Saturday, February 23, 2013

How did I do it? {Altering a chair frame!}

Two days ago, I revealed my Anthropologie-Inspired Chair overhaul! 
{You can see the post here}

 From This:                                 To this:

So, how did I do it?
Honestly? I have no clue.
That being said, this is definitely not a tutorial. 

The first thing I attempted to do was change the arms. 
Looking at my inspiration (The Anthropologie Astrid Chair), it is obvious that the arms do not slope upwards, as the original chair's arms did.



 So, I simply cut them off! 




Next, I cut off the back of the frame, and added tubes on the arms to make them round.
The arms are actually made from mailing tubes.
I didn't take a picture in between these two, but under the tubes, I put in the original arms for more strength.


I wanted the front legs to look more like those of the Astrid Collection.
Searching through my garage, I found the perfect solution: The legs of an old table. 


I then cut out the center section and added some old little wheels that I found in my garage!
Problem solved!


Next up was the back of the seat.
This was relatively simple. I cut a thick piece of plastic in the shape of the chair back. 
This was stapled to the top of the original chair back, and some 2x2s. 



Next I took some thin boards and covered the sides and back.
(And broke out the duck tape...)
Voila! New frame nearly complete!


After adding foam to the back, I simply covered the entire chair with two layers of quilt batting.



The chair was completed by painting the legs with a coat of gold paint, and finishing off the upholstery. 

 Tada!


 Chair reveal found here!
Thanks for reading! All comments are loved and appreciated! 

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Anthropologie Astrid Chair inspired makeover!



[Update: How did I do it? See the process of altering a chair frame here!]

In my previous post, I mentioned how you can find a typical cane chair in nearly every thrift store and DIY blogger's home.



That being said, I wanted to make my own cane chair very unique.
I also wanted to show more possibilities with a very common item. 

It all started with this picture that I came across while browsing Anthropologie.com 


It's so cute!! 




Upon further searching, I found out that Anthropologie sells a matching chair!


It. was. perfect.


Funky, whimsical, crazy, adorable.


That is when the light-bulb lit up. 


The idea was brought to the next level after I stumbled upon the perfect fabric at my local thrift store.
It is the exact color of the Astrid settee that originally stole my heart (cheesy, I know...).

At the low price of $3, I couldn't pass the fabric up. 


I then took inspiration from the Astrid collection, and created my own masterpiece.

*******************************************

Before.


After.



My Favorite part:
The tufting 


(My cat approved... and felt like posing for a picture)

Individual Costs:
$3-Fabric
$10-Batting
$8-Original Chair
$0-Everything else!
Total Cost:

$- 21

Compared to:
$-1,598.00
on Anthropologie.com

:)

"The frame of your chair should never limit your creativity"

(Sorry for all the cheese)

Please hop on over to East Coast Creative and click on my project in the linksy!

Thanks for viewing! Comments are always appreciated! 


Tuesday, February 19, 2013

First Ever Upholstery Project!

Everywhere. 

That is where you can find the infamous 1980's cane chair.
That includes both thrift stores AND blogs!



The following was the exact chair that inspired me to take on my first upholstery project, back in August of 2011. 



That's where the story of my chair began!

This is how it came to me:
(Sadly, I can't find any better pictures... sorry!)


Original button, showing ugly green color:


You never know what you will find in something from a thrift store... 
Yup, all this was stuffed in the nooks and crannies of the tiny chair!




The fun process! (in my living room, no less):



Makeover #1:





After a few coats of watermelon paint and new fabric, it was perfect for my room!
I loved it at the time, but my style has changed since then. 

New makeover coming (hopefully) tomorrow!
(This includes my entry to Creating with the Stars)

Thanks for reading!