Design-It-Yourself: 508 Chair Makeover

Today's post comes to you directly from the lovely and very talented Sarah of fave blog fiveoeight. I featured one of their previous creations back in March and their stunning reclaimed wood headboard ranks in the top 10 of most popular pins from our Pinterest page. I was thrilled when Sarah decided to include a Bemz fabric in one of her creations which she shares here, step-by-step - an exclusive to It's a Cover Up! You may not be surprised to find out that Sarah's genes are part Swedish. Oh the talent! Over to Sarah:

Hello...this is Sarah over at fiveoeight! I recently had the pleasure of using some of Bemz incredible fabrics to do a quick make-over on this chair. Chairs like this are super easy and are low-risk if you have never painted. I am sure a lot of these steps seem basic, but you never know how your process differs from others...these steps are specific to getting that chippy look with your paint. I snapped some shots along the way so you can do it too! Hope this inspires!

TOOLS:

• 150-220 grit flat sanding sheets, cut for whatever size you need* {508 uses: 3M Sandblaster or Norton 3X}
• electric sander (if you have it) & sanding sheets that fit
• fine grit sanding sponges, 220-320 {508 uses: 3M}
• furniture wax {508 uses: Fiddes}
• a few lint free rags
• paint, satin finish {508 uses: Benjamin Moore or Behr}
• paint brush {508 uses: 2.5” Angled Purdy Brush}
• flathead screwdriver
• wire cutters
• fabric of your choice {Bemz - Baronessa Pink by Lisa Bengtsson}
• staple gun & staples
• some type of backing or dustcover for the underside of your seat

 

1: DISASSEMBLE
Unscrew the seat. Loosen staples with flathead screwdriver & twist them out with wire cutters.

2: SAND
Go with the grain! Start with a medium grit sandpaper {150} using an electric sander {if you have it} for flat areas & flat sheets or sanding sponges for edges & corners. Finish sanding with a fine grit {220-320}.

Don’t go crazy- you just want the bulk of that existing finish off or ruffed up. If the finish is really gummy, use a solvent/remover first.

3: PRE-WAX
To get the chippy look, apply furniture wax BEFORE you paint. Wipe on the areas that you want the paint to chip off during the distressing stage. I like this method because it gives a similar look to Milk Paint, but you have more control. For this chair, I applied the wax all over quickly- not really caring how thick or thin. This made most of the paint come off in the end, which was what I was going for. Be creative with your piece!

4: PAINT
I only needed one 7oz paint sample for this chair. Using a GOOD brush, apply one coat of paint. I only brushed one coat on this chair because I knew I was going to heavily distress. The 7oz paint samples are still plenty to do 2 coats on a chair if you prefer. Let dry overnight.

5. DISTRESS
Using your finer grit sanding sponge or sanding sheet, begin distressing. You will see how quickly the paint comes off in the areas you have applied wax underneath. Again, go with the grain and move quickly. If it is not chipping or pealing off, MOVE ON.  When you are pleased with your look, thoroughly clean entire piece with damp rag.

>> Note: After the chair was clean, I applied a top protective coat of clear furniture wax with a lint free rag, buffing it after 30 min. << 

There are plenty of “how-tos” on recovering your basic chair seat- it is pretty simple. But here is the basics of how I do it- quick and easy. Here are the steps {continued...}

6. CUT FABRIC
If the original fabric isn’t too torn up after you have taken it off, use it to trace your new fabric piece! This ensures that you don’t cut too much extra fabric- or worse, too little! Often, people cut cotton batting to put between the foam and the fabric…in this case, I didn’t want it to look over-stuffed so I left the batting out.

7.  STAPLE
I mostly use an Easyshot gun, which isn’t the most powerful out there, but with a heavier duty staple it does just fine for most jobs. If you are stapling into a denser wood, you may want a more powerful staple gun.

Basically, I just line up the fabric, staple one side and then continue pulling tight and stapling each flat side first. Then, I work on neatly folding or bunching each corner tightly, stapling the corners in place one by one.

8. BACKING/DUSTCOVER {optional}
Because I tend to “over staple”, I like to lightly staple a white backing/dustcover on the underside of the seat to clean it all up. Especially because in some cases, the seat overhangs from the chair, exposing all those ugly staples and could snag your fingers while moving it around.

 

Now all you need to do is reassemble your chair and enjoy!

Comments

[Hannah from Plumbs]

Wow! What a transformation! Love the distressed effect!

[Napkins]

The wedding chair cover is primarily used to cover mismatching chairs or those of inferior quality. In a formal meal hall or venue the chairs suffer from vast wear and tear moved around, stacked, knocked over and re-arranged regularly.

[Lisbeth]

So that's how it's done! Thank you, Sarah and Bemz. Now to give it a go...