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March 4, 2012

Goodwill Chairs Made New Again

Remember back in the summer when I bought these awesome Goodwill Chairs for $1.30? Yes, you heard me right. 130 cents for BOTH chairs. Well, they have been sitting in my garage ever since and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to bring them out and finally give them a well needed makeover. After a little TLC, I transformed the chairs into these beauts.

DIY chair makeover

If you can’t remember what they looked like before here is a quick before and after.

I chose dove white for the paint color and after 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of paint these chairs were looking good as new. The look wouldn’t be complete without this chic upholstery fabric I purchased at Hobby Lobby, it was a little steep at $24.99 a yard but it was 30% off AND I used a gift card that I won at The Frugal Girls, so still free for me!

I absolutely love how they turned out. You can’t beat a new set of chairs for only $1.30!

If you’re interested in all the lovely details of the transformation keep on reading…

I’d had my eye on this fabric at Hobby Lobby for quite some time. I loved the neutral tones and the beautiful typography. I knew it would fit perfectly in my updated family room.  Here is a pic of my daughter and I on our outing to Hobby Lobby!

She was way more interested in the home decor accessories than taking a picture. I can’t argue with that.

1. I started by removing the cushion from the chair frame. Thankfully it wasn’t attached so it just lifted right off.

2. My naked chair.

3. Looking at some of the places where the paint had rubbed off, it was clear that this was easily the 3rd or 4th time these chairs have been painted. Instead of sanding down all 3 layers of paint, I choose just to sand down the areas were the paint was chipping and smooth it out. If you were doing this the ‘right’ way, I suppose you should sand down the whole chair. If these were real antiques I would have, but since they were only $1.30 it was worth the shortcut in my book.

I started with a coat of primer. I was not happy with how the primer was looking with a paint brush. You can see how the brush strokes were very visible and the primer was thick and gooey. I switched over to a small paint roller and I was MUCH happier with how it looked. See how smooth it is compared to the brush?

I applied 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of dove white paint to achieve the look I wanted.

Now onto the upholstery.

4. I started by removing the existing fabric from the seat cover. I used a screw driver to loosen up the staples and then pulled the fabric off.

5. To my surprise I found ANOTHER layer of upholstery. I told you these bad boys had been worked on before.

6. Now I know why these were recovered.

7. These staples were obviously the originals. They were rusted and I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pry them off.

8. I used some pliers to pull the remaining staples out of the wood.

9. Ahhh nice and clean again.

10. I used the original upholstery as a pattern for my new seat cushions.

11. Now, I don’t know about you but I like a little extra padding under my toosh (not that I don’t have enough already), so I used some pillow stuffing to add an extra layer of padding between the wood and the foam pad. It actually made a big difference.

12. Next, I placed the seat on top of my new fabric and started the upholstering process. It’s actually extremely simple, just pull the fabric as tight as possible and staple it around each side. Keep tugging at the fabric as you move around all of the sides.

What a transformation! I’m still smiling about this one :)

About Taryn Whiteaker

Hi! I’m Taryn! The voice behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. I launched this brand over 11 years ago when I became a stay-at-home mom. What started as a small craft and mom blog eventually grew into a full time design and DIY site. My goal has always been to inspire others (especially women!) with design ideas, DIY tutorials, entertaining ideas and give you the tools you need to complete them yourself!

Filed Under: ALL POSTS, DIY Home Decor, DIY Projects, Furniture Builds and Makeovers Tagged With: DIY, Family Room, Furniture, my home, paint, repurpose, Thrifty Find

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natalie says

    March 5, 2012 at 3:30 am

    Oh wow Taryn – they turned out amazingly xx Nat

    Reply
  2. Erin @ How to Nest for Less says

    March 5, 2012 at 5:19 am

    CONGRATS GIRL!!! Those chairs look fabulous :) Can’t wait to see what you have in store for next week :)

    Reply
  3. Shirlley Lupton says

    March 5, 2012 at 11:20 am

    You did a great job! Love your blog.

    Reply
  4. patti says

    March 5, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    You should be smiling – these are lovely! Great job!

    Reply
  5. Heather @ settingforfour.blogpsot.com says

    March 5, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    These chairs look fabulous! Love the fabric too! New Follower via LF. Please visit my blog and say hello! I love to make new bloggy friends and followers too :)
    Heather @ settingforfour.blogspot.com

    Reply
  6. Emerson Grey Designs says

    March 5, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    I am smiling too! Love these…
    I laughed when you mentioned the seat just lifted off, haha. Great find and even better redo! And you deserve moving forward in the Creative Bloggers contest. You are crazy talented!

    Reply
  7. Miriam@BeBookBound says

    March 5, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    droooooooool! Those are awesome!!! I love love love the fabric you chose. Great job!

    Reply
  8. Cameron says

    March 5, 2012 at 11:35 pm

    Congrats on winning – I voted for these :) What a score at Goodwill – can’t wait to see your next project!

    Reply
  9. Ivalex says

    March 6, 2012 at 11:48 am

    This is great. I did this with some chairs at home. Greetings from me and Czech Republic.

    Reply
  10. Janette @ The 2 Seasons says

    March 6, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    Those chairs are adorable. They don’t even look like the same chairs. Are you sure you aren’t playing a trick on us???????

    Reply
  11. Carrie says

    March 6, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    Great chairs- adding you to my google reader.

    Reply
  12. Leanne says

    March 6, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    Gorgeous! I love the fabric, and the final outcome!!! I’m currently working on my first chair overhaul, and recovering the cushions…nerve wrecking, but exciting! :)

    Leanne @ because (i think) i can

    Reply
  13. Alison says

    March 6, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    I saw your chairs over at Every Creative Endeavor. They turned out so beautiful!! Well done! Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy!

    Reply
  14. Amber Wallace says

    March 7, 2012 at 8:16 am

    They look so great! Good job!

    Reply
  15. judi says

    March 7, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    taryn,
    these turned out fabulous! love the typographical fabric too.

    Reply
  16. Kirsten says

    March 8, 2012 at 11:58 am

    They look beautiful! I’m in love with the fabric you chose from Hobby Lobby. What a transformation!

    Reply
  17. Bonnie @ Uncommon says

    March 8, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    Very nice!! Love your choice of fabric and I see you are raising a girl with a good eye for shopping!! Thank you for linking up with Uncommon! Bonnie ;)

    Reply
  18. Ashley says

    March 8, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    These chairs look fantastic! You’ve inspired me to check out my local Goodwill to see if I can find any deals myself! Beautiful job.

    Reply
  19. Ivy @ a dash of domestic says

    March 8, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    The chairs turned out fantastic. Love your choice of fabric. What a cute blog you have, I’m so happy I found it. Hope you wil stop by my blog and visit.

    new follower!
    Ivy

    Reply
  20. Erin @ How to Nest for Less says

    March 8, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    LOVE. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for next week! Thanks for linking up!

    Reply
  21. Sarah@budgetfriendlydecorating says

    March 8, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    You did a great job on these chairs. I love Good Will deals!

    Reply
  22. Amy @ Gabriel's Good tidings says

    March 9, 2012 at 7:29 am

    These look amazing! Great job!

    I’d love to have you join my link party going on now at my blog.

    Amy @ Gabriel’s Good Tidings
    gabrielsgoodtidings.blogspot.com

    Reply
  23. Abbie (Five days...5 ways) says

    March 9, 2012 at 3:10 pm

    Fantastic makeover, Taryn! You kill again! : )

    ~Abbie

    Reply
  24. Ruth says

    March 9, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    These chairs are amazing. Gorgeous transformation!!! Can’t believe the price. So awesome.
    Ruth

    Reply
  25. Amy says

    March 9, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    Wow! Good job! You’d never know what they were like before.

    Reply
  26. Melissa @ No. 2 Pencil says

    March 9, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    Awesome transformation! Love it!!!!

    Reply
  27. latoya @ the scott's crib says

    March 9, 2012 at 6:36 pm

    Great job Taryn! I love the fabric, so bright and cheery,that is quite the transformation:) I would love if you could come and share it at my latest cheap finds and transformations, I would love to feature you this week!

    Reply
  28. Vanessa says

    March 9, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    Those look seriously amazing!!! You would never know they were the same chairs and the fabric definitely was the perfect choice. You did a fantastic job and we are so glad you shared this with us at Inspiration Friday this week! :-)
    Vanessa
    P.S. Your daughter is just so adorable!

    Reply
  29. Maria says

    March 9, 2012 at 9:11 pm

    These are just gorgeous! Absolutely love the fabric, goes perfectly with the white! What an amazing transformation!

    Reply
  30. Steph @ Silver Boxes says

    March 10, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    These look great! Nice choice on the fabric.

    ~Steph @ Silver Boxes

    Reply
  31. claire rose says

    March 11, 2012 at 7:20 am

    Your GW chairs look fabulous! Following you from tdc-stop by for a visit!

    Reply
  32. gail says

    March 14, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Saw your chairs over at HOH
    Super job, love that fabric!
    gail

    Reply
  33. Linda @ it all started with paint says

    March 15, 2012 at 1:59 pm

    That transformation is amazing!

    :)

    Linda

    Reply
  34. Susan says

    March 15, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    Boy are those beautiful chairs! The fabric is great! I’ve seen french script before but that fabric is really nice! Looks great with the white!
    Susan

    Reply
  35. Whitney @ The Rooster And The Hen says

    March 15, 2012 at 9:02 pm

    Now THAT is a transformation -well done! We hope to see you over at the RRR party starting tomorrow morning!

    -Whitney

    Reply
  36. Alicia @ thriftyandchic.com says

    March 16, 2012 at 10:03 am

    I swear I was looking at a picture from my house when I saw these chairs! I updated an old chair with the same fabric from Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago :) Don’t you love it? http://www.thriftyandchic.com/2012/01/recovered-salvaged-chair.html

    ~Alicia @ thriftyandchic.com

    Reply
  37. Ashley says

    March 17, 2012 at 11:08 am

    I adore these chairs! The fabric is terrific!

    Reply
  38. Carrie at lovely etc. says

    March 21, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    These chairs turned out great. Thanks for linking up to Thats the Ticket!

    Reply
  39. danielle hatfield (@dhatfield) says

    March 31, 2012 at 3:30 pm

    What a great DIY Taryn! LOVE Goodwill finds and this post make me want to go on my own rescue mission! Great to discover your blog and look forward to future DIYs!

    Reply
  40. Shannon Fox says

    April 21, 2012 at 10:58 pm

    They turned out wonderful and I love how you photographed them too. Beautiful.

    Reply
  41. Teresa Morgan says

    May 17, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    Thanks for the idea. I need to redo the cushions on my dining room chairs.

    Reply
  42. Erika @ HomesteadSimple says

    June 26, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    I love what you did to make these chairs new again! They look really good! :) Fresh and clean!

    Reply
  43. Joy @ Thrifty Parsonage Living says

    August 7, 2012 at 10:51 am

    Wow! what a transformation! I love what you have done with the chairs! Great choice of fabric.

    Reply
  44. katie says

    August 16, 2012 at 7:12 am

    These are gorgeous chairs! I always love a good furniture revamp project!

    Reply
  45. kathy says

    January 15, 2014 at 8:03 am

    Those chairs are absolutely beautiful! They look like they are right out of the Pottery Barn catalog! I am wondering about the padding/stuffing on the chairs. How do you decide what to use and how much?

    Thanks,
    Kathy Pickart

    Reply

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Taryn Whiteaker

Hi and welcome! I'm Taryn and the voice of style behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. Sharing our journey of modernizing our European style home in Dallas. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list to get all the latest updates! Read more...

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