farmhouse may-keover: diy 'artful' chair

you may have noticed that i glossed over something special in my last post...
something sitting in the living room, next to the fireplace mantel.
it's a chair. it's furniture.... but it's also SO much more!
it's art. it's personalized. it's whimsy.

i'm a strong proponent of including a touch of whimsy in every room.

but what IS whimsy?

it's personality. charm. a unique 'something' that no one else has.

it could be a thing, a color, a pattern, an architectural oddity in the room

that just catches your eye the moment you walk in - and makes you smile.

when my friend mentioned an idea that she had to me,

i KNEW it would be a showstopping addition to her home.

i knew it would be the whimsy she craved and a perfect finishing touch

in her newly refreshed living room.

so we wasted no time in getting started!

continue reading to see the before, during, after (and afterafter!) of our re-styled revived chair!

 

it all began with a chair that had been in the room for years...

a chair that's been used and loved by many people, especially my friend's Mom.

this chair had great 'lines', great proportion, a rounded feminine shape,

but she had lost her lustre over time.

the faded blue velvet upholstery and dark stained wood just disappeared

next to the vibrant, colorful new art and accessories in the room.

my friend wanted to turn this chair into a work of art.

and i was all in!

so we headed to the fabric store and looked at EVERYTHING.

the living room painting set the color palette, but my friend wanted WOW -

more saturated color and a bigger visual impact than anything else in the room.

so we searched, we considered,

we grabbed bolts of fabric and placed them next to each other

and then put them back because they weren't *quite* 'it.

and then.... we found this wild blue and gold and yellow floral fabric:

i think we screamed 'THAT'S IT!', knowing it would go on the top part of the chair.

then we searched for a companion fabric to upholster the seat with,

and unearthed a blue fabric printed with circles

(eyes? bubbles? not sure. but we like it!)

in case you didn't catch it, the circles refer back to that awesome art over her fireplace.

we also grabbed a bottle of gold metallic craft paint, and a brush.

the next day when Miss K went to work,

Miss Deb got to work cleaning that chair and painting the wood gold...

i expected to have to use two or even three coats - NOPE!

that Plaid 'Folk Art' pure gold paint was so good that it only took me one coat!

( wanna' try? get it on the Michael's website * )

then i had the very scary task of figuring out how to reupholster the chair.

and in true Deb fashion, i did it like it was going into a window display.

after getting permission from my friend, i cut the fabric to fit

and hot glued it onto the existing upholstery!

on the left side, the 'before' - faded blue velvet fabric and dark stained wood.

in the center, the chair after the wood was painted gold.

and on the right, the completed chair with new fabric.

the chair was tufted, and we wanted to keep that effect.

so as i glued the fabric on, i put hot glue into each crevice

then pressed the fabric into the glue.

i started at the front edge of the seat, and worked back.

then i glued the edges in place, folding the fabric under for a neat edge.

once i was used to the process, i did the chair top 

with the very special fabric that the store had NO MORE OF - so i couldn't blow it!

starting at the bottom edge, i worked my way up the front of the chair,

and then pleated & folded the fabric around to the back side and glued it in place.

then i went back with more of the blue 'bubble' fabric and covered the back of the chair,

folding the edges under for a clean edge where the two fabrics meet.

you can't really see it, but i had to piece that back section together - 

there wasn't one piece of fabric large enough to cover it.

so i made a 'seam' and glued the two pieces onto the chair,

then glued a pretty vintage gold flower pin over the seam.

after that was done, i covered the chair arms.

yes, it would look better with a 'professional' welted edge.

yes, it would likely last longer if it was stapled or nailed into place.

but without those tools and expertise, i opted to do this in a way

that would give my friend the look she wanted as best i could.

there was one more detail that my friend wanted,

and we were able to add it using her Mom & Grandma's old button collection:

we glued a gold button in each and every 'divot' on the back of the chair,

adding a sparkly dimensional finishing touch to this work of art.

after i finished the chair, i spied a black metal footstool tucked in a corner.

i grabbed it and painted it the same gold,

then used a square of the floral fabric to recover it (yes, i glued it on!!!)

when i placed the newly revamped footstool under the front edge of the art chair,

it looked like a throne!

i love Miss K's idea for this chair, for bringing in her personality

while also honoring her Mom & Grandma, and their love of sewing & crafting.

now this sweet chair tells a multi-generational story, instead of just sitting in the room.

it invites you to come close, look at the details, and smile.

get a load of the 'before' and 'after' of that chair in the room:

what a difference a few hours and simple materials can make, right?!!!

it just goes to show that you don't have to have 'heirloom' furniture

to make your home special...

take a plain jane chair bought at a chain store and used for years

then add special details to it to make it one of a kind

and you'll create your own work of art!

i'm going to give credit where credit is due, 
and thank Wendy Conklin of Chair Whimsy whose work inspired me...
Miss Wendy is an ARTISTE and an upholsterer extraordinaire,
who uses welting and staples and nails. the right way.
her beautiful original chairs are bona fide art - that you can sit in! 
check them out on her instagram account

links to previous related posts:

farmhouse may-keover: front porch and entry

farmhouse may-keover: living room

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #577

 * Michaels is not an affiliate link. provided for your convenience.

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