One ugly chair- a before and after

I recently paid $100 for six of these chairs. Good buy? Perhaps not. These chairs are quite scary I know, but when I looked at the curve of the arms, and the little detail on the legs, I got a little sparkle in my eye.

These chairs came from a doctor's office waiting room, so there's just no telling how long they were there (they could very well be antiques, ha) and exactly how many thousands of different species of bacteria live within the fabric.

So while 5 of the chairs are anxiously await their turn in the 'MT lab' (what I fondly refer to as my garage while I'm antiquing and distressing furniture), I started with this heavy, ugly, chair.


Many of you have written about your love of liquid sander/stripper but I didn't have much success with this at all. I had to run to hose off my ankles and legs every few minutes as just a tiny drop on your skin burns like crazy (have I mentioned before that I am the world's biggest klutz?). So I stuck to using a sander to remove the dark cherry stain on these chairs.



My hope was to sand it all the way down and just seal the bare wood, but I grew impatient and pulled out the paint. My new vision was to go for a more Swedish look so I mixed a light gray with creme (both are oops paint from Lowe's so I don't have the exact colors). Although it turned out a little more bluish than I'd hoped, I still like the end result.


I used a simple muslin fabric to cover and stapled underneath and used decorative tacks on the edges.

I sanded the edges and I like that in some places the dark wood shows through and in some places it's the bare wood, giving it more texture and visual interest, almost as if it was a real antique that had been painted and stripped throughout the years.




My goal is to have this chair slip covered in a thicker white linen fabric with a little pleated skirt, but until then it's a nice addition to my family room.

I made this burlap pillow awhile ago and just painted the Tua Rita Redigaffi on there last week as it's my hubby's favorite wine. It helps cover the back where the fabric isn't as tight as I'd like it.





You can read this post to find out how this chair search started.

Be sure to check out other 'before and afters' at BNOTP Metamorphosis Monday blog party!
And other thrifty finds at Rhoda's Southern Hospitality Thrifty Treasures party.