How to Upcycle a Chair

Way back in December 2009, I wrote a post about upcycling a chair and using it as a unique Christmas present. Upcycling cheap furniture has been at the back of my mind ever since, and so when I found this chair in a charity shop for £3, my thoughts turned once again to paint, sandpaper, staple guns and spare fabric.

This time, I wanted to avoid shabby chic and instead go for something more sleek. I had a sample tin of black matt wall paint left over from when I painted a black and white scene earlier in the year (shhh... wall paint is cheaper than artist's acrylic and basically the same!), and thought it could be put to excellent use on the chair. I had also just purchased a scrap of fairly thick material from another charity shop, which just so happened to go well with the matt black! So the project was born.

Upcycling a chair takes about 2 hours from start to finish. Here are some basic instructions!

1. Find a chair with a seat that can be removed (test it by pushing up under the seat).
2. Use sand paper to remove the layer of gloss on the outside and to make a nice surface to paint on. You don't really need to be too thorough.
3. Wipe all of the sandpaper dust off using a damp cloth.
4. Paint all the wooden parts of the chair - you may need to give it a second coat, especially if you are using pale paint. Then leave to dry!
5. Cut your fabric to size so that it fits the seat area (remembering you need enough to wrap around to the underside and possibly fold over for a neater finish).
6. Hold it in place and use a staple gun or a hammer & tacks to nail the fabric to the wood on the underside of the seat. Mind your fingers!
7. Once the chair is dry, slot the seat back into the frame!
8. Find a nice corner to put your chair, for everyone to admire :).

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I've just found a house to live in next year for uni (the most stressful thing ever!), and I'm looking forward to incorporating the chair into the room design - hopefully it won't be such a 'small space challenge' as this year is :).

Sadie xxx

P.S. Have any of you upcycled anything? I need inspiration for my next project!

P.P.S. I recently did an interview over at Dirt on Your New Shoes. I'd definitely advise having a look at Chloe's blog, which is filled with great outft inspiration!