewing it on the bottom. I wanted to cover the seat with new material.
Then I had the fun task of removing one thousand staples! I’m serious, it seemed like a thousand! So I enlisted some help…
That’s my oldest son, Jonathan. He’s almost 10, and he is a work horse. He loves helping me and his dad with all of our projects. Luke and Adam also helped, but I forgot to snap a pic.
The next day, I had blisters on the palms of my hands from all the staples we removed. No pain, no gain, right?
Then I spray painted the chairs black, and they started looking much better.
That’s Jonathan’s feet in the background. He was helping me spray paint the wicker plant stand. (Don’t know where I’m going to use that yet!)
Then I bought some off white material to cover the seats.
I love using a staple gun. Covering a seat is so easy. Just be sure to pull the material real taunt before you staple. And if you mess up, you can easily pull the staple out and start over. (I know that from lots of experience!)
I just folded the corners over like so, nothing fancy.
Then I just re-attached the seats with a screwdriver, and I was finished!
What-a-ya think? I pulled the pillow off my bed to show you what it would look like with a pillow on it. I haven’t found the pillows I want just yet. I may buy them, or find some material I like and make them. I also thought a monogrammed pillow would look good.
Here’s a picture of the backs of the chairs.
I paid $30.00 for the chairs, $2.00 for a can of spray paint, and $6.00 for the material. Not bad for $38.00!
And they fit perfectly into my cottage style guest house.
Well, I hope you like my transformation! (By the way, I got the rug they are sitting on at Goodwill too…only $25.00!)
Blessings,
Traci
Great job! I really like those.
Great transformation of the chairs. They look fabulous!
Great transformation. You did a fantastic job on the chairs!
Wow these turned out fantastic! I am totally inspired, great job!
So nice! The chairs look like they were always meant to be black with a nice cushion. I never see anything that cool at GW–I need to watch for some cool chairs :).
Oooooh, I love them….great job and great vision for them!
Suzanne
do show more of your cottage guest house!! :)
Wow what a steal and that cool rug too ! I love what you did with the cushions and you made it look so easy !
Hugs ~ Kammy
OOOHHH great transformation! THey really don’t seem to be the same chairs!
Beautiful chairs! No one will ever believe you got them at Goodwill.
Love the chairs — they really look so good painted with the white seats — I am very impressed!
What a transformation! You did a great job.
Traci,
I am so impressed with your chair makeover! They look fabulous and designer like! Love your blog and the cute pics of your family. Cindy
Oh, I love the rug too, it’s just perfect! Cindy
Those chairs went from 1980s rejects to total awesomeness! Good job!
Those chairs are fantastic! What vision you have! Linda
So pretty! You made a great decision leaving the fabric off the backs and instead showing of the chair back design. Nice job!
~Sherrie
* Now THAT’S usin’ yer noggin’!!! FABULOUS vision you had~~~ and such WONDERFUL results!!! “Whodathunk, huh?!?!”~~~ I think “YER THE MA’AM!!!” today, for this wildly successful story!!!
Warmly,
Linda *
Traci,
Welcome to blogging! With your beautiful blog, great ideas and darling family it won’t be long before you have a ton of followers! My hubby is a woodworking/building construction teacher at our local high school. Your hubbies project below is wonderful! You should repost this again on the next Met. Monday! Welcome again, and I’ll be back often. Cindy
Fantastic transformation — anyone would think these were very high end. You have a great eye!
Scribbler
traci, your chairs are absolutely beautiful! What a fantastic makeover.
hugs
janet
Wow, they look fabulous. I like them so much better with the fabric off the back. You really did make them up to date and what wonderful additions to any room. Hugs, Marty
Very nice make-over on the chairs, and what a great price including the rug! :O) Mary @ Boogieboard Cottage
Absolutely incredible makeover – those chairs look great! I love the upholstery fabric and the pillow, too!
Great job! They look incredible now.
Debbie
Great chairs! Love the pillow and beautiful rug, also! ~Rhonda :)
Very pretty! Love them painted black. :)
The chairs came out great. Love the look of the pillow a monogrammed one would be fabulous.
The chairs look awesome, Traci! Great job!
I’m so glad you let the back show! They are just perfect for any room. Good job (and cute kid :) !
Love what you did with the chairs. I’m in the market for a few too for the screened porch. It’s so nice to meet you~ ~Ahrisha~ ~
Your decorating is beautiful. It is so much fun to see all the sites where moms are decorating with a thrifty sense of style. I have always had to decorate with cast-offs, hand-me-downs yard sale, and thrift store finds with the occassional new purchase thrown in. Now, I have inspiration from you to be a bit more stylish. I have never regretted not being able to go out and buy just anything because it is so much fun to reuse. I look forward to more of your photographs!
These chairs turned out fabulous, great job!!!
What a wonderful job you did! I love when my little “helpers” get to particpate as well. Makes it totally worth while!
Blessings to you!
They are gorgeous! So much better now that you can see the design in the back. And the colors are fabulous!
Beautiful! This is inspiring! Thanks!!!
Great job, and I think pillows will look awesome. A monogram would be beautiful.
That a way! Super super super!
Beautiful and fresh! I love the black and white. So clean and classic! The old owners would be so sad to see how beautiful they are now. Way to go!
Gorgeous!! I’m coveting!
Super job! I really like that you redid them rather than painting the fabric. In the long run it’s a better finish.
Fabulous make-over! Love the colors you used.
Blessings,
Marie
http://emmacallsmemama.com
Those chairs look awesome!!! Wow!
Wow! Those look like something out of Ballard! This is fabulous!
Wow! This is one of the BEST makeovers I’ve ever seen.
Now I’m on the lookout for some chairs!
These are gorgeous! WOW! Awesome job!!
Isn’t spray paint the best thing since sliced bread??? Great job!
Gorgeous chairs. You did a fabulous job! I LOVE them! How perfect.
Love them! They turned out great.
-Jill
Beautiful!!!
Beautiful!!!
Beautiful!!!
Stunning!!
Beautiful job !! Great choice of fabric.
Lisa
I love the chairs with the open backs – to me it keeps the room looking more open and the fabric is fabulous!
Those look so great! I would not have gone for those, but you made them look modern and chic. I love the pillow you put on one as well. I feel your pain with the "staple removing" blisters. I've had those before!
Was there a point when you pulled all of the fabric off that you thought, "Oh crap. I hope this works out"? I have those moments some times. :) Thanks for sharing. It's a great makeover.
Absolutely love the job you did on your chairs. I have 2 cane love seats and matching chair and sofa table. I would really like to do them in your colours. Just a it worried about the full back and seat cushions. They are floral and outdated. Hoping to recover them. That entails 10 cushions with piping and zippers. Yikes what am I getting myself into?
Yours are looking so wonderful that you give me inspiration to attempt mine. Thanks.
Hi Inga! You can do it! I know it will be a lot of work, but you will love it when it’s done. :). Send me pics when you’re finished.
xoxo