I have been working on a pair of cutie chairs and I am excited to show you how they turned out! The thinking process for the design was inspired by this rug I found at HomeGoods near me.
While I was shopping I was looking for inspiration to design the chairs. I knew I wanted to use something other than regular fabric. Then I fell in love with the shaggy rug that reminded me of falling leaves in fall. So I took a chance and bought it!
Don't get me wrong, thinking about butchering this rug in two to upholster the two chairs made me feel a little sick, but I took the leap of faith for the sake of art.:-)
I knew that when I cut the rug into two after I measured the size I needed it would fall apart if I didn't sew the connecting thread back to the end. This was a very delicate part of the process, and needed a lot of attention to detail.
After I had the rug covers ready I stared to strip the old fabric off. There was two layers of fabric underneath which both had to be stripped so I could replace the foam padding. The second layer was much harder to remove because the staples were so snug to the wood base.
After I removed everything I replaced the foam and started upholstering the new seat cover. Moo was very eager to help.
I stapled one staple across from one another to make sure the rug was stretching evenly. When I got to the corners I folded them around and placed enough staples to hold it nice and tight.
Then it was time to give the frame a makeover! I chose to paint these chairs with Annie Sloan chalk paint in the color Paris Grey.
This paint is AMAZING!!! There is no prep before painting with this chalk paint, apposed to painting with a gloss or semi gloss paint, which includes TSP washing, sanding, priming, and long dry times.
All you have to do is dust your piece, paint with chalk paint and wax with Annie Sloan furniture wax.
I use Annie Sloan medium size brush which works great!
I like to distress with 3M brand 320 grit sandpaper.
After I sanded I wax with a clean cloth. The clear wax will make your color change to a shade darker after applying it to the entire piece. I apply the wax in small amounts and go in a circular motion.
When I was finished waxing I reattached the seat cushions. I had to use longer and skinnier screws to replace the ones that were on the chair before because the rug was so thick the old screws would not reach the seat and thicker screws would split the wood.
This is the finished product. What do you think? Behind is a desk I restored completely. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment below and let me know how you like it :-)
