Keeping it in the Fam

I fall head-over-heels for all things vintage and I completely lose my mind if it has a "story". This chair was my uncle's (my mom's brother) as a child. He used it for completing schoolwork in their home office. My mom somehow inherited it along the way. And I asked if I could have it when I moved away to college. I spray painted the original black, metal legs and seat-back an off-white and covered the seat in a hideous, red toile fabric. It's been hanging out in our basement for the last couple of years so I thought it was time to give it some new life.

I stumbled upon this fabric a couple weeks ago (while looking for fabric for curtains in the living room-update on this soon) and figured 1/2 yard would be plenty since the chair is so small. The legs and seat-back got a fresh coat of spray paint - satin Hunter's White by Valspar. Two thin coats was all it needed because the new color was so similar to the off-white from several years ago. I let it dry overnight and then applied a thin top coat of clear gloss to prevent any chipping.

I used a staple gun to attach a thick layer of batting around the entire seat. Looking back, I wish I would have put more layers for extra padding/comfort. It looks much better (and it's easier to add the fabric) if the batting is pulled really tight around the seat. Remember to pull taut before each staple.

Because the print on this fabric is so large (and the seat is so small), I wanted to center it on the chair. I had several different options to work with because there are also different color variations along the fabric. After deciding on the placement, I cut the fabric - about two inches outside the border of the seat. Before stapling, I made sure to center fabric and double check after the first couple of staples, pulling taut each time. The only issue I had when recovering was adjusting the fabric around the metal "arms" on the seat-back. I actually cut the fabric and split it down the middle of each arm. And folded the fabric in a way that you couldn't see the frayed/cut edge, pulled each side tight and then stapled in place.

Sadly, I didn't take any before photos OR progress photos. But here's the finished product! I chose this fabric because I knew it could end up in several different places in the house and still work well with items I already own.

Cost breakdown:

• Valspar spray paint (Lowe's): $4
• Clear gloss spray paint (already owned): $0
• Batting (borrowed from my mom): $0
• 1/2 yard of fabric (King Cotton): $12

Total: $16