DIY Patio Chair Makeover

                                                                                                                                             
                 

This was my Memorial Day project. Or I should say, the project I wanted finished before we had company over for a cookout. You know how you clean like mad before company comes just so they can see the house clean when they walk in the door? It doesn't matter that it will look terrible after all the cooking, swimming and playing. As long as they saw it clean first, you know that THEY know that your house was, in fact, clean at one time. 

Same thing goes for DIY projects. I only tried to finish the one chair so that they would know that the ugly chair would soon look like the pretty chair. 

I bought the pair for $25 at Savers. They sat on my patio for almost 3 years before I attempted to do anything about the chipped brown paint and the faded 70's print cushions. I initially was attracted to the clean lines and the low framework which reminded me of Bertie Wooster's armchair in the BBC Jeeves and Wooster movies. Watch them here. 

Almost an art deco look. I stress the almost. But they looked like, with a little elbow grease and imagination, they could turn into something fun and comfortable. 

The before almost makes me want to cry. 

DIY Patio Chair Makeover

1. Use a drill to unscrew the cushions from the chair. 

2. Lightly sand the wood. The previous owners had used an oil-based paint and sanding helps the new paint stick so you don't have to also use a coat of KILTZ. 

3. I gave the chair three coats of  Valspar Ultra Exterior paint in Deep Space blue.  

4. For the cushions, I used a blinding yellow duck cloth I bought on sale at Joann's. It was a little brighter than I originally wanted but it looks cheerful on the porch so who cares? I found this tutorial online for the chair cushions. It was very simple and I had the top and bottom cushion done in about an hour. Not bad, if I do say so myself. 

5. Re-attach the cushions to the framework. This takes a bit of doing since you have to apply pressure to the opposite side of the cushion as you drill. They didn't go back on exactly like they came off, mainly because I forgot which size screw went where but it all turned out all right. 

6. The throw pillow is just an envelope pillow case I sewed up in about 10 minutes using material from Joann's. (here is some similar)  Here is the tutorial I used for the envelope pillow case. 

The after is cheerful, a bit loud and comfortable. Sort of like some of my relatives...

Here is our back porch all gussied up for our inaugural Memorial Day cookout.