Chair Transformation Party

For an "artsy fartsy" person, I don't do a lot of home decoration; we live in an apartment where we're not allowed to paint or put holes in the walls, and frankly I'm not really into buying (or even making) a bunch of seasonal decor that I need to rotate in and out of storage depending on the holiday. But I do like the idea of cute furniture that can be used everyday. One day, when I have a house with space, I'd love to learn to make my own furniture.

In the meantime, though, I have to settle for minor remakes of found objects. One of the blogs that I find most inspirational for that is Brooke's All Things Thrifty. Her tutorials on spray paint and glazing are so useful! I can't do a whole lot in our LA apartment, but when I was in San Diego, I made the most of our little patio and tried my hand at redoing a chair. I thought I'd post my before and after pictures since Brooke is hosting a chair transformation link party on her blog.

I found this chair at a thrift store in Poway for $11. Which doesn't sound nearly as awesome as Brooke's chaise-lounge-for-$8 finds, but then, this isn't Utah. Anyway, the wood was really scratched up, the upholstery was pretty dirty and the whole thing was grimy.

I cleaned it up, took off the seat, primed then spray-painted the frame black to match our bed, and then re-did the seat with a scrap of duckcloth that cost me $1. It wasn't a totally thrifty makeover since I had to purchase a staple gun, but my consolation is that the staple gun got A LOT of use after that, and I bought it with a gift card that we already had. Anyway, for a total cost of $15 (original chair, fabric, and spray paint), we had a new chair for our bedroom! It makes a great clotheshorse...

Anyway, the whole experience was so fun (and rewarding!) that I couldn't wait to get another chance to redo some furniture. Unfortunately, in the year and half since, I have yet to find another suitable chair! It's unbelievably hard to find a sturdy chair whose lines I like that is appropriately priced here in over-priced SoCal. So when I had a chance earlier this year to help our dear photographer friends, Orange Turtle Photography, to redo some furniture for their bridal show booth, I was all over it.

Sanding before painting! Photo courtesy of OT Photography.

After! Photo courtesy of OT Photography.

I love the details on the table. Photo courtesy of OT Photography.

Check out their blog post about the booth for pictures of the other table and the vintage WWII trunk that we painted and distressed! Also, they are fabulous photographers and we loved what they did for our anniversary shoot, so if you're looking for amazing, fun, professional photographers for an engagement, wedding, or family session, I would totally recommend them.