Refinished Chair for Desk

I found this chair in someone's trash pile.  It was painted a creamy yellow that was pretty thrashed.  The seat was ripped and nasty.  But I knew it had potential and I could not pass it up at the price of $0!
So, I shoved it in the back of my minivan and took it home to sit in my garage until my husband threatened to divorce me if I didn't do something with it.  So, I decided it was time to refinish it!  I got out the mouse sander and smoothed out the paint, taking off the top layer and smoothing out the chipped parts of the paint.  I wiped it clean and proceeded to spray paint it this lovely torquoise color.  It was a Rustoleum spray paint, which is the brand I prefer.  I added enough coats until it was covered.  Duh!

Then I glazed it.  To glaze it I used Ralph Lauren Faux glaze mixed with some black paint.  I did a section at a time.  I brushed on a layer of the glaze, getting in all the nooks and crannies and cracks.  Then I wiped it off with a barely damp rag.  I repeated this one section at a time till the whole chair was glazed.  Once that dried I sprayed it with a clear spray paint to seal it.

To recover the seat, I removed the seat by unscrewing it from the bottom and then pulled off the nasty fabric and padding.  I bought a new piece of foam padding at the fabric store.  I got the 2" thick piece, but most people use 1" thick foam for chair seats like this.  I also bought a piece of canvas fabric in a natural color.  I cut the piece of foam the same shape as the board for the seat.  After I finished, I read a tutorial that said you are SUPPOSED to cut the foam 1/4" bigger than the board on all sides.  So, mine isn't perfect because you can kindof see the board underneath the fabric on the front corners.  If you cut the foam 1/4" bigger you won't have this problem.  So, trace the board onto the foam and then cut 1/4" outside your line.  Then glue your foam to the seat. 

For the damask design, I used freezer paper to cut out this shape on my Silhouette.  If you have a Silhouette, you can cut things like this that are wider than 8" by cutting half the design and then the other half and lining them up.  This is what I did.  If you don't have a Silhouette, you can print out your design you want to use and then use an Xacto knife to cut your stencil out of freezer paper.  I then ironed on the stencil to the fabric.  Then i applied black fabric paint with a sponge brush.  Once it was dry, I pulled off the freezer paper.

I then took my board with the foam glued to it and placed a piece of quilt batting over it and the fabric over that.  Then I used a staple gun to staple it into place on the back, pulling it tight as I went. 

I then sprayed the seat with Scotch Guard to hopefully repel the dirt it will inevitably be inflicted with by my children standing on it and using it as a napkin!  I still haven't reattached the seat to the chair.  It is so hard for me to completely finish projects!  I need to get it done.  Also, this chair has these holes on the top.  They had a little piece of metal in each of them which I pulled out. I'm not sure what was originally on this chair, but I am hoping to find some thing cute to put on them....maybe some glass knobs or a glass knob and a cute bird knob or something.  I am sure I will find something someday!  This chair is now the chair I use in my craft space/office and I love it!

Next time I refinish something I will take pictures as I go.  I did this before I started this blog.  Let me know if you have any questions about the process.  It was really easy!

What furniture do you have sitting around that you need to refinish?