Refinishing Chair w/o Pneumatic staple gun

The castle was without dining room chairs and its only days left until the Castle Crowe come for a visit so the hubby and I went for an afternoon stroll at stores to find some chairs. Even in clearance chairs don't go very cheap so off we went to antique store to find something we could afford.

A set of four antique dining room chairs caught our attention. The seller salvaged it from being thrown away. He said they belonged to his grandparents. He is over 50 years old and he remembered seeing them looking old eversince he was little. I am guessing around 20's?

$40 bucks. SOLD!

Here's a confession. I have a big respect for antique furniture and I just don't want to slap it with paint. I wanted to leave it as it was and refurbish the yucky cushion. Even though the chairs felt sturdy but it wasn't in a mint condition. They had slits and cracks that needed wood filler to be safer. I tallied some votes and painting it won. Sorry chair. :(

I primed the chairs with cover stain primer. It's less work without sanding. I don't want overwhelming white. I got a couple samples of paint at Home Depot with a shade of  silver birch. I mixed it with plaster of Paris and water for a chalky finish. The picture doesn't show the actual color but it has a hint of gray.

Art takes time. With this kind of paint, don't rush it. Soaking the brush and slapping it on the the chair is a bad idea. It creates drop marks! However, if you are aiming for a distressed look and sand your project, it is okay.

The wood where the cushion should be was too hard for my limp staples. I did not have a pneumatic staple gun ( I wish I do), so I had to figure out a way to use my standard staple gun.

Cut some palette woods and glued them onto the wood to make a frame because palette wood is workable with standard staple gun.

There's no way salvaging the chair's original foam. It has been there for years and years, and who knows how many bottoms had sat there. So it was time for a new one.

This was an unexpected yucky surprise. On my journey to the center of old chair I found a lair of ancient roach eggs. So off to the dumpster you go!

The foam I used was 3 inches thick, so when I had to stand on top of it while refurbishing the cushion to achieve the shape I want. And for the fabric, I went to this amazing fabric store called Fabric & Fringe Warehouse in Marietta that specialize furniture fabrics.  They have a TV lounge for husbands while I lose myself from their fabric selections! I found this fabric in clearance. 7 yards for 30 something bucks? No brainer.

All in all, it cost us 140 to have these 4 unique dining room chairs! They are super soft and the Crowe clan has a chair to sit on!

Until next DIY!

Sincerely yours,
Castle Lemon


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