Sometimes I think that, with the power of paint and elbow grease, there's never a need to buy anything new again. And seeing a before and after like this one just lends support to that theory. That something so old and battered can be freshened up to look so beautiful gives me hope that there's plenty of life left in a lot of old things (myself included).

When Terri, over at Crafty Workin Mommy, brought these two chairs home from a garage sale, her husband thought she was crazy. What could she possibly do with these two old weathered chairs, one of which had a broken arm? Surely these old things were way past their prime! (I often say something similar to myself when I look in the mirror every morning!)
But Terri was confident she could revive these chairs – and even if she couldn't, she had only paid $5 for the two of them! She started by removing the arms on both of the chairs and then filling in the holes with wood putty, sanding the area to even out the patches. Terri also removed the seats from the chairs before giving them a coat of primer. Once primed, Terri spruced up the chairs with attention grabbing red paint. I daresay everything looks good dressed up in glossy red paint!

Terri finished off the chairs by putting new padding and fabric on the seats. I love the bold pattern of the fabric she chose!
Check out Terri's full post on her chair makeover over at her blog: Crafty Workin Mommy.
Images: Crafty Workin Mommy


Commercial Flour Sa...
Nice work!
These look great. And it was smart to take the arms off. They look less like thrones.
I just bought that fabric and made a few pillows after I was too chicken to upholster my chair seats with it. Wish I saw what you did first - looks great!
PS I also love that you matched the pattern up on the end of each chair so that each chair is truly identical. Makes it look professional, rather than DIY. Good work
i love diy projects, and this one is especially well done. great work!
So very cute. Great color, great fabric, great attention to detail.
Thank you for sharing!!!
Beautiful!
wow! gorgeous. love that red paint!
Funky! Sure turned an eyesore into something special. It wouldn't work in my house, but I still love the result.
I agree, it was the right idea to remove the arm rests.
I don't know why, but would not have occurred to me to remove the arms. That was brilliant. Changed everything.
yes, removing the arms was brilliant as the red paint you chose. kudos!
love these!
Thank you for featuring my chair makeover, it was such a fun project. I just picked up an OLD vanity desk and mirror this weekend at a garage sale and can't wait to get started on my next makeover! :)
Terri aka www.craftyworkinmommy.blogspot.com
I love the arm removal! Great job.
OMG, we had these chairs when I was growing up. Wild!
WOW what a difference color makes. Great courage! @ChiefHome Design
http://www.brandwave.org
That red is just fabulous, and the fabric... WOW!
When i saw the after image of this picture all i can say is wow...so great nice color and fabrics looks fine..
When I saw the outcome it immediately made me smile. These are true happy chairs!
great job! so bright and fun now!
Neat! I love the red :-) And great idea removing the arms. I don't think I would have thought of doing that.
I love the colors of it! I definitely wouldn't be able to be that gutsy!
Typo: RENT paint when you meant RED paint. Unfortunately you didn't indicate what kind of paint -- spray paint? wood paint? int/ext paint? details appreciated when posted by an AT editor.
Oh how hard i wished that you had not repainted them, before i went forward to the after-images!!! Now i still wish you hadn´t... but with less conviction..nice work! :-)
So great, and why not red! I probably wouldn't have thought of that right away, but I love it!
great great job.
I like!
I'm not feeling the busy lines of those chairs, but the red paint and the fabric are major improvements.
I think they look great. And I'm really impressed with your corners.
shelly
www.modhomeec.com
Honestly when I first saw the before picture, I thought there was no way to make them less ugly. But you pulled it off! GREAT JOB!
what fabric did you use?
I am not sure the name of the fabric, I am sorry. I picked it up at Joanne fabrics and they always have it at the store near me.
wow, these look fabulous ! you did a great job !
[belated] thank you. I have been looking forever for a modern print with red and teal. I will check there :)