Old & Boring - to - Fresh & Fun...Chair redo

My style is very eclectic.  I like everything from very modern clean lines to old vintage finds.  My favorite is vintage finds redone with a modern flair.  

 

I purchased a pair of chairs from craigslist for $25.  I saw the potential and new that a few coats of paint and a fun new fabric would make these an eye popping fun addition to my living room.  The chairs were in really great condition at the time of purchase.  

When shopping for vintage, look for something sturdy since that is the most important thing for safety.  

Don't worry about fabric, paint or stain color if you plan is to redo the piece to suit your personal style.

To redo these chairs, it really was a few simple steps.  I stripped the chairs down by removing the seat and back cushions for to reupholster. I lightly sanded the chairs.  I didn't do as much sanding as normal because of all the wicker and grooves.  Then I used spray paint for my base coat.  I let that dry for a few days and then went back with a paint brush for the top coat of turquoise.  It took two coats.  I then lightly sanded in a few places to bring the ivory base coat to show and give it an aged finish.  I topped with a coat of polyurethane furniture wax paste.

Both paint colors were selected from the fabric I wanted to use (and turquoise is my favorite color).  To reupholster the seat, I just laid the cushion on top of the fabric and pulled it up to get an idea of how much I would need.  If you want to do it right and be really professional, you can take the old fabric off and use that as a pattern.  It was clear that it wasn't done super professional before and my final product turned out just how I wanted.  Once I made my cuts, I just pulled the fabric to the bottom and stapled it and cut off the excess.  Then the seats could easily be screwed back to the base.  

Coat rack from scrap wood

I've been using pinterest for a couple of months now.  My husband thinks it is a place for me to tag projects we'll never do.  I am an avid diy-er and always have a project going on.  To prove him wrong I started this blog to post my "pinterest accomplishments".  Happy reading!  :)

My first project I'll post is my new coat and key rack.  I've spent months looking for exactly the right hooks.  When I finally found them I was too impatient to go the the lumber store so I rummaged around the shed and found a scrap piece of wood.  It was too long for the 4 hooks and I remembered that I am ALWAYS losing my keys, so I added key hooks as well! 

For a rustic look, I used the scrap piece of wood and simply put one coat of my favorite color paint that I had on hand.  A half day later, when the paint was dry, we added the hooks.  Then we found the studs on the wall and pre-drilled holes in the wood before we screwed it to the wall.  This step helps to keep it nice and sturdy when you have heavy backpacks and purses hanging on it everyday.  :)