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Fabulous folding chair makeover painting metal folding chair

I luuuuuuuuvvvvvvvv this project. There, I said it. I really do! It’s one of my favorite projects in recent memory…. I can’t take credit for the idea- I was inspired by a photo on my Pinterest board (and you can see the original post here.) I guess all of that time on Pinterest actually paid off! It’s so easy to do a fabulous makeover on an old metal folding chair- you probably have one in your basement or garage right now that’s just waiting for a little luv.

Anyway, we had this ugly chair- I mean, it was hideous. It was headed for the trash heap.

metal folding chair spray paint

All it took to go from yucky to Yow-za! was a can of spray paint and a bit of fabric. It was really simple.

Here’s what you will need:

  1. The ugliest chair you can find (the ugly part is not required, but it does enhance your sense of accomplishment and awe at your DIY mad-skills when you are finished.)
  2. Indoor/outdoor spray paint (I used Rustoleum, which worked really great.I chose my new favorite color- I have no idea why I am suddenly completely in love with Orange, but I am)
  3. Piece of fabric that is a couple of inches larger than the chair pad
  4. Glue gun
  5. Tools to remove the chair pad- depending on the type of chair you have, you might need screwdriver, pliers, hammer, etc.

First, I flipped over the chair and found the tabs on the underside of the seat that were attaching the chair pad to the chair. I loosened the tabs with a screwdriver and removed the chair pad. (If the chair had rubber tips on the legs, I would remove those, too.)

I placed the chair on a large scrap of cardboard outside. You definitely want to do your painting in a well-ventilated area. The key to getting a beautiful paint job is patience. I worked on this project over the course of several days (but it only took a few minutes each day). It really is best to do a lot of light coats of paint- don’t try to rush it, because you will get drips & runs which are really not pretty.

Here’s what I did- I would go out and give it a quick coat of paint, wait a little while, then go back and try to hit the areas that I missed. You need to paint it from lots of different angles- front, back, sides…. I would let it dry for several hours, then, because it was so humid, I would bring the chair inside to help “cure” the paint in the air-conditioning. Then the next day, I took it back outside and did a couple more coats.

spray painted metal folding chair

 

When I felt that I had done a good job covering the front, back, and upper side of the chair (don’t worry about the seat which will be covered with the pad), I allowed the chair to dry overnight to make sure it was good and dry. Then I flipped the chair over so I could get the back side of the legs and underside.

spray painting metal folding chair

before

 

spray painted metal folding chair

after

 

When it was good and dry, and I was sure that I had the chair completely painted, I added the bottoms to the legs (which I purchased at the hardware store, since my chair didn’t have any to start with.)

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To cover the chair pad, I cut the fabric about 2″ larger than the pad which I removed in the first step. I wrapped the edges of the fabric around to the bottom of the chair pad and glued it in place. (I did not take a photo of this step, because the pad was, in fact, nasty, and I didn’t see any point in making you a witness to it.) The fabric I chose was my favorite pear print from my Fruitful Hands collection for Henry Glass Fabrics.

I replaced the pad on the chair and it was done. Wow! What a difference! It’s perfect for extra seating when you have guests- of course, it’s so cute that you might want to find a place for it in your office, bedroom, or den, and not just save it for your guests….

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HaveALovellDay-FlowerPurple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. If you like this chair makeover, please share the idea by using the buttons below! Sharing is caring :) [Cheesy but true!]