Transform A Thrift Store Chair Into An Outdoor Swing

More often than not, when we feature before and after projects, the end result still has the same structure as it did before. That's not the case in this thrift store chair turned outdoor swing — yeah you read that right... outdoor swing.

After a little repainting, drilling, and having ropes added, this chair is ready to do battle with the elements outside in the backyard. Although we'll always have a soft spot for the more traditional plank style swing, we can't get over the creativity behind this idea found over at Peppertowne from sisters Jenni and Amy.

We have a small passion for collecting stray chairs and have passed on so many due to lack of space. We suddenly feel silly for leaving all those chairs at auctions and estate sales, they could have already been adorning our backyard and those of our friends! Has it sunk in yet? There's a chair hanging from a tree! Squee!
• Read the full post over at Peppertowne

(via/Images: Peppertowne.com)

Comments (17)

So cool. I would have grabbed that chair up too, I love the fabric on the seat.

great work. a little paint makes all the difference!

I'm loving it.

My question might have been answered and I might be mis-reading: how did they weather proof the fabric seat?

Am I the only one that finds this sad?

After a couple of rainstorms, the caning & fabric are going to be a mildewed mess and the chair will likely end up in the trash.

WOW!!! That's beautiful, a total surprise, never would have thought of doing this...now I want to try it!

bepsf get out of my head! You always know what is on my mind. I think this is charming but was also curious about the rain-upholstery-caning factor.

The chair had so much potential before. Too bad it was ruined by giving it a short life as a silly outdoor swing. That type of wood is not meant for outdoor use, no matter how much environmentally unfriendly coats of white paint you put on it. I can gaurantee that this "swing" will not last longer than three years tops exposed to the elements. As a proper indoor chair, it had an unlimited lifespan. You should try "decorating" the outdoors with element friendly woods such as teak. That way you will not be so wasteful in your "decorating".

On the other hand, three years of fun with something that was headed to the trash sounds great. I heart wasteful "decorating"!

Whoa Shannont! That sure is a lot of judgement coming down for something you don't really know the detail about. I like the upholstery too and I'm wondering how you weatherproof it?

Thanks for featuring Jen's wonderful chair. I am so excited about her fabulous redo of that chair that I want to make my own. Check peppertowne.com tomorrow to see how Jen transformed this chair and how she weatherproofed it.

In response to some of the negative comments: In my opinion buying a new piece of teak furniture instead of using an already existing chair destined for the dump, is not more environmentally friendly. A can of low VOC paint has got to be better than buying teak (from forests in Asia) and shipping it half way across the globe. Just my opinion.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments

Amy
peppertowne.com

Personally, I would have changed everything she didn't (the fabric). A beautiful more modern and large print fabric would have looked wonderful against the natural wearing of the cane and the wheeled legs.

I love it! I've always wanted a porch swing or something similar and now that we've got a porch, I can make one instead of buying one for $200 . Thanks, Jenni and Amy!