A couple of months ago, my cousin was throwing out this vintage vanity chair:
Not being able to imagine this piece ending-up in a landfill, I decided I needed to rescue it. It was in pretty rough shape, it has been repainted green (which has begun to chip) and the vinyl seat was stained when I used it as a step stool to strip my curio cabinet.
I decided it was time to make this piece over. My first stop was Jo-Ann fabric where I found a gorgeous remnant of vintage fabric for $2.00.
I took the seat off and removed all the staples that held the vinyl on (which I don't believe was original to the piece). I then used the vinyl as a template for my fabric.
Starting on one side, I stapled the fabric on in overlapping pleats
I continued this all around the chair, cut the extra fabric, and voila...the new seat looked amazing!
I then took the metal part of the chair outside to spray paint it. I had originally purchased a blue color to tie-in a small bit of blue in the fabric but I decided on a more antique-y white. I covered the chair in white spray paint
and then I took some wood stain in "Dark Walnut" and brushed it on with a sponge brush and wiped it off before it dried to give it an aged look. If some of the spots looked too dark, I reapplied the stain (counterintuitive, I know) and wiped it off again. The result is a subtle aged look which I am totally in love with.
Not feeling like the seat was finished enough. I decided to add a dust cover to the bottom
The End
