Simple Chair Makeover, or "Amateur Hour"

This was my desk chair. It sits at the built-in computer desk in the kitchen, and gets lots of use. It was originally purchased as a set with a desk, at Big Lots, some 8 years ago. About 7 years ago, the seat was covered with the red fabric, which was also used elsewhere in the room at the time. As you can see, it was sadly in need of a makeover.

Here it is now, spray painted black, distressed and stained, and new garage sale fabric on the seat. I knew I liked that fabric!

This was my first attempt at refinishing a piece of furniture, and I learned some lessons. The spray-painting was easy. It was the staining over the distressed parts that I had issues with. (This photo shows the distressing a little better.)

First, gloves would be helpful.

Second, sweep the garage floorbecause if there’s a breeze, you will end up with debris stuck to your piece.

Thirdly, you might also want to cover the garage floor.

Number four is the biggest lesson of all. When the directions on the can say to immediately wipe off excess stain, do it! Since my stain contained a topcoat, I thought I would just sort of lightly wipe it all over the whole piece, so it would all have the same sheen.

Three days later, when it was still sticky, I realized I had a problem. Some research online indicated that I might need to strip the whole thing and start all over.

Um, no way. I’m too lazy. Something I read suggested steel wool. All I had was an SOS pad, so I used it, first dry, then wet. After I wiped the soap residue off, no more sticky. Whew!

In the end, I’m very happy with the makeover, and I know what not to do next time!