Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I totally labored on Labor Day

Wanna see what I finally finished? These awesome chairs. Last summer we got them from freecycle but the seats were busted. I wasn't in a rush to finish them but didn't realize it would take me basically a year to actually work on them. But I totally finished them and I feel awesome about it.


First, I got those nasty broken seats off. Then painted the frames white and distressed them a little. I don't know why I always feel the need to distress painted wood, but I do. It might be because I don't like some things in pristine condition. Plus, it helps draw out details that would otherwise be masked by paint. And these chairs have some lovely details.

Some of the distressed details

Once the frames were to my liking, we (mostly meaning my husband) went and got some 3/8 inch thick plywood and had them cut down to size. Then I got my high-density foam (40% off coupons are the best as high-density foam is not the cheapest) and cut it down to size (I used my serrated bread knife - worked like a charm).


Then I used my super soft, light-gray pleather remnant I found at Joann's to cover my newly-made seats. My sweet husband stapled the fabric down and will eventually screw those seats down for me (so I guess they technically aren't finished but they are still functional so they still count as done... to me... ). And now I have beautiful and comfy new chairs that were relatively cheap!


Cost breakdown:

  • chair frames: $0
  • paint (cheap-o spraypaint): $8
  • clear topcoat: $3
  • plywood: $4
  • high-density foam: $8
  • pleather remnant: $4
Total cost for 2 chairs:  $27

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