My sophomore year of college, I moved into an apartment with a couple friends. Since all of us were poor college kids, none of us had many possessions. I started going to garage sales hoping to find a good deal. Since I could use just about everything, I did not make a list.
After only about a week of looking, I stumbled across a gold mine! There was a family who had just purchased several new items for their home: including a dining table, coffee table, and end tables. They were hoping to get rid of the old stuff, and I was looking to get "new" stuff. We were a perfect match!
So, 6 years ago I purchased a dining table, a coffee table and an end table for $150. This was pretty good considering the table was solid wood with two leaves.
Up until recently, this table has remained in the same condition I purchased it in... dents, dings, stained cushions and all! Having seen so many DIY's on how to repurpose old, beat up furniture, I decided to give it a whirl before committing to selling it in my own garage sale.
Since the table was such a large piece of furniture to start with, I figured I would tackle the chairs first. So, I went out and bought an orbital sander, sand paper, tack cloth and spray paint.
Here's the "before" picture.
Maxie enjoys helping mommy with her projects.
Be sure to take the cushions off of the chair before you start.
After removing the cushions, I used the orbital sander. Make sure you do not use too "rough" of a sand paper because it will leave deep scratches in the wood. This will just create more work for you. You do not need to remove all of the stain and varnish. Just sand enough so that there is not a "shiny" top coat any more. You will notice the wood starts to look dull. A medium grit sand paper should be sufficient.
After using the orbital sander, I took some loose "fine" sandpaper to smooth out any rough spots and corners the orbital sander could not reach. I then rubbed the tack cloth along the surface to remove all of the dust.
Now you are ready to paint!!
I used a primer for the first coat and then did two more top coats on top of that. Be sure to shake the spray can really well... if you do not, it will come out chunky and create a rough texture. Because spray paint can drip and sometimes have a "rough" texture, be sure to sand with the fine sandpaper between coats of paint. If you do need to sand between coats, be sure to use the tack cloth to remove any dust.
Just a little tip... Home Depot has the best prices on spray paint!!!
Once the chairs were spray painted to satisfaction, I went to Hobby Lobby and found some fun fabric to reupholster the cushions with. Using a staple gun (found mine a Hobby Lobby... only $6 with 40% off coupon), staple the new fabric in place. Be sure to pull the fabric taught as you staple, you do not want puckering. Of course, remove the old fabric first :)
Voila!! You have brand "new" chairs!! I am not sure if I will tackle the table just yet... right now I am focused on making some matching placemats (there will be a tutorial on that as well).
Happy repurposing!!!
Labels: Crafts
