Before and After: Wooden Arm Chair

I've been in a fit of house cleaning and reorganizing in the past week. The problem with living in an 85-year-old house is that there is very little storage. My bedroom closet is literally the size of a hallway closet. I don't have a hallway closet for any spillover either. After more than two years of shifting my clothes from one pile on the floor to another, I finally moved my vanity table and storage bench into the shed and bought a cheap wardrobe.

With my clothes pile taken care of, I decided to repaint a bookcase I had been using on my porch as a plant stand so I would have more storage space in my kitchen. While I was at it, I decided to finally finish revamping this wooden arm chair.

Look at the before and after photos.




Would you pick up this chair off the street?




Eww!

Last, last April. (That's April 2008.) I was coming back from Jones Coffee Roasters - Pasadena, where cousin Q and I met up with my brother and his wife, when I spied this chair on the sidewalk.

I knew my cousin would be disdainful of my attempts to salvage it, so I dropped him off at home and drove back to check it out.

Grrross cushions! But they were removable. The wood was solid, not particle board. So I loaded the chair into my car.

I promptly tossed out the cushions.

Look at the years of grime on the wood.

The wood was also coming loose on the sides so I hammered the dowels back into place and added a few extra nails for good measure. I also threw out the fabric that was on top of the springs.




Good lines. I liked the arms and the sleigh-like sides. It's not quite mission-style, and sort of like a lounge chair.




There was still some nasty fabric on the front so I had to remove that too. And had to remove stray nails and bits of filler.




Then I scrubbed the chair like crazy with a brush and laundry detergent. I brought it inside and grabbed some cushions off my couch to see if they'd fit.

Not bad, eh?




Unfortunately, I needed those cushions for the couch. I saw similar cushions and covers at IKEA, but it cost $60 for the combo. No way was I spending that much on a chair I picked up off the street. So, I grabbed the big European pillows and shams I already had on my bed and used them instead.

Not bad. Sort of had a "shabby chic" feel and it was free since I used what I already had on hand. And so, there it sat for more than a year.




The wood wasn't that great. The panel in the front, since it was originally covered, was uneven and still needed to be sanded.

So finally, I used wood filler to fill in empty nail holes. Sanded it smooth. Wiped with baby cloths.




After wielding two spray cans -- one of primer and one for the bookcase, my fingers and arm were tired. I had to go back to Home Depot anyway to buy more paint for the chair, so I also bought this spray can nozzle. For $2.59, I highly recommend it. Spray painting went a whole lot faster and more evenly after that.




All painted.

I put the springs back into place and instead of sewing another cover for it, I just used a piece of cardboard.




Nice cushions stolen from the couch for effect, but again, I can't afford that.




Meanwhile, I had bought two more pillows when they were on sale at Target for $7.99 each. I used my padded pillow shams to provide more cushion.




Then I covered the bottom pillow with a white vintage tablecloth so that it would blend in better.




And there you have it. A revamped wooden arm chair that I picked up off the street.




Total cost: Free wooden arm chair + $1.60 for 1/2 can of primer + $6.88 for two cans of semi-gloss black paint + $15.98 for two large pillows = $24.46

I didn't count the wood filler, sand paper, pillow covers, and first two pillows since those were things I already had on hand.

Now, to finish lining the bookcase so I can clean my kitchen before Thanksgiving next week. Eek!

*****
1 year ago today, my house was broken into. :(
2 years ago today, I asked is my scrap blanket hideous?
3 years ago today, the heirloom bell peppers I grew in my garden.