Dumpter chair becomes charming, recovered stool.

So, I have a really hard time passing by a dumpster with visible furniture beside it, without checking out if there are any discarded diamonds in the rough. Sorry to alarm any "dumpster diving" virgins, but when I know that with a little paint and an electric sander I can make an original beauty for my home, there is little to convince me otherwise! This is exactly what I was thinking the day I found an old dining room table chair with a burlap cover on it, sitting lonely beside the dumpster.

Originally the stool pictured was a dining room wooden chair with a back on it, and had spindles leading up to a half moon back rest. The cover of the seat was an unattractive brown burlap, and amazingly enough it didn't have any damage! To put it simple: it was the average wooden chair you would hardly look at twice. I carried this little orphan to my house after throwing my bag of trash away. Oh lord, what ever will I do with you! :)

Here is how I completed my project:

first you need the materials:

• hammer
• pliers to get the staples out of the chair covering
• sand paper, or an electric sander
• staple gun
• either quilt backing, or cotton filler.
  
• material of your choice to re-cover the chair
• paint of your choice: I used white
• polyurethane stain
• paint brushes for the primer/paint & for the stain, it's a good idea to keep them seperate...OR...rinse them well.
• and last but not least, an area where you don't mind leaving the chair to dry, as well as sanding it!

Time to roll our sleeves up partners!

How I did it:

1) I took a hammer to the back of the chair & loosened up the spindles. I didn't have a hard time getting them loose after hitting them near the base of the chair. I then pulled and maneuvered them out of the chair base & moved on to the seat of the chair.

2) I used pliers with a point on the end to remove the staples from the bottom of the chair, and with a little elbow grease, I managed to get the burlap cover off of the chair. I also ripped off the old wool covering that was barely hanging on. You would be amazed at the amount of stuffing in those old chairs!

3) I wiped off the entire chair with a wet rag & painted white paint on the chair. After waiting a full day, I painted another coat!

4) I took an electric sander to my chair & "roughed up" my chair. This is a way of cheating the natural patina old chairs seem to aquire that is so attractive. You can't mess this part up, I promise! A little sanding here, a little there...just think about where the chair would be missing paint or worn down if it was really used to that point. I always sand my indentions on the spindles pretty rough, and the places shoes may have scuffed up. Use your discretion & remember, If you do too much, just paint another coat :)

5) After dusting the sawdust off of my chair really well, I took my stain & painted a coat on the chair. Let it dry for a full day, and paint another coat. At this point I was beyond excited!

6) After all of my stain was dry, I began to 'build up' my chair seat. By this I mean, I used the stuffing to form the seat to be an even surface. My chair that I was recovering had a slanted seat where you would have a little groove to sit in, so since I wanted it to be a stool, the seat needed to be even.

7) Next, I covered it with some plain white cotton fabric to secure all of the stuffing on the seat before I use my final cover.

8) FINALLY! I am ready to cover my seat! I had the bright idea to cover my seat in a button down men's shirt. I cut the sleeves, the collar, and the back of the shirt off. After measuring how much material from the front I would need, I ironed & starched it to be sure the covering would be crisp and smooth:)

9) I laid my shirt, face down, on the ground, and laid the chair down on top of it. Slowly I stretched the fabric over it and stapled it, routinely turning it back over to be sure it was being stapled evening without any tugging. I did this all the way around & finally used a hammer to secure the that the staples were all the way in the wood of the chair. I also made sure to trim any extra fabric close to where the staples were to help clean it up just a bit.

I am so excited with my little adopted stool. Who would have thought this discarded "trash" to someone else could be so beautiful to a little 'ole junker like me? :)