Saturday, March 12, 2011

Reviving old chairs and a nesting box side table

     I was quite productive yesterday, although for quite a bit longer than I ever intended. Maybe you've done a project before that went along these lines. I had two chairs that needed painting and the seats recovering.


     I dragged them outside along with my sniffly little helper who was not in the mood to help, only to discover that one chair had a crack that needed gluing. After ripping apart all craft supplies. I surmise I have no wood glue. That's fine I think to myself, I'll use gorilla glue. That done, I disassembled the second chair to start painting. At this point, it becomes apparent that I have one can of black paint and no primer. Well dandy, off we go to Walmart. Walmart has decided it would be a good day not to restock their shelves, so they don't have any primer either. The next town is thirty minutes away and I wasn't about to trek down there just for some primer. Upon arriving home, I find I have one can of red tinted primer so I use that until it is all gone. Fantastic. Who needs primer anyway! While chairs are drying, I start recovering the seats.


      Surprise surprise, turns out I'm a tad short on fabric, so I piece a corner in to make it work. You have to be about six inches away to see the seam and it's on the back corner. If anyone comes to my house and actually notices it without me pointing it out....well, I'll banish them from my house for forever. I kid, I kid! (sorta) I did the recovering the same way I did this stool.
     While everything was drying, I decided to start on my next project. Some fantastically kind folks had given me a while back a pile of these.



     I don't suppose you know what they are? They are nesting boxes, complete with bird poop and everything! They are not nesting boxes to me though, they are shelves for all my future organizational needs! I just love delightful people who give away "junk". The one I dragged from the pile to use is on the far right.
     I gave it a good scrubbing with bleach to remove all the remnants of its former life. Sanded off the splinters and then gave it a coat of white wash. Whilst energetically slathering it with white wash, I discovered that my new black chairs drying nearby were now beautifully speckled with white paint. Well isn't that. just. glorious. Once I returned everything to its proper color,  I coated the chairs with a coat of finish and had no sooner done that, than I spied a large splotch I had failed to paint. Well dandy. Nothing more paint can't fix. So, as it turns out, if you don't use your brain before and during projects, it takes twice as much time to get things done. Who knew?
     For all my ideocracy, it all ended up turning out very nicely. Here are the chairs all done.




      The nesting box I ended up dry brushing with grey paint and it looks like this now.







     All together, along with the lamp that I recently updated, I think it's a rather cozy corner.


      I don't believe I was ever more delighted to be done with a project in my life!
      I kept thinking as I worked on this crazy project, that these chairs and crusty nesting box reminded me a lot of me. On my own, there isn't a whole lot that is very nice to look at or is very useful. My natural sinful self is about as lovely as a poopy box of wood. Thankfully, God knew what HE could do "junk" and saw value in me. I had to give myself to Him first, just as the above treasures were given to me. He has been sanding and scrubbing and cleaning me up ever since. Those chairs sure didn't paint themselves; I certainly didn't save myself and I can't fix me up. I'm so glad He does a much better job with His "projects"!

Linking to:
Funky Junk Interiors: SNS
Be Different Act Normal: Show and tell Saturday
Under the Table and Dreaming: Sunday showcase party
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Someday Crafts: Whatever goes Wednesday

11 comments:

  1. That is an amazing transformation! I love the black!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your chairs turned out fantastic! Very pretty! Like those nesting boxes too. Thanks for stopping by my blog and I will be visiting you again! Hugs, Tami

    ReplyDelete
  3. Abby, those chairs are gorgeous! I agree, it always feels good to sand, clean,and renew things. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your sweet comment about the branches!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those chairs are amazing. what a great upcycle! You have given them a new life.

    megan
    craftycpa.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great job! I have days like that when everything takes twice as long as it should to complete, but I think it helps me appreciate days when it all goes right. Thanks for the comment on my signs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amazing! I love how you have renewed these chairs! I'm jealous...I need one for my bedroom now (black and white are my colors) :-)

    Love you sis!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your chairs turned out lovely. All that frustration was worth it... nicely done.
    (stopping by from BNOTP)

    ReplyDelete
  8. The chairs are gorgeous! I recovered one of my old chairs in a teal velvet. I'll be recovering my old dining chair (you know the one...) in the same teal fabric. Hurray for shabby chic (mis)matched chairs!

    ReplyDelete
  9. If you don't show others how to do it - you are just bragging.
    So disappointed

    ReplyDelete
  10. Currently it sounds like Expression Engine is the top blogging platform available right now. (from what I've read) Is that what you're using on your blog?
    long african maxi skirts

    ReplyDelete