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How To Paint An Old Egg Chair

I have officially hatched my evil egg chair plan (mwah-hah-hah).

Sorry, couldn’t resist an ovum-related pun. Anyway the $30 thrift store can’t-believe-it’s-mine egg chair that I mentioned late last week got cleaned up, first with a nice liquid deglosser wipe down, and then with some spray primer + spray paint. About ten minutes after I snapped this grody before photo with the old cushion on it in our sunroom…

Egg Chair2

… I had him out in the yard ready for a little somethin-somethin.

Egg Chair5

Although the orangey-wood tone above doesn’t actually look bad in the picture, in person he just looked dated and a bit dilapidated (thanks to the caning that was missing on both sides of the frame) so a fresh coat of love – in the form of paint – was my solution. And we can always paint it another color down the road to work with our ever-changing minds (ex: glossy black, soft mocha, cheerful yellow). I think after painting our happy green office chairs I’ve completely tossed any painted-chair reservations out the window since they’re one of our favorite furnishings in the entire house…

Office With Us In It3

… so we want to love Eggy just as much.

An hour or two later he looked like this. All dressed up in his Sunday best (he’s one of those smooth guys who can pull of a white suit). I used white Rustoleum Universal in a satin finish. And the reason we didn’t go with a super bright color for him (her?) was because I’m planning to park it in the corner of the living room, which has a giant colorful rug and a bunch of bright pillows (unlike the office which has a large neutral rug) so I thought it would slip into the room better with a nice clean white color (I can always add color with different cushions whenever the mood strikes).

Egg Chair6

You can check out a ton of spray painting tips in this post to see how I got it done, but let’s just fast forward to him living it up in the corner of our living room after a few days of drying in the sun outside followed by sitting in the sunroom (so there’s not any fuminess by the time he comes inside). Oh but ignore these frumpy pillows – they’re just old seat cushions I had on hand from our first house’s office/playroom chairs that I covered with white towels. Yes, white towels. Just to envision it with white cushions. And then I tossed a pig pillow into the mix.

Egg Chair9

Because I’m crazy like that.

Egg Chair10

Then I tried one of our faux sheepskins over those cushions instead of the placeholder towels. And before I could even step back to take a photo of my latest tweak, Burger was all up in my egg chair’s area.

Egg Chair11

Seriously, in point zero seconds he had settled in.

Egg Chair12

But although the faux sheepskin earned Burger’s approval, after sitting in it myself (on a hothothot day) it was a little… uh… shaggy. I just sort of felt like I was overheating. So maybe we’ll bring back the faux sheepskin for our egg chair’s winter look, but in the meantime here’s what he’s sporting as his just-for-now summer outfit. It definitely won’t stay forever, but it works for the moment (we’re just working with what we already have):

Egg Chair Now1

It’s a little faux fur pillow on the bottom and a bunny pillow on the back. He’s cute, eh?

Egg Chair Now2

 And thankfully, Burger doesn’t seem to mind sharing the chair with a furry friend of the rabbit kind.

Egg Chair Now3

And here’s Clara giving things a go. She likes the chair, but isn’t 100% obsessed (toys = more fun than mom’s weird egg chair), which I like because I plan to monopolize this baby. Haha.

Egg Clara 1

She did have some fun reading her animal book in the chair “with the rabbit and the dog” (one of which was on the pillow and one of which was on her shirt).

Egg Clara 2

Then I got artsy and snapped this from above. Isn’t the chair’s strappy shape sweet? It’s sort of like a hammock but way less saggy/precarious feeling. You’re sort of enveloped in this guy without feeling like you might fall at any second (and I love that he swivels). I guess I can liken the slats to a park bench. You know how those are slatted sometimes but you don’t feel like you’ll fall through because they’re thick and dense enough? That’s how it is in this chair too.

Egg Clara From Top

And a few folks asked about Clara’s head getting stuck between the slats, but they’re either way too close for her to fit her head inside or so wide that she could fit her whole body through (which of course isn’t something we’re encouraging). I guess it’s like the metal bucket full of blocks that she has in her room, she can put her head in it if she really wants to but so far, so good. Haha.

The next day I asked John to snap a picture of me in the chair for “adult scale” (it goes to your shoulder blades, so it’s a nice cozy chair with good back support) but sure enough, Clara wanted to ham it up too. So here we are snuggling in.

Egg Sherry Clara

As for my long-term plans, I’ll probably eventually grab a white seat cushion from a place like World Market for the bottom and possibly another one for the back – although the bunny pillow might stick around a while. He’s my idea of a good time. And thankfully my egg chair’s new look is an undeniable upgrade compared to our good ol’ before pic. And the total price for the chair and this upgrade was $37. Not bad for a new-looking chair that swivels and doubles as sculpture thanks to those strappy curves. Although I’m not sure I’ve seen a chair that looks more like it’s sticking its tongue out more than the before shot below. Maybe I should name him Odie…

Egg Chair2

Have you guys been rescuing any secondhand chairs lately? Finding new uses for small rugs or faux sheepskins? Or wondering why your dog is obsessed with said small rugs or faux sheepskins? Me too.

Psst- The latest version of Clara Conversations is up over on Young House Life. She’s definitely earning her comedy chops…

Comments

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I tried bigger/round pillows and it started looking like a frumpy papasan-ish chair so I think we prefer to see the leggy-eggy-ness of it instead of covering it with a round cushion!

      xo,
      s

  5. Willow says

    I like the faux sheepskin best and think you should put it back and let it be Burger’s spot. It fits him. (:

    Reply

  9. Traci says

    i love the pig pillow! would you mind sharing where he is from?

    also, how much does burger love the faux sheepskin throw from ikea? we have the same one and our puppy loves sleeping/napping/playing on it! i am thinking we need to get her one for her crate. :)

    Reply

  12. Heather S. says

    I love the egg chair! I had one just like it in my dorm room in college, a very, very long time ago. Just curious… how many pillows do you own?? LOL, I love the bunny pillow, so adorable.

    Reply

  14. April says

    Those World Market cushions should be on sale soon now that the outdoor furniture season is winding down! That’s when I’m planning to swoop in and grab some too. Sales 4 lyfe!

    Reply

  15. Casey says

    It’s amazing what a coat of spray paint can do!

    I was at Diversity Thrift yesterday and couldn’t help but think of you when I saw the most amazing/ridiculous lucite/clear plastic egg chair that came to a point at the top…like a gnome hat or something. I wish I had taken a picture of it! I even tried finding something online to show you how crazy this thing is, but nothing on the interwebs compares. You guys have to go take a look if you get a chance. Hopefully it’s still there…it was in the area near the checkout line yesterday.

    Reply

  19. Leslie R. says

    How funny that you posted about redoing found chair. I did a similar post (www.seasonedhomemaker.com) today. My daughter found a curbside chair and had a similar cushion dilemma.

    In her case, I did oversized envelope pillow covers for 24″ x 24″ pillows from Joann’s (half off, of course).

    That new Iman Ikat fabric you recently wrote about would look great on done in a similar manner.

    Reply

  20. Katie Lewis says

    I was at TJ Maxx yesterday and they had some cute, patterned seat cushions for sale. I’m in Michigan, and I know TJ Maxxes don’t always carry the same stuff, but it might be worth a try? End-of-the-season clearance maybe?

    Reply

  23. Carli says

    Super cute! I JUST saw an almost identical chair in my fave thrift store the other day. I was inches away from buying it, but decided against it at the last second, thinking I couldn’t salvage it. Now, seeing yours, I’m amazed at the transformation! Great work. I’ll be braver next time, and pull the trigger :)

    Reply

  27. Kim says

    Kirby is in love with his sheepskin. And anything cashmere or wool. Sometimes I think he’s a dog of discerning taste, and then he goes and lays on a plastic bag

    Reply

  28. Alex says

    That looks awesome! I have an old egg chair that got passed from my parents, and it’s in about the same shape as your before photo… I never thought of just removing the cushion altogether. Great idea for giving it a makeover, thanks!

    Reply

  29. Zoë says

    While driving through Decatur GA on Saturday, I saw a hanging egg chair outside an antique store and thought of you! It looks great.

    And that leads me to my question – the reason we were driving through Decatur is we’ll be moving there soon (woot!) and now need to sell our house. We need to paint our kitchen cabinets white first, and can’t decide whether to go the spray paint route, or stick with the traditional roller method. What do you recommend?

    Reply

  33. Amy @ For the Love of Georgia says

    Ooo, I likey! And Burger’s too funny… Penny does the same thing- I have a super-soft fuzzy bathrobe that I snuggled her in 24/7 when she was a baby. Now, the second she sees me reach to pull it off the towel hook she’s trying to crawl in my lap. Most of the time I can’t even get the thing on because she’s so quick, it’s basically just a Penny-blanket.

    Reply

    • Carla says

      I love the shape of these cushions for an egg chair! They allow the beautiful shape of the chair to be seen AND they look comfy too. Even the yellow color is perfect; it could be the “yolk” to the white frame’s “shell”. :-)

  36. Beth says

    The old shot of the chair and old cushion reminds me of the Rolling Stones mouth…you should name him Mick Jagger…or Mick Swagger, haha!

    Reply

  37. Stephanie says

    I thought for some reason this cute egg was going in the sun room? Perhaps the living room spot is just temporary…nesting grounds?

    sorry, i couldn’t help myself :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha yes it might end up there but we don’t use that room at all yet since it’s so undone so I couldn’t resist putting him in a room we’d enjoy him more!

      xo,
      s

  38. Melanie says

    It looks nice in that spot. I think the scale of the sheepskins and the first set of pillows is right. Bunny is adorable, but he’s too small to be THE back pillow. I’d keep him as an adorable accent.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, this is just for now working with what we have! Might go back to the sheepskin although it was really furry/hot, so I’m sure our future fix will make the most sense. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  39. Erin @ His & Hers says

    ew that before pic is SO gross. That cushion…there are no words. Well, some words might be “bugs”, “dust”, and “questionable stains”. Auuugghh.

    Eggy looks spiffy in white! :)

    Reply

  43. Angie says

    I couldn’t read this. The background is too distracting. I’m on my iPad and all I see is chevron and a bed over and over with type on top.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So sorry! It’s an I-Pad glitch. We didn’t change anything with our background but if you clear your cache or cookies or data it should go away. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  45. Amy says

    A few weeks ago I found a slightly beat-up orange pleather mid-century arm chair. It’s rather small, so we figured we would put it in the guest-room/eventually-to-be-baby-room where we’re going with a light blue and orange color scheme.

    Best of all – I got him at a flea market for $10.

    We’re also spray painting a wicker loveseat we have a green-turquoise color to go on our front porch.

    Reply

  46. Kristen says

    Burger isn’t the only one obsessed by the faux sheepskin…so are my black kitties! No matter where I put one, they are on it immediately – they prefer them to their beds or anywhere else in the house. Of course sleepy kittens nestled into fuzzy white faux sheepskin = them looking like they are in heaven, so lots of cute photo opportunities!

    Reply

  47. Juliene says

    I love that chair. Growing up my parents had an egg chair which I am sure was a purchase of the 70’s that they weren’t ready to part with. It was the most uncomfortable piece of furniture in our living room yet we all fought to sit in it so that we could lounge back and throw our feet up. It was deeper than most egg chairs I’ve seen and had a hideous orange cushion. Now that I think about it, it’s probably still in my parents garage haha!

    Reply

  48. Stacie says

    I love Eggy! I have to say though, I was dying on the last post about him when you described the Pier 1 cushion as “maxi-pad?”…ha ha. I laugh because I totally have that cushion! Only, it is on my glider in my daughter’s nursery. I never thought of it that way before, but now I do every time I sit on it. I have to say, it is SO cushy and soft! Just thank goodness it doesn’t have “wings”!!!

    http://www.casadecolella.blogspot.com/search/label/Home%20Projects

    Reply

  49. Lindsey @ A Pear to Remember says

    Just dying over that Burger tee on Clara! ALSO, finally got to explore the many antique store around Lewes and Rehoboth and scored some very exciting finds from 1920s pottery that matches my Crate and Barrel dishes and a beautiful custom-framed Matisse print. It’s already on the wall. I would have never even explored these shops if not for you guys, THANK YOU. Mom and I are obsessed.

    (We found the most goods at the Antiques store near the corner of Route 1 and Cave Neck Road in Lewes. It’s literally next door to my parents’ neighborhood, and has very exciting pieces).

    Reply

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