Upcycled Yellow Chair rev

I’ve been meaning to share this upcycling project with you guys since last spring. For one reason or another, this project never made it to my publishing schedule. With spring and summer being big months for most people to visit flea markets and garage sales, I hope this post sparks some inspiration as you guys peruse through hidden treasures.

If you happen to find an old wooden chair that can use some TLC (code word for “face-lift”), perhaps you will find today’s post useful:

HOW TO UPCYCLE AN OLD CHAIR

Finding an old chair

Besides garage sales, you can always count on local flea markets (search here) and Craiglist to scout items out.

I found this chair while walking through a flea market one day. It caught my eye because of the handle in the middle, its low back shape, and the fact that it was…..$Five Dollars! Yes, it was practically given to me for free. For $5.00, I was definitely willing to give new life to this lonely chair.

Old wood chair

Materials I Used 

1. Gorilla Glue – If parts of your chair seem to be loose, I suggest securing them together first before doing anything else.

2. Spray Paint – I chose a Paint+Primer spray paint by Rust-oleum. For my chair, I used almost 2 cans of paint.

3. Sanding Sponge – If you have an electric sander, by all means use it. I thought I’d wing it with a sanding sponge first. It actually turned out fine.

4. Tack Cloth – This is a great item to have for any furniture sanding job. The cloth is sticky so all the sandy residue will adhere to the cloth. You’d want to get rid of all the residue before spraying your chair.

Materials used

Here’s my “Cliff Notes” to upcycling an old chair:

1) After securing loose parts with glue, bring chair to a well-ventilated area. I picked the most inconspicuous spot in our backyard for this project.

2) Sand chair until you’ve removed a thin layer of the old surface. The spindles will take the longest.

3) Use tack cloth to remove all residue from sanding process.

4) Let the spraying begin! Be sure to do this in a well ventilated area. You should also be wearing a sanding/painting respirator.

Note: You should keep 6  – 8 inches from chair when you spray, moving back and forth quickly and spraying it from all angles. Apply 2-3 very light coats of spray paint. If you apply the paint too heavy, it will have “drip” marks. Allow each coat to completely dry in between, otherwise the paint will bubble.

Painted chair rev

Here’s how the chair looks in our living room after its much-needed face-lift. I love the color yellow and it seems to be the perfect color for this newly “upcycled” chair.

Yellow chair

Below is another view of my “happy chair.” You’d never know it was a $5.00 find that was probably close to being thrown out. I’m glad to have rescued it. 🙂

Doesn’t my new pillow go perfectly with my cheery chair? Say yes so I’d feel less guilty about buying yet another pillow! 😀
Upcycled wooden chair

If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like, share, or pin this project. I look forward to sharing more upcycling projects like this on Beauteeful Living!

To never miss a post (plus exclusive newsletters for e-mail subscribers), please subscribe here:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this project. What color would you have painted it? As always, thanks for reading! Xoxo, Tee.