So the Beast didn't turn out as planned (more on that here, here, and here) however, the good news is the Craigslist Gods have shone upon me yet again and I have another chair on the back burner ready and rearin' for a makeover. This one should be easier but I learned, in the case of the Beast, no to speak too soon.
I picked up this chair last week for 30 bucks. She looked so sweet and lonely that I just had to take her despite the price tag... Just check out her curves!
And her birthmark...
She has such beautiful lines and detail. It was love at first sight! I wasn't a fan of the dirty fabric nor the fact that it was a bit too traditional for my liking. I wrestled with the idea of painting her but since the wood is in pretty good shape I chose to recover the seat and call it a day. I have had this Ikea fabric remnant floating around for quite some time. I ♥ this fabric. Really Really ♥ it. Someday I will make curtains out of it but for now it will work perfectly for this chair.
My first notion was to take the bottom cover off and see if I could pop the whole seat off and go from there...no luck. Instead I went about peeling off the decorative trim that looped around the seat and was adhered with super glue. That was a pretty easy task once I got the corner piece loose:
Once the trim was removed I had to find a way to get the gazillion staples removed so I could pull the fabric off. That proved to be the most difficult and time consuming part. I couldn't work too fast as the wood easily dents so I went nice and slow loosening them and then ripping them out with pliers. Towards the end I realized it was easier to pull off the fabric and get to the staples later. Thank goodness the foam underneath was in great shape so I kept it as was and started finished up with the staples -here are the last few little buggers:
Once the fabric and staples were removed I took the old seat bottom and lay it on the new fabric to draw the pattern. It is always useful to keep the old piece for your template, if you can, instead of fussing with making a new one. Here I am drawing it out:
Once the pattern was drawn I lay the piece over my chair and got to stapling. I used my Arrow Fastener 5650 Easy Shot Stapler
and 1/4 inch 6mm staples
. I began the project yesterday with longer staples but they wouldn't go in all the way so I adjusted to the 1/4 inch. Stapling was by far the fastest of all the steps. I first stapled the back center and then pulled it tight to staple the front center. From there I did each side pulling down the fabric taut and stapling as I went.
I tried to make sure and leave a lot of fabric over the sides so I had room to adjust later if needed. It turned out to work perfectly the first time. The corners were a little tricky as you just fold under the fabric and don't stapled but overall they came out great if I do say so myself!
Here it is after getting all the stapling done:
I haven't gotten the trim yet nor have I decided exactly what i want to use. I did, however, cut off some of the overlying fabric (NOT ALL) to get a better feel for what she will look like when all finished. I didn't want to go too short because the fabric will fray and I don't want it to get too close to the staples. Once I have my trim (or nail head?) I can super glue it down and that will keep the fabric from fraying.
Isn't she sweet? I am still looking at the wood wondering to paint or not to paint but, to be honest, I am quite lazy these days so even if I do make the decision to paint it will be many months before I even get around to it. For now she is a sweet looking functional piece of furniture! No more Beast for the neighbors - Sweety Pie is in the house!
Anyone else have a productive weekend? Feel free to share below!!
Bianca
On most days I am linking up to another fab blogger. Check out my Linked Page to see what the other talented Ladies and Gents of Blog Land are up to!
I picked up this chair last week for 30 bucks. She looked so sweet and lonely that I just had to take her despite the price tag... Just check out her curves!
And her birthmark...
 |
| I still need to research this one... |
She has such beautiful lines and detail. It was love at first sight! I wasn't a fan of the dirty fabric nor the fact that it was a bit too traditional for my liking. I wrestled with the idea of painting her but since the wood is in pretty good shape I chose to recover the seat and call it a day. I have had this Ikea fabric remnant floating around for quite some time. I ♥ this fabric. Really Really ♥ it. Someday I will make curtains out of it but for now it will work perfectly for this chair.
My first notion was to take the bottom cover off and see if I could pop the whole seat off and go from there...no luck. Instead I went about peeling off the decorative trim that looped around the seat and was adhered with super glue. That was a pretty easy task once I got the corner piece loose:
Once the trim was removed I had to find a way to get the gazillion staples removed so I could pull the fabric off. That proved to be the most difficult and time consuming part. I couldn't work too fast as the wood easily dents so I went nice and slow loosening them and then ripping them out with pliers. Towards the end I realized it was easier to pull off the fabric and get to the staples later. Thank goodness the foam underneath was in great shape so I kept it as was and started finished up with the staples -here are the last few little buggers:
Once the fabric and staples were removed I took the old seat bottom and lay it on the new fabric to draw the pattern. It is always useful to keep the old piece for your template, if you can, instead of fussing with making a new one. Here I am drawing it out:
Once the pattern was drawn I lay the piece over my chair and got to stapling. I used my Arrow Fastener 5650 Easy Shot Stapler
and 1/4 inch 6mm staples. I began the project yesterday with longer staples but they wouldn't go in all the way so I adjusted to the 1/4 inch. Stapling was by far the fastest of all the steps. I first stapled the back center and then pulled it tight to staple the front center. From there I did each side pulling down the fabric taut and stapling as I went.
I tried to make sure and leave a lot of fabric over the sides so I had room to adjust later if needed. It turned out to work perfectly the first time. The corners were a little tricky as you just fold under the fabric and don't stapled but overall they came out great if I do say so myself!
Here it is after getting all the stapling done:
I haven't gotten the trim yet nor have I decided exactly what i want to use. I did, however, cut off some of the overlying fabric (NOT ALL) to get a better feel for what she will look like when all finished. I didn't want to go too short because the fabric will fray and I don't want it to get too close to the staples. Once I have my trim (or nail head?) I can super glue it down and that will keep the fabric from fraying.
Isn't she sweet? I am still looking at the wood wondering to paint or not to paint but, to be honest, I am quite lazy these days so even if I do make the decision to paint it will be many months before I even get around to it. For now she is a sweet looking functional piece of furniture! No more Beast for the neighbors - Sweety Pie is in the house!
Anyone else have a productive weekend? Feel free to share below!!
Bianca
On most days I am linking up to another fab blogger. Check out my Linked Page to see what the other talented Ladies and Gents of Blog Land are up to!
