Trash to Treasure - A Pair of Chairs

Twice a year in our town, there's a week when you can put anything you want to get rid of out on the curb and the town will come and pick it up. Most people use this as an opportunity to get rid of a lot of junk that's taking up space in their house or garage. I tend to take really long walks with our dog Simon and check out all of the goods. A lot of it is junk, but you can also find some good stuff. Once I spot something worth grabbing, I hurry home with the dog and rush back out in the car to pick it up.

Last spring, I found these chairs in our neighborhood. They were beat up and had definitely seen better days. Lucky for me, their former owners were over them and I was able to snatch them up. I didn't remember to take a before photo of both chairs, so here's a pic with one finished and the other one in all of its beat up glory.

The chairs were wood and pretty beat up. I sanded them down to remove years of grime and old stain and then turned to the trusty spray paint. I did a few light coats of gray spray paint on each chair frame.

Recovering a chair seat is one of the simplest projects out there. I bought about a yard of fabric in this bright teal geometric print. I laid the fabric face down on the floor and then placed the cushion on top of it. I used the same method as I did when I covered the cushion for the ottoman and put one staple on each side and then worked my way around. Even the corners on a seat cushion are pretty easy. Just fold the fabric over and staple it down.

I love how the chairs almost look like old fashioned metal office chairs because of the gray spray paint. The geometric patterned fabric really pops as well. It's nice to add a splash of color with such a simple project.

Originally I picked up the chairs because I needed some chairs for my computer tables at school. Fortunately, I found 4 other chairs during the freebie garbage week that I could take to school because these came out so great. The chairs now live in our mudroom.

 

There isn't too much I love about our mudroom, other than these chairs. There's reclaimed wood on the walls that's ok. It makes the space pretty dark, but does give it a little character. I do enjoy the hooks so we have a place to hang up our coats. I also can't wait to replace the tile in there. That's on the "to do if we win a bunch of money" list!

  Since I only had to pay for the fabric and spray paint, this makeover came in at about $20. Pretty good if I do say so myself!

Does your town have a junk pick-up week like this throughout the year? Its amazing to see what some people put out on the curb. Have you fixed up anything that was someone elses trash? It's pretty gratifying to make some pretty and useful again. Does anyone else have a "to do if I win a bunch of money" list? It can't just be us!

Thanks for reading,

Kathleen