Reuphosltering a Painted Chair

Remember the chair I painted?

Well, I ripped it up. 

I loved the way the chair looked, but unfortunately, painted velvet is kind of rough and sticks to some fabrics. So, I couldn't sit in the chair if I was wearing something made of delicate fabric, like most dresses. Or anything dry clean only. So I ripped up the fabric and decided to take a swing at reupholstering it myself. 

Keep in mind, this was my first time to reupholster. I had no clue what I was doing. I'm not really one to look up and read instructions and how-to's though. I'm more of a get-your-hands-dirty and learn-as-you-go kind of girl. It's more exciting that way. ;) 

Here is the final result. 

It is not perfect, but I am happy with it. I know I can only get better the more I practice. I have planned to leave the original tufted look, but decided I liked the look of the smooth back better. And now, the chair gets used more! (A very important feature of any chair is that people actually want to sit in it). ;)

Painting an Upholstered Chair

I keep seeing and hearing about painted upholstered chairs and thought it would be a good option for someone who can't reupholster (i.e. ME). Then, once I saw my friend's chairs she painted, I loved how they looked and decided to go for it. Look how cute hers are!

 

 

Adorable, right?

 

I used a chair I bought at a resell shop that I have been meaning to reupholster. I liked the look of the chair, but the velvet fabric was a little outdated and had some small stains on it.

 

Here is the chair before:

 

 

Here is another picture that shows the color more accurately.

 

 

You may remember it from this post.

 

 I was a little nervous to paint a chair I already liked, but once I got started, I liked the way the white looked. It provided more of a contrast to the color of the wood.

 

 

Here you can see the difference between the white painted part and the original.

 

 

 I thought about leaving the pins and the trim in the original color, but in the end, I wanted to keep it simple. I'm really glad I did.

 

I used white fabric paint from Michael's. The fabric paint makes the paint not as rough as wall paint would. I knew the paint would make the fabric more stiff, but I did not realize how quickly the fabric soaks up the paint. I probably used about six bottles of fabric paint on this one chair.

 

Here is the final product:

 

 

I like it much more in the white than the original faded gold-ish velvet fabric. Overall, it was a fairly quick and easy update!

 

 

The Thrill of Thrifting

Don't you just wish you could fill your home with beautiful things? Some girls dream of buying cute shoes. Some girls dream of buying nice coats and beautiful clothes. Some girls wish for thick, long eyelashes, or long, healthy nails. Some girls dream of having long, gorgeous hair. Some girls dream of baubles and jewels. While those things would be nice, they are not things I think about often. Those thoughts only enter my head maybe twice a year. It seems like most girls yearn for these things a lot more than I do. What does enter my head on a bazillion-time-a-day basis is home decor. I yearn for upholstered chairs, vintage fainting couches, two-tone case pieces with brass hardware, and the entire catalog of Restoration Hardware. In short, I am obsessed with that place. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but let's just say that if I won the lottery, you would find me at Restoration Hardware for the next three months. Or at least until my entire house is decorated exactly how I want. I yearn to be surrounded by all neutral decor. An ivory couch, gray walls, patina accent pieces, white and clear lamps with linen shades, creamy colored benches at the end of light wood upholstered beds with white, fluffy bedding...I could go on for hours.

Since my bank account does not support this fetish, I have learned the art of thrifting. The definition of thrifting, according to Wikipedia, is "the quality of using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully." I would define it as creatively gaining the beautiful pieces that you love. You can have those things you dream of having. You just have to hunt for them. You have to be willing to put some time and elbow grease into it. 

I read an article recently that states that we are most happy when we are being active or are participating doing some type of hobby. It states that on the weekends, we tend to be lazy and watch TV, but according to studies, these things do not make us happy, or even relaxed. Hobbies and exercise makes us happy and relieve stress. So why not try your hand at creating something you love? Or fixing up something old into something you will love and be proud of. After reading that article, I was inspired to try it, so I went thrifting this weekend. I visited resale furniture stores and found two pieces I am ecstatic to have. I want to share them with you here.

The first piece is an old, upholstered, velvet and wood chair. The velvet is a soft, butter color. The wood is a light color, but needs a little love. I have a love for chairs and have been trying to finish my living room, so I was pretty excited about this chair for $45. 

I plan to paint the wood (once I decide what color) in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I could reupholster it, but I want to have it ready for my Halloween party and am not sure I want to remove the current upholstery. The chair has a lot of potential and saved me from splurging on my first choice:

Restoration Hardware

The second piece I purchased is a very heavy, old dresser mirror. 

Luckily for me, it was already repainted a beautiful grey. The grey reminds me of the grey you often see in Restoration Hardware stores. In fact, I am positive that I have seen this same mirror in a RH catalog before. I cannot find it now, but here is one that is close.

Restoration Hardware

This purchase saved me from my first choice of an Anthropologie mirror with a hefty price tag of $498. I have had my eye on this mirror ever since I moved into my new house. I'm happy with my thrift find though. Here are the above two side by side. 

Pretty close considering the one on the left costs $2,195, and the one on the right was $85. The only difference I notice is one leaves more money in my bank account. :)

I Heart Upholstered Chairs

I have recently become obsessed with chairs. I love chairs. Especially, upholstered chairs. It's not my fault. Blame Miss Mustard Seed. She is responsible for this new love because of her wonderful magic she can work on a chair. She can take a $12 garage sale find and make it into a chair to drool over. She makes it look so easy too. She paints them with her milk paint or Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and reupholsters them and voila! Here are a couple examples.





If you want to see more of her work, go to her blog. She does amazing work.

I have decided, I am going to try my hand at this. I will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, have you ever noticed how chairs can make the whole room? They make it look inviting. They make you want to sit down and get cozy. Chairs, benches, and beautiful seating can complete a room. See what I mean:

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Maple and Magnolia via Pinterest

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