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French Country Chair Makeover

After using my HomeRight FinishMax Paint Sprayer to re-hab my daughter’s future toy chest, I was just itching to use it on something else too.
French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeover

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This thing was a total game changer. Enter the French Country Chair makeover. Luckily, I had this old chair waiting on me in my basement.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverA friend had picked up this chair, along with that desk beside it, for me at  a yard sale. The chair doesn’t look that bad in this image, but  a quick removal of that cat hair ridden cushion….

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeover

Yep, the caning was shot. But before, I worried about that, I had to paint this bad boy.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeover

After removing the fabric on the arms, I got it all set up to spray. With as many curves, nooks, and crannies as this thing has, I was not going to hand brush it.

I plugged in my HomeRight Finish Max Sprayer and got started.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeover

The fabulous thing about this paint sprayer is that it doesn’t require an air tank to run, you simply plug it in to an electrical outlet.

After giving the chair a coat of primer, a couple coats of paint, (all of which I thinned with a little water), and topcoat of Polycrylic, I brought it in to start the job of re-upholstering it. Obviously, it needed a new seat bottom. I did not want to re-cane the chair and I didn’t want to just put wood strips there to hold a cushion in place, because I absolutley did not want to sew a cushion with that many curves. Grunt Labor decided he would just make a piece of wood to replace the broken cane in the shape of the seat. Bless his heart, he tried so hard, but just couldn’t get those curves right and the piece of wood just never would sit on there perfectly.

After an evening of failed attempts that almost ended our marriage, I finally got a piece of wood cut that fit pretty well.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverI laid it on my foam padding, and cut the foam out.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverI covered that with batting to smooth any rough edges, and there were many. I finished the seat off with green velvet fabric and some decorative trim that I just hot-glued to the bottom.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverFor the arms, I put a layer of batting, then the green fabric, stapled it down, and finally hot glued more of the trim around the edges to hide the staples.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverSince the trim had that extra piece to glue around edges, I just cut it off close to the actual trim and hot-glued that side down.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverAnd I love it.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverI was worried I may have concentrated in some areas too much with the paint sprayer and caused some drips or runs.

But there isn’t a drip or run in sight.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeover

Oh and no, nothing is wrong with the back.

I just like that pillow.

A lot.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeover

The finish is just flawless.

French Country Chair Makeover {rainonatinroof.com} #frenchcountry #makeoverThank you, HomeRight for making my life so much easier.

The sad part:

The chair doesn’t work for the space I intended it for.

Boo.

But, I’m keeping it.

I. Will. Find. A. Place.

Oh, and by the way, cleaning the Finish Max is a breeze. It only takes 10 minutes!

UPDATE: This French Country chair has gotten a new, modern makeover! See it here! 

More Chair Makeovers & Upholstery Posts:

How to Waterproof & Repel Stains on Fabric – trust me, you’re going to want to do this!

Polka Dot Painted Chair Makeover – learn how to paint upholstery!

How to Upholster a Cane Chair  – a vintage can chair gets a modern look!

Upholstered Box Spring – a great way to cover your box spring without having to deal with a bedskirt!

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Comments

  9. Lauren @ The Thinking Closet says

    You and your chair makeovers! Girl, you hit it out of the part again. I cannot WAIT to try the HomeRight Finish Max Sprayer…especially after reading this post. The finished look is incredible – – the contrast of the white paint and green fabric is mmmm-good. Air high five!

    Reply

  10. Scribbler says

    Your chair looks great — and I am sure you will find it a spot.

    I am going to look up that sprayer. I have a set of chairs to do, (with ASCP) and I have been dragging my feet because they, too, are curvy Frenchy things. Have you ever put ASCP in your sprayer, and do you have to dilute it?

    Reply

  11. Zsuzsa says

    Great project! The chair turned out beautiful. Replacing that seat could not have been easy. I just finished my own chair transformation, but it only involved some sanding and paint. Your project is much more impressive.

    Reply

  13. Krista @ the happy housie says

    Wow – what a transformation! I would love a paint sprayer… just imagine the possibilities:) The chair looks stunning – and wow is that nice grass too:) If that is your yard then I am impressed with your grass maintenance skills too… is there anything you can’t do?

    Reply

  15. Debbie says

    What a beautiful transformation! I don’t blame you for keeping it, and I bet you find a place for it soon.
    Saw you featured at Road Kill Rescue
    Debbie 🙂

    Reply

  18. Jennifer says

    This looks amazing. There’s currently a set of chairs on Craigslist that I’m looking at that is very similar to this chair in design. I’ve never painted or reupholstered a chair before. What tips can you give on painting wooden chairs, especially the ones with grooves? Any sanding necessary? Do I need a special spray paint machine or can I just use spray paint from a can?

    Thanks, Jen. 🙂

    Reply

    • Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says

      Hi Jen! If there isn’t too much paint on the chair already, you could just primer over them with a primer that doesn’t require sanding. You can use regular spray paint in a can. Just be sure to do it in light coats so that you don’t get runs! Hope all this helps!

      Reply

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