Monday 9 August 2010

A £5 chair makeover in 60 minutes


Latest project - reupholstering a £5 chair, ultimately cost £11.25 and I have 3 more to do - much cleaner and fresher in the new green colour which is subtle but fits in well with our furniture. Not to mention much more comfortable!

The old set of chairs was purchased second hand and had red coverings but the wadding is very worn which makes sitting in the chairs uncomfortable.

I bought the material, pad and wadding from Dunhelm Mill which is a large household and fabric store. It was lovely to choose the material ourselves rather than buy a modern and expensive chair where this had been decided for us. We chose a thick material which allows more wear and chose a colour which we felt added light to the room and also worked with our table.

It took me around 1 hour as I was unfamiliar with the process but I think now around 45 minutes per chair will do, I might even finish off the pads next weekend.

The next project after that will be to tone down the varnish on all the chairs as I feel it is currently too dark and that make them feel more natural which I think will finish them off nicely.

Some light sandpaper then wire wool and possibly a light varnish may do the trick - I will need to research thoroughly first!

So now not only do we have more comfortable chairs, we also have lighter and prettier chairs for around 4 hours work - roll on next weekend so I can finish them off!

4 comments:

Jane said...

The chair looks MUCH better and more comfortable. I wonder, have you thought of having the frames dipped?

Sophie Gist said...

Thanks Jane - it's not perfect but better than it was and I will learn as I do the other 3... I am trying to keep the costs down so am considering painting the chairs myself - is dipping expensive? If I do it myself I would assume sanding down then using a good primer then a wood paint... would you think varnish to finish it or...?

PepPop said...

Your chair looks so much nicer now. Jaqui x

Sophie Gist said...

Thanks so much PepPop - now just 3 more chairs to do! Bank holiday project I think x