I have officially hatched my evil egg chair plan (mwah-hah-hah).
Sorry, couldn’t resist an ovum-related pun. Anyway the $30 thrift store can’t-believe-it’s-mine egg chair that I mentioned late last week got cleaned up, first with a nice liquid deglosser wipe down, and then with some spray primer + spray paint. About ten minutes after I snapped this grody before photo with the old cushion on it in our sunroom…
… I had him out in the yard ready for a little somethin-somethin.
Although the orangey-wood tone above doesn’t actually look bad in the picture, in person he just looked dated and a bit dilapidated (thanks to the caning that was missing on both sides of the frame) so a fresh coat of love – in the form of paint – was my solution. And we can always paint it another color down the road to work with our ever-changing minds (ex: glossy black, soft mocha, cheerful yellow). I think after painting our happy green office chairs I’ve completely tossed any painted-chair reservations out the window since they’re one of our favorite furnishings in the entire house…
… so we want to love Eggy just as much.
An hour or two later he looked like this. All dressed up in his Sunday best (he’s one of those smooth guys who can pull of a white suit). I used white Rustoleum Universal in a satin finish. And the reason we didn’t go with a super bright color for him (her?) was because I’m planning to park it in the corner of the living room, which has a giant colorful rug and a bunch of bright pillows (unlike the office which has a large neutral rug) so I thought it would slip into the room better with a nice clean white color (I can always add color with different cushions whenever the mood strikes).
You can check out a ton of spray painting tips in this post to see how I got it done, but let’s just fast forward to him living it up in the corner of our living room after a few days of drying in the sun outside followed by sitting in the sunroom (so there’s not any fuminess by the time he comes inside). Oh but ignore these frumpy pillows – they’re just old seat cushions I had on hand from our first house’s office/playroom chairs that I covered with white towels. Yes, white towels. Just to envision it with white cushions. And then I tossed a pig pillow into the mix.
Because I’m crazy like that.
Then I tried one of our faux sheepskins over those cushions instead of the placeholder towels. And before I could even step back to take a photo of my latest tweak, Burger was all up in my egg chair’s area.
Seriously, in point zero seconds he had settled in.
But although the faux sheepskin earned Burger’s approval, after sitting in it myself (on a hothothot day) it was a little… uh… shaggy. I just sort of felt like I was overheating. So maybe we’ll bring back the faux sheepskin for our egg chair’s winter look, but in the meantime here’s what he’s sporting as his just-for-now summer outfit. It definitely won’t stay forever, but it works for the moment (we’re just working with what we already have):
It’s a little faux fur pillow on the bottom and a bunny pillow on the back. He’s cute, eh?
And thankfully, Burger doesn’t seem to mind sharing the chair with a furry friend of the rabbit kind.
And here’s Clara giving things a go. She likes the chair, but isn’t 100% obsessed (toys = more fun than mom’s weird egg chair), which I like because I plan to monopolize this baby. Haha.
She did have some fun reading her animal book in the chair “with the rabbit and the dog” (one of which was on the pillow and one of which was on her shirt).
Then I got artsy and snapped this from above. Isn’t the chair’s strappy shape sweet? It’s sort of like a hammock but way less saggy/precarious feeling. You’re sort of enveloped in this guy without feeling like you might fall at any second (and I love that he swivels). I guess I can liken the slats to a park bench. You know how those are slatted sometimes but you don’t feel like you’ll fall through because they’re thick and dense enough? That’s how it is in this chair too.
And a few folks asked about Clara’s head getting stuck between the slats, but they’re either way too close for her to fit her head inside or so wide that she could fit her whole body through (which of course isn’t something we’re encouraging). I guess it’s like the metal bucket full of blocks that she has in her room, she can put her head in it if she really wants to but so far, so good. Haha.
The next day I asked John to snap a picture of me in the chair for “adult scale” (it goes to your shoulder blades, so it’s a nice cozy chair with good back support) but sure enough, Clara wanted to ham it up too. So here we are snuggling in.
As for my long-term plans, I’ll probably eventually grab a white seat cushion from a place like World Market for the bottom and possibly another one for the back – although the bunny pillow might stick around a while. He’s my idea of a good time. And thankfully my egg chair’s new look is an undeniable upgrade compared to our good ol’ before pic. And the total price for the chair and this upgrade was $37. Not bad for a new-looking chair that swivels and doubles as sculpture thanks to those strappy curves. Although I’m not sure I’ve seen a chair that looks more like it’s sticking its tongue out more than the before shot below. Maybe I should name him Odie…
Have you guys been rescuing any secondhand chairs lately? Finding new uses for small rugs or faux sheepskins? Or wondering why your dog is obsessed with said small rugs or faux sheepskins? Me too.
Psst- The latest version of Clara Conversations is up over on Young House Life. She’s definitely earning her comedy chops…
Ali says
I thought you were a little nuts when you decided to use that chair, but I shouldn’t have doubted you! The white looks great. Very cute that Burger found a place to chill. :)
Sharee A. says
Maybe it’s just me but, not feeling the white for this chair. I must say, it’s definately a 100% improvement over the original condition. What other colors did consider?
YoungHouseLove says
Every time I paint anything I pretty much consider every color of the rainbow (you know I love color!). Haha. In the end I didn’t want something super bright in the corner of the living room competing with the green rug and the bold pillows in the middle of the room for fear of the room feeling lopsided (there’s a white coloring table, a white pedestal table, and desk in a few other corners of the room, so letting the color in the middle of the room be the star worked for me!).
xo,
s
Hans says
Hey guys. I see soooo many papasan chairs on Craigslist with the base upside down. The top part of he chair isn’t stable if it is resting in the smaller (bottom) circle of the base. I often wonder if this is the reason that the owner has fallen out of love with their chair and decidd to sell it.
Do you know that the bae of your papasan chair is upside down in every photo?
YoungHouseLove says
I can’t speak for the other papasan chairs, but I know ours is oriented the way it was built to be. Since our chair swivels it’s not just resting on the base, it’s actually attached so there’s no way to flip the base over without losing the swivel function.
-John
Jennifer says
I will never look at a second hand egg chair the same again! Can’t say I ever actually looked at them in the first place but now I am inspired that they can be cool. My doggies would have done the same thing…too funny.
Christine Witt (Brush Dance) says
Well done…I loooove the clean white. We’re working on outside projects this week. We had some plantings go bad (something about water, perhaps).
Jennifer F. says
Oh my goodness. The before pic totally did look like ODIE! That is hysterical.
Shawn'Na says
Hey Guys! You wont believe it, I saw the swivel chair bad boy at my local Goodwill last weekend!! I thouht of you, it was only $10!!!! I took a picture and wanted to share but sadly dont know if I can/how to upload it onto my comment! I love the concept you created for the “Egg Chair”…. Inspiring!!
K.To says
Wauw, very nice makeover :) The wonders of paint!
cindy says
Did you guys check out the latest issue of BH&G? They had the egg chair and I immediately thought of you guys, lol
YoungHouseLove says
No way! Haven’t seen it yet but now we’ll have to pay special attention.
-John
Holly says
Love the egg chair! We have a papasan chair that I would love to spruce up like you did to the egg chair. Do you have any suggestions/recommendations?
YoungHouseLove says
I’ve seen some awesome papasan updates pinned on pinterest. Maybe try looking there?
xo,
s
Holly says
Thanks!
Jess @ The Colorful Ones says
Oh my goodness! First I must say that I LOVE your green chairs… I’m green with envy ;) But I am not a fan of Papasan chairs… my hubby calls ’em Devil Chairs because he says as soon as you sit down you instantly fall asleep… I on the other hand can never get comfortable in one, go figure… but I had to say how much I LOVE the pic of your puppy getting all comfy in the faux fur cushion… made my day! ;) My pup would be the same way! :)
Rebecca says
Print Me..
I love printing over my embroidery, and over handkerchiefs
and on canvas. This printer would be great for that I think.
KD says
Yep, just rescued a chair & ottoman off Craigslist. It’s upholstered in just the colors that I needed to stage my home for sale, but the legs had been water damaged. A little sanding and painting w/acrylic artist’s paint in a burnt umber already on hand? Viola!!! The house and the chair are ready for viewing!
We had a hanging egg chair way back in the 70’s! Super comfy when I was a pre-teen to curl up and read in.
Adrienne says
I live in the fan and walk my dog along boulevard every morning and one of the buildings has two of the exact same eggy chairs! They, unfortunately, are still sporting the maxi pad look. They look like VCU students so maybe they’ll sell them to you for cheap! haha
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so funny!
xo,
s
Carly says
That bunny pillow kills me! Where is it from??
Also, I think I need you two to sit my man down and tell him that it’s ok to buy lots of pillows to switch things up. He tells me we don’t need any more and I strongly disagree!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, John tells me I have a serious certifiable pillow problem. I say as long as I can find a place to store them it’s not a problem yet. Haha. As for the bunny pillow, it’s from HomeGoods. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Ursula Graham says
Oh I love that chair… nice makeover!! I’d definitely keep a bunch of furry pillows or a throw on it.
quirkstreet says
First and foremost I think the chair looks fantastic, and is a great reworking of a classic. You are so inspiring with your upcycling, keep up the great work.
Secondly, thank you thank you thank you a million times for posting a picture of that pig cushion. It lead me to their website where I managed to buy a large cat cushion which is the perfect perfect thing for my daughter for her birthday. She has a total cat obsession, and those cushions are too cool. She is going to love it sooo much! Awesome. I cant wait to give it to her.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, so glad!
xo,
s
Carole White says
It’s totally a girl! Egg (eggs, ovaries) = female. Plus, her curves are gorge! Well done, love your new chair – mucho improved.
Kate says
love it
Callie says
http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/08/01/cradle-for-adults/
I saw this egg chair/adult cradle on pintrest and immediately thought of this post! My favorite part of the whole thing is the first line, “why should babies have all the fun?”
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- love it!
xo,
s
Bea says
Bumped into a hanging chair form HK living in a store here in the NL this afternoon and while looking later on the internet for HK living, found that:
http://www.hklivingnl.blogspot.nl/2011/11/some-new-chairs-for-next-season.html
I must say I prefer your bright but sutble styling.
YoungHouseLove says
CUTE!!
xo,
s
Auntie says
After reading this post, I went to both the Goodwill and Salvation Army. Not much luck in the chair department (not that I was in the market anyway), but totally snagged a mostly not-broken cabinet that will see the wrath of my screwdriver and become an over-toilet storage. Thanks for the inspo!
Kelsey says
If you’re in the market for another one, Class and Trash near Glen Allen had one when I was there a couple days ago. If you’ve never been there, you should check it out. That place is awesome.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that place!
xo,
s
Jill says
Your egg chair’s twin is at Class and Trash idiot if it needs a twin.
YoungHouseLove says
Cool! Thanks for the heads up Jill!
-John
Kee says
I know this thread is old, but we inherited two chairs that look almost identical to this with our house this winter. Now that it is spring I want to spray paint them, but I noticed that in some areas the wood (or rather the lacquer on the wood) is chipping off and flaky. Did you have any of that on your chair? Does the deglosser help with that part, or would you recommend I sand down those areas a little bit?
YoungHouseLove says
I would sand anything that’s chipping or flaky since paint is only as strong as the base (so if that’s flaking, the new paint will too). Good luck!
xo
s