How to give a chair a new look and new life in your home!

I’ve heard people say, “Oh I’m just not that crafty to redo a chair.”  Wrong.  Yes you are.  The finished product looks great and that can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.  Anyone can redecorate a chair.  Yes anyone.  I’ll even show you how.

All you need:  A wooden chair.  A can of spray paint.  A cool print fabric. A stapler.  Sandpaper.

1.  Find a chair.  I go to thrift stores or antique shops to look for chairs that have character.  These chairs don’t have to be “good looking” they just have to be sturdy.  I usually pick wooden chairs that have a padded and covered seat.  These chairs are fun to cover because you can paint the wood and put a cool fabric to cover the seat.  I started with this chair that I bought at a local thrift store.  No. It’s not pretty, but it will be.

2.  Take off the covered seat and sand.  This usually requires flipping the chair over and unscrewing the four screws holding the seat on.  (Don’t lose these screws - You’ll need them soon!)  After you’ve taken off the seat, pick up a sander and go to town sanding that chair.  This part isn’t hard, but it isn’t fun either.  You might have to use your hand to put sand small corners.  Make sure you get all of the original varnish or paint otherwise it will be difficult to paint.  If there is any original paint left on the chair the new paint or stain wont go on as easily.  Trust me - You don’t want to have to sand it again!

3.  Recover the seat.  Your chair will be pretty dusty so you might want to take a damp washcloth and wipe it off.  While the wood is drying it is time to recover the seat.  Take your fabric and drape it over the seat to get a good idea of how much you’ll need and cut a generous amount.  Remember you can always cut what you have down but you can’t put more fabric on if you don’t cut enough!!!  Sometimes the old fabric wont show through the new fabric and you can just put it right on top of it.  And then sometimes it would show through.  You can take the existing fabric off by prying off the staples and romoving the fabric or just cutting it off.  Be careful not to cut the seat padding!  Lay the fabric down and flip the seat over it.  Pull it taught and start stapling to the BACK of the seat.  Make sure that when you flip your seat over the correct side of your fabric is showing.  Just keep stapling, folding the corners like you would a present’s wrapping paper, until the seat is covered tightly and securely.  You can cut excess fabric off now.

4.  Paint your chair frame.  Take a can of spray paint (you might need two) and paint your chair.  Make sure you get all of the nooks and crannies.  Make sure you protect yourself and give it ample time to dry.

5.  Place the seat on the newly painted chair frame.  Use the screws you took out early to secure the seat to the chair.  And congratulations you have a whole new looking chair!  Enjoy!

** This chair will be available for purchase at the Worlds Largest Yard Sale on Saturday, April 18 at the former Steve and Barrys in Pepperell Corners. **

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