Yard Sale Chair Makeover

I told the story behind this chair here.  In my head it was going to be a quick easy weekend project that went smooth and turned out amazing.  Mmmmm.... I'm gonna say my head must have been pretty off that day!  This beastly chair was plagued with issues!

You know how when you have a fancy party to go to and you have your perfect outfit all picked out and you give yourself an hour to get ready because you know you've got this!  After all, you've been to a million parties so getting ready this time should be a piece of cake!  Then, you run up to slip on your dress and there is deodorant all over it,  you can't find the shoes to match, and you get a big zit...

A little scrubbing, borrow a pair of shoes from your best friend, and a bit of concealer and you are on your way!  It just takes a little longer to get ready!  In turn the stress causes you to need a couple extra glasses of wine...  OK, OK, I'm going to stop with the analogy, but you get the jist! 

I cannot for the life of me figure out the story behind this little yard sale find.  It appears someone starting stripping it but only did the front (obviously).  Maybe they just had it pushed up against the wall and didn't care what the back looked like?  That sounds like something I might be tempted to do (kidding... kind of)!

I started with a good sanding and a coat of primer.  Enter problem number one.  It bled thru the primer a bright pink! 

Nothing a little can of Zinsser Ultimate Stain Blocking Primer couldn't fix!  So, two coats of primer and another light sand.   I wasn't sure what color to paint the chair and I originally thought I would do a creamy white with a little distressing.  Then, I came across a super duper awesome Miss Mustard Seed to tutorial and thought I could totally do that.  Note to self....1) Stick to your original plan next time and 2) you are no where near as good as Miss Mustard Seed!!  Here is where I ended up next.

Whoa!!!  Okay, Kandi, don't panic!  Miss Mustard Seed says it is going to be alright...  I am supposed to dry brush a coat of light gray, distress, and glaze.  I did that.  It was bad... very bad!   See for yourself.

It was all me.  I am just bad at distressing.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it!  Also, the glaze I bought was a terrible orangy color (which she happens to warn against!)  It's not even pictured with the glaze because I was too mad at the point.  I ended up giving it another light sand and dry brushing the light gray back over until I was happy with the color.  It just took me about 2 weeks to get that far! 

Now time for reupholstering.  When I began I thought I would reupholster in an awesome Ikat pictured in the original post.  That didn't go with the color of the frame.  Went and bought a nice cream linen.  That didn't go with the frame.  Raided by fabric stack and ended up using a piece of creamy blue I already had.  It worked perfectly and I had just enough!  The insides were in great condition so the next part should be easy right.  Nope!  Nothing easy going to happen with this chair!  I've decided this chair is actually made of the hardest wood on the planet!  Staples breaking, nails bending, me cursing...  it was ugly!  So, many hours, sore fingers, and curse words later she was done.  The white gimp did go on with no major problems other than a couple hot glue blister.  On to the finished product that after all that I am very happy with!

A couple things. 

1.There is a bench that matches this chair.  I have no clue what to do to it but I need it to be awesome!  Rebekah and I picked up that pair for $45... seriously! 

2. I have a super quick and easy tutorial coming for the hydrangea wreath you see in the background of these photos. 

3.Lastly, go enter our Owl Friend Giveaway!! 

Kandi

Linking up here.