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Young House Love » Reader Redesigns » How To Paint & Reupholster A Wood Chair

| By Sherry Petersik | November 13, 2009 | 36 Comments

How To Paint & Reupholster A Wood Chair

When Angie sent over her simple and inspiring chair makeover we loved the outcome so much we had to share it. Here’s her letter:

I love your style and your blog. I just got into blogs a few months ago and yours is a must read every day! I’m so excited to share my before and after chair makeover. I purchased it at the Ann Arbor ReUse Center for $5.00. After I removed the seat cushion and a ridiculous number of staples, I patched, sanded and primed the chair. I bought some new foam for the seat on sale at Joann’s and painted the chair with some white trim paint I had on hand from other paint jobs in our house. To cover the seat I bought a half yard of this funky fabric from the monaluna mingle collection on Etsy. Thanks for the daily inspiration! -Angie

Here’s the bleak before:

Chair1 Reader Redesign

And here’s the brilliant after:

Chair3 Reader Redesign

Chair4 Reader Redesign

Didn’t Angie do an amazing job? Feel free to drop in on her blog for more details. We love how simple this project really is and how anyone can do it on a serious budget with a fantastic result. Happy chair covering to one and all!

Looking for a little step-by-step chair recovering tutorial? Look no further.

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Comments

  1. LizzieBeth says

    November 13, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Angie, I love the transformation, but I have a question: where are you placing the chair? I have seen many chair that I would love to rehab, but never know what I would do with them afterwards.

    Thanks!
    LB

    Reply
  2. A Southern Accent says

    November 13, 2009 at 1:56 pm

    Tres fab! So makes me want to go flea market shopping tomorrow morning!

    Reply
  3. Aimee says

    November 13, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    That is super cute!

    Reply
  4. Sarah @ Dream In Domestic says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    It looks great! I can definitely see lots of people making conversation about that chair! I love when you can recreate something and everyone will ask where you bought it and you are able to say, “I did it!” and stun all of your friends!

    Reply
  5. Jocelyn Stott says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    That is SOOOO Cute! I love it! Very, very well done.

    I am curious – did she say where she is going to put the chair? I am always scared to buy a single chair, so I would love to know what she did with it.

    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Elisa says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    I have 3 chairs I “saved” from someone’s trash that have been sitting around waiting for me to DO SOMETHING with them. Seeing this post makes me want to finally get around to sprucing them up. Love the way this turned out!

    Reply
  7. Gillian says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    Great job!

    Reply
  8. Christin says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    Love it! I have a chair that I inherited from my husband when we got married that is a little… obnoxious. It’s seat cushion is bright orange fuzzy fabric. Need I say more? I keep thinking about fixing it up and this has inspired me to do it! Now I just have to form a plan of attack. :)

    Reply
  9. Megan says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    Love it! I am in the process of doing the same thing – except I got my chair from the curb in front of someone’s house! With $6 worth of fabric and paint I already have, this is one of my cheapest projects to date!

    Reply
  10. Erica says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    Love it Angie! What a fabulous transformation, it looks brand new! I’m also curious about where Angie is going to put the chair. Will this be a desk chair? An accent chair in a bedroom?

    Angie – This is totally unrelated, but would you mind sharing what color paint you have on the wall in the 2nd close up photo? Its looks so calm and cool and beachy, right up my alley!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      November 13, 2009 at 2:27 pm

      Hey everyone,

      So glad you’re digging Angie’s amazing chair makeover. Here’s hoping she drops in soon with those answers for ya!

      xo,
      s

  11. Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:29 pm

    She did a fantastic job! I’m loving the fabric :).

    Reply
  12. SFDC says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:33 pm

    Love the fabric — but I think it would have looked great with the wood! Hard to tell if there was a condition issue or if she just wanted it white. Still a very cute chair, though.

    Reply
  13. Liz R says

    November 13, 2009 at 2:59 pm

    Hah – Erica, I was just going to ask about the wall color too!

    Reply
  14. Kelly says

    November 13, 2009 at 3:00 pm

    Great job Angie! Your chair looks fantastic!!

    Reply
  15. Jen Z. says

    November 13, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Love it!

    Reply
  16. maura says

    November 13, 2009 at 3:33 pm

    wow- I love that chair make over. I have a chair just begging for a treatment like that. I think It may go on the calender for next week! Thanks for yet another great idea!

    Reply
  17. Paula says

    November 13, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    Great job on this chair! Love the fabric choice, with its colors and ability to play off the different colors.

    Angie’s blog shows that she’s using the chair with a dark brown desk. (see URL below)

    The white paint is the same paint used on the ceilings and trims in her house, so it picks that up (door colors, too, and lamp color). The browns in the chair pick up the desk chair, color.

    http://mimosaandmocha.wordpress.com/category/before-after/

    Reply
  18. Paula says

    November 13, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    ,…oops, I meant to type: the browns in the chair pick up the desk color (in my post above).

    Reply
  19. Laurel says

    November 13, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    It’s amazing what elbow grease and paint can do! I love your fabric choice.

    Reply
  20. micah says

    November 13, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    So cute! Love that fabric.

    Reply
  21. Jess says

    November 13, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    That is awesome! It is so fun to do a transformation on something like that!

    Reply
  22. Angie says

    November 13, 2009 at 5:43 pm

    Wow – thank you for all the lovely comments!! Paula is correct, I paired the chair with a desk my husband and I spruced up and recently wrote about on my blog. I’m sitting on it as I type. :-)

    Erica and Liz – the wall color is PPG Whispering Pine (410-3). We just finished transforming our formal living room into more of den…with a desk, reading chair and bookshelves to make it more functional. I even totally copied John and Sherry’s window treatments from their living room (two bamboo blinds from Walmart, IKEA curtains and an inexpensive rod from Lowe’s) and I love the beachy, relaxed feel.

    Thanks for sharing my chair makeover, John and Sherry!

    Reply
  23. Mary @ StyleFyles says

    November 13, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    It barely even looks like the same chair. Great work!

    Reply
  24. Sharon says

    November 13, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    Great makeover. Love how the design in the fabric mimics the back of the chair.

    Reply
  25. Alison (a girl in her element) says

    November 13, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    Awesome job! I’m totally loving that fabric!

    Reply
  26. Kelly@TearingUpHouses says

    November 13, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    Nice! The white was totally unexpected. And $5?! Whoopeee!

    I’ve been searching everywhere for new office chairs, http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com/2009/11/tenth-bag-of-mail.html , and this looks just like one I spotted on Craigslist the other night. It needed refinishing, but I for some reason I never considered white — which is the color I’d prefer to get a chair in. Hmmm…

    Kelly

    Reply
  27. Jenny says

    November 14, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    Lovely! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  28. Karla D. says

    November 14, 2009 at 4:23 pm

    What a great chair transfomation and for only $5!! I love chair redos because they are some of the quickest and easiest to accomplish requiring minimal paint and fabric. The white turned out great and the print is very upbeat and fun!

    I was lucky enough to find a great office chair for a steal an transformed it with some pretty fabric and an old footstool we had that desperately needed a facelift. Here is the post w/pics:

    http://theclassywoman.blogspot.com/2009/08/makeover-monday-part-deux-my-new-office.html

    Reply
  29. Paige Cotney says

    November 14, 2009 at 10:10 pm

    The chair looks amazing! I was wondering, what do you suggest if the chair is metal instead of wood? Can you still paint it?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      November 14, 2009 at 11:42 pm

      Good question! If the metal’s in good shape (not peeling or rusting) you can just use good quality spray paint like Rustoleum. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  30. Megan says

    November 16, 2009 at 5:29 am

    Great job. What an amazing transformation.

    Reply
  31. eve says

    November 16, 2009 at 5:49 am

    wow, this is brilliant!

    Reply
  32. Bromeliad says

    November 16, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Nice job, Angie. Looks fresh and sharp.

    Reply
  33. Paige Cotney says

    January 18, 2010 at 5:50 pm

    I’m currently working on my own chair redesign and it looks like I’m going to need a new cushion part of the chair. Where can I get just the cushion part without buying one with fabric already on it? Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      January 18, 2010 at 6:33 pm

      We would go to any fabric store and ask to see the “foam rubber” that they have on hand. It comes in many thicknesses, so you can select the depth that works best for your chair, and you can actually cut it down to the perfect shape with a scissors or even an electric turkey-slicer. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

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John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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