Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Thrifted Chairs Made New!

So I did get the chairs for my daughter all finished up and carted away to her new university home.  This is what they looked like before:
 
 
A rather awful combination of oak veneer plywood pared with a stale cigarette smoke odour.

 
I sanded the life out of these chairs, although it apparently wasn't required.  One good thing about the sanding, however, is that it took away the cigarette smell.  Cody thinks I did a darned good job on them ;)

Good job Wendy!
 
My husband took apart all the chairs and glued them all back together again to be sure they were sturdy ... and they are very sturdy.  He unscrewed all the smelly padded seats, and I ripped off the disintegrating fabric and put the foam padding into a tub of hot water to soak for a few hours, and then washed them to a new freshness they hadn't had in years.

 
So now the big reveal!!
 
TA DA!!
 
Two coats of bright white paint, and new fabric for the seats all stapled in place again.  I'm quite pleased with the results!  I always admire what great changes people make in furniture on different blog sites, and I was so happy to finally be able to try it myself!  A very satisfying endeavor.
 
 
Four chairs came from the creepy house.  Three identical, one with arms, and then one odd-ball that I picked up at the thrift store.
 
Four of the five chairs.
 
I made a padded cushion with ties for the odd-ball chair with the same fabric, so it ties in really nicely with the other chairs (sorry no picture of that cushion).
 
 
The chairs looked so nice sitting in my garden, that I hated to give them away!  Even this pretty red dragonfly thought they were something special.
 
 
I spent today driving my daughter up to her new place and getting the very last of her things in place.  She's happy to be living in her "own house" with four of her best friends from high school.  I hope they remain friends after living together for a year ;)
 
Good luck!!
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
Wendy
 
 
 
 
 

39 comments:

  1. What a transformation! They look FANTASTIC. I can well imagine that it would have been hard to send them off, but I'm sure they're being very appreciated.

    Best wishes to your daughter! Her room looks wonderful - far and away lovelier than my first home-away-from-home rooms.

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    1. Thanks Wabi Sabi :) They've rented a whole house, very old, but with nice features (like high ceilings & nice tall windows throughout). The kitchen is all remodeled, but the rest of the house is pretty basic. I first rented a 100+ year old farmhouse down the road from my parents. It was REALLY grim, but we overlooked things like the scary cellar (nightmare material), squirrels in the walls, and enjoyed our freedom ... nothing else mattered at that point! My daughter knows she's got it good at this place.

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  2. I hope that she has a wonderful year! And how are you holding up???? I can't imagine sending one of my kids off but I know that it will come way to soon! Those chairs are spectacular!!! They look beautiful with that crisp white paint and that wonderful fabric for the cushions! You just showed everyone what you can do with a little elbow grease to remake something blah into something fantastic!!! Well done friend!!! You should do more furniture makeovers!!!

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    1. A bit sad without her mooching around the house this morning :( The dog has noticed her absence as well and is constantly coming over to me with questioning eyes. Thank you for your kind remarks ... I am definitely going to be doing more of this makeover stint!

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  3. No way!! You could go into business doing furniture makeovers, Wendy! Oh I can't believe the difference in the before and after photos. This is really fantastic.
    Your daughter's room looks great! She must be a horse lover. My daughter loves them too!

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    1. Gosh, thanks Stacy :) I was SO pleased with how they turned out. Even my daughter let out a "Wow!" when she saw them all lined up and ready to go. Yes, she is very much into horses, and has been taking lessons since she was about 8. Last year (and this year again) she was able to continue lessons at a farm near the university. The photos in her room are of her riding her favourite horse "Chronos" who is no longer with us ... she loved that big boy!

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  4. Wow! What a great job you did! I am so impressed. Your daughter is one very lucky girl to have such nice chairs in her first apartment. You're an awesome mom. Great job.

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    1. Thanks Jennifer ... I agree that she is one lucky girl. Not sure the rest her housemates appreciate how much work went into the chairs, so I hope they don't get wrecked. Maybe my girl will defend them ;)

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  5. Great job! They look fresh and new and the colors are perfect to go with her other things. :-)

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    1. Thank you ... I liked the fresh look to them too (even though I've been taught to appreciate wood over painted furniture).

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  6. They look fab! How exciting for your daughter too! :) x

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  7. Great job - well done you! These are fab... I'd be wanting to keep them too ;-)
    xx

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    1. Now I can't sit and admire the finished product ... must redo something else now!

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  8. You did a nice job on the chairs Wendy and were lucky the cushion part could be washed to freshen up. I'm sure your daughter is very happy with the revamped chairs.

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    1. Thanks Judith ... I was very happy that they cleaned up good ;)

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  9. Wow, Wendy! well done,they look brand new ... your daughter looks very settled too ... I bet she's really pleased with her clever Mum and Dad xxx

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    1. Thank Ms. Vintage Refurbisher! Of course she thinks there's nothing we can't do ... for her ;) Now to do something just for me!

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  10. They look fabulous! I'm sure your daughter is thrilled.
    I drove through your town yesterday...I,hubby and the cat we had with us, waved!
    Jane x

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    1. Thank you Jane. And I was out of town yesterday :( Dropping darling daughter off in Peterborough!

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  11. The chairs look so beautiful and sweet!

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  12. Hi Wendy the chairs turned out wonderful!-I love them-ah yes university years-lol-she will begin a year of memories Kathy

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    1. Thanks Kathy! My daughter's in her second year, but the first year she was in residence, so the rental house is a new thing for her.

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  13. Wow...Wendy, you did a great job on those chairs! You would never know they came from a old creepy house!
    Good Luck to your daughter on her new adventures away from home. I have about three more years and I will be doing the same thing with my little girl. Not ready for that!
    Hugs, Shari

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    1. Thanks Shari ... paint & new fabric hides so much! If it's any consolation, my daughter has yet to get her driver's permit, so you're one step ahead of me there ;)

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  14. You did a wonderful job on those chairs, Wendy, they turned out wonderful :)
    Good luck to your daughter!

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    1. Thanks Hilde, it was actually fun to transform these chairs. Now my daughter is settled in, and the rest is up to her :)

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  15. The chairs turned out very nicely. I like the fabric you selected and think it suits the style of the chairs. Hope your daughter has a great year at school!!

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    1. Thank you Jennifer. I forgot to mention that the fabric was an old shower curtain I purchased at the thrift store. I thought it was a table cloth at first, but it was very clean and a nice thick cotton, and just big enough to cover all five chairs. Another deal!

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  16. WENDY! I have so much catching up to do... stupid work! I am grabbing an cuppa and going through your back posts!

    These chairs are gorgeous. I love them.. wish my student house had pretty stuff like this! God , it was such a dive ;) Best of luck to your girl on her new term :) Hazel x

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    1. Hi Hazel, it's nice to see you here again! Thanks for your kind comment ... I wish my first house was this nice too, but it really made me appreciate a solidly built house afterwards. Take care ;)

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  17. WENDY! I have so much catching up to do... stupid work! I am grabbing an cuppa and going through your back posts!

    These chairs are gorgeous. I love them.. wish my student house had pretty stuff like this! God , it was such a dive ;) Best of luck to your girl on her new term :) Hazel x

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  18. The chairs look great! I have a bench and 2 different sets of wooden chairs at my dining table. Don't like when things match perfectly. It's nice to mix them up. :) Hope you are having a good week. Tammy

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  19. Wonderful work done... A 'labor of love' of course. :-) For your beautiful daughter.

    Thank you so much, for coming to my blog, and for leaving a comment there. Comments are like a trail of bread crumbs, left in a Faerie Tale... They lead us back to another lovely blog, which is new-to-us.

    But won't be new-to-us, for long. The trail was left by someone, who will probably become a long-time-blogging-friend.

    Tessa~

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    1. Hello Tessa, thanks for visiting my blog ... such a nice comment :) Here's to a new friendship!

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  20. Those look beautiful! Great work!!

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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