Bentwood Chair Makeover

Would you pass this chair up if it was on the curb waiting to be saved?

Well I couldn't. There are so many things to love about this chair - the bent wood, vintage vibe and small scale. Just a basic fabric seat recover, clean the wood frame and voila new chair! Mostly. See, it had 3 layers of fabric that were stapled like staples were going out of style.

After removing all the fabrics the thin foam pad was peeled and scraped off the seat. The wood circle seat was tightly covered with an additinal vinyl layer that proved too difficult to remove so I scrubbed it down with soap and water to remove years and years of grime. The frame was wiped down multiple times with a damp cloth followed with a good rub down of Old English Scratch Cover. The wood was very dry and soaked up the oil easily leaving a weathered medium brown stain.

I used an indoor/outdoor fabric purchased at JoAnn Fabric that was left over from this pillow cover. It has a linen look but I prefer the lighter backside.

Foam was cut from some leftover egg crate foam already on hand. Also I was out of batting and didn't want to make another trip to the store so an old sheet had to make do. The sheet was stapled on followed by the teal fabric.

Even though the seat wasn't secured on when I found it, Mike used a couple of screws to attach it from underneath. Here she is.

This chair immediately went into action on Christmas Eve since we hosted 35 family members for dinner at our house and were short seating. Since then it has found a new home at the kids craft table in the office.

Once again a completely free project. I'm not afraid of the kids damaging it and have always loved vintage bentwood chairs. Now I finally have one!