$5 Yard Sale Chair Makeover

I am currently sitting outside writing this post with a blanket on in crispy 62 degree weather! Hand me the remote I swear football should be playing in the background… So soon! I digress… before I even got to the main point : ) Today we’re sharing the easiest $5 I spent all year. Our yard sale chair for the ORC guest bedroom!

Earlier this year I was driving around and minding my own business, when one of those dang yard sale signs caught my attention and I pulled right over. There was an impressive amount of furniture for sale, and I ended up finding this old chair for all of $5.

It wasn’t too much to look at right then, and included it’s fair share of mystery stains (aka I wore some big ol’ gloves) but I loved the fun lines and design on the back, so into the truck it went!

Because we were working with such a small budget to makeover the room, I used the “work with what you’ve got” method when redoing this piece.

After a good cleaning with soap and water, I removed the seat cushion from the base by unscrewing four simple screws, and started there first!

There were probably about 200 staples in the bottom of that one cushion, but after removing them carefully using a flat head screw driver and needle nose pliers, I was able to pry everything off and remove the mystery filled fabric and padding. Nobody loves the tetanus, so being careful is #1 with this step : )

The seat base itself was not in the best shape, so I had to recover it and get creative with the replacement padding. Foam would have been my first choice for ultimate comfy-bum-ness, but since I didn’t have any on hand, I cut 5 squares about 2″ wider than the base out of quilt batting and stapled them onto the seat.

Next, I knew I wanted to keep it neutral and simple, so I grabbed a piece of leftover painting drop cloth and cut a square, this time about 3″ wider on each side, and stapled it to the chair, pulling the fabric tight, and checking how it looked as I went.

The dreaded corners are easy, I promise! Pull the corner of the fabric back at an angle.

Staple.

Pull the fabric on the side of the cushion over.

Staple.

Pull the fabric from the front of the cushion straight back, making sure no extra fabric hangs over the edge.

And you guessed it – Staple 🙂

Seat cushion – Done!

The base of the chair had some dings and dents that would have been difficult to fill, so I grabbed some white chalk paint and went to town. With all of the little nooks and crannies in the design, I’ll be honest and say that spraying this piece would have saved me a lot of time. However, because of the imperfections, chalk paint was a good option to keep the imperfect/master of disguise vibe going. It took some time (and about 3 coats) but I love the outcome!

The chair got waxed, the seat got screwed back on, and this project was picture ready!

Like I said, easiest $5 I’ve spent all year : ) I love projects that challenge you to be resourceful, and this just helps prove that decorating your home doesn’t have to be expensive! In fact, the frames above the chair were a thrift store find for about $2 (I just removed the typical old musty landscape picture and cleaned up the frames), the green table is actually a plant stand that I found for $15, and the bud vases were a clearance steal from Michaels, another one of my favorite places to find fun accessories!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I’d love to hear your favorite yard sale projects- spill it!