Staple Gun Setback

I've been in the process of refinishing and reupholstering a Salvation Army Family Store chair this week and I've been waiting ALL week to finish it.

I take a Zumba class with some of the teachers from school once/twice a week (THE MOST AMAZING WORKOUT EVER!  So much fun- you should totally try it!) and it is typically on Thursdays.  I packed my workout gear in my shower curtain tote bag from posts past (ha!) and was looking forward to it all day; HOWEVER, I was talking to one of the other teachers in the powder room and she reminded me that we didn't have it today for some reason.  I knew that when I signed up, but I forgot.  Bummer.

Oh well- that just means I was able to actually leave at 3:30 from school, which never happens unless it's Friday (during which case I am counting down the minutes!), and come home to my project babies!

The reason why this post is called "Staple Gun Setback" is that I went through two today.  Daniel bought me my first "gun" this weekend and I picked out the right staples, or so I thought.  I felt so independent setting it all up myself (Daniel has class on Thursday nights), but the staples wouldn't come out and I ended up getting mad and ripping a spring out.... on purpose, fully aware of the fact I was ruining it.  Long day?  You bet.

I found a random Home Depot gift card in Daniel's office after dinner and went to Home Depot to get another gun and more staples.  My elderly sales associate informed me I had previously purchased the wrong staples.  Welp, too late now.  I purchased a new gun and staples, came home, loaded the magazine (wow.), and it worked PERFECTLY.  Go figure.  Annnd I'm a pro.  Anyway, it is finally finished.

Here's the transformation:

 Here is what I did:

• Take off original cushion.  My strong husband used a screwdriver to undo some..screws..that keep the cushion on the chair.

•  Take the old fabric and padding off of the original.  To my surprise, I think someone actually reupholstered this recently because the padding was #1 pure white, without stains and #2 very fluffy.  The stapling of the fabric to the chair was super sloppy, so I know it was a product of a DIY project.  I don't really care if this is gross, but I kept and reused the padding.  It didn't even have a scent (yes, I am that brave and gross to take a huge whiff).  Squeaky clean.

•  Paint or stain the chair.  I painted it with this oil-based paint.  It's a semi-gloss black paint.  You are either supposed to sand the furniture or prime it, but I did neither.  The chair was so scuffed up to begin with, I didn't need it.  Give it two coats.

•   Reupholster cushion.  I bought this fabric at Joann's during one of their clearance sales.  It was originally expensive.99/yard, clearanced to $6 per yard, then all clearance was an additional 1/2 off.  SO that means $3/yard!  I bought a lot so that I could do this and make pillows for my living room.

I love when they put it on a roll for me. I feel so legit!

•  Place the cushion bottom (made of wood) on the fabric.  I cut around the wood piece with a 3-4 inch margin all the way around.



There is my pup again!  Little helper.

• Put your fabric face down on the floor, place the padding on top, then put the wood on top of the padding.  Pull the fabric up and onto the wood and staple in place.  I used a lot of staples. 

•  Here is what the cushion will look like on the front and back:

•  Put back on chair and replace screws so the cushion doesn't fall off.

 Voila!  New chair.  Love it!  This weekend it will get a pillow =)

Again, here is the start to finish transformation:

 Cost, you ask?

Chair:  $8

Padding:  Free!

Fabric:  1/2 yd @$3/Yd=$1.5

Paint:  Had it (only $8 new)

Total:  $9.50

Let me know what you think!

My next project will be glazing furniture... we'll see how that goes!