An obsession with chairs...

  I had two problems.

My first problem was that I often rescued perfectly good furniture that was discarded and left by the dumpster behind my house.

I had set up a little office area in my basement and needed a chair for that spot. The very next day there was a single funky kitchen chair abandoned next to the dumpster. I dragged it home which started a 3 month period where I ended up salvaging a total of 9 different chairs left by my dumpster fairy godmother. I was determined to give these orphans a good home and spruce them up in the process.

The other problem I had was that I collected paint. Friends who didn't know what to do with their leftover quarts and gallons gave them to me, knowing I would put them to good use. Here's a before and after shot of that first chair, which only needed a little wood glue to firm it up, and, of course, some paint. I broke out  multiple  sherbet colored paints I had in my supply cabinet and had a little fun painting. A week later I recovered the seat with some new raspberry colored cotton fabric. 

The next rescued chair would go in a guest room I was in the process of decorating. I envisioned something whimsical along the lines of MacKenzie-Childs. This lone discarded dining chair had heavy lines and was ugly, but was nevertheless solid and had some details that lent itself to multiple painting options. The seat (which was worn and unpleasantly beige) required less than a yard of an inexpensive cotton print to jazz up the cushion. I painted the frame black, fuschia and a couple shades of green to match the same color palette of an armoire I already painted for that room. The cane backrest got a black and cream checkerboard treatment. Since I just used paint I already had, and the chair was free, the entire project cost me a total of about $2.50 for the seat fabric. The chair became the perfect place for a guest to lay her clothes or sit to put on some shoes.

And then the next orphaned Oliver about to be twisted...two of these crazy little chairs were left by the dumpster, but only one of them was worth salvaging. It would also go in that same guestroom, so again, I used the same colors of black, fuchsia, cream and green. But first, I busted out my electric sander and gave the chair a serious face peel. Now smooth as a baby's bottom (assuming the baby was made of wood) I had some fun using the spindle details to suggest where I should apply some of the colors. I also had a fleur-de-lis stencil lying around so I applied that to the seat. I really love this chair's goofy profile. It looks like a musical instrument waiting to be plucked.

                                  

Someone  else threw out 2 matching chairs, one with arms and one without. Even though they were dreary, their lines were classic. First, I painted the frames that yummy deep blue you always see in photos of Greece, then I covered the seat with a vibrant striped fabric. The armless chair found a spot at my computer desk and the one with arms sat close by as extra seating in my former living room.  

                                                         

When I moved to my new house I repainted the armless chair turquoise, recovered it with a chocolate and white cotton fabric (less than $3) and re-purposed it for the guest room desk. 


And finally, someone threw out some rickety ladderback chairs. These were definitely not sturdy enough to use as actual seating - leaning back just a little would send the occupant on the path of a serious concussion. BUT, they still had value. I hosed off the grime, painted one brick red and used it on my front porch with a pot of geraniums perched on it. Another one was repainted and repurposed for a friend's bathroom as a place to set extra towels.



Later, when I moved, I repainted the entire chair with an apple green semigloss. Now it rests against a wall (so I can't fall back) and provides a pop of color in our bedroom.

What I learned from this project:

1. If a chair is in sound condition, it's worth keeping.
2. People are too quick to discard usable items. 
3. If I were a farmer, I would enjoy putting lipstick on a pig.