Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Painting And Reupholstering A Chair With Ikea Curtains

When Teresa sent us her before and after chair makeover pics, we couldn’t wait to share the goods. Here’s her letter:

I just had to pass along the story of our $20 garage sale find. My husband hated the patterned Ikea curtains that I had hanging in our living room so I’m happy to share one of the panel’s reincarnation. My husband and I refinished the chair by sanding it and using Kilz oil-based primer and a can of regular old white high gloss spray paint from Lowe’s. We can’t take credit for the reupholstering though, as we had that professionally done. But here she is in all her glory. This is definitely my new favorite nook. I unwind here after long days with my two year old and six month old. Sometimes with or without a glass of wine, but always with the latest book that I am currently reading. Hope you enjoy my special ‘getaway’ as much as I do. Cheers! -Teresa

Here’s Teresa’s chair before the big primer + paint + Ikea curtain makeover:

Chair RR Before

And here it is after being spruced up with some oil-based primer, some glossy spray paint and some fun patterned fabric stolen from the living room windows:

Chair RR After1

Chair RR After2

Don’t you adore Teresa’s creative use of the curtains that the hubby hated? We definitely love her new “getaway” chair as much as she does and we appreciate that she did all of the chair refinishing herself to save some money (while leaving the upholstering part to an expert since she recognized that it was above her skill level). Thanks so much for sending along those photos Teresa! Your “new” chair looks super cozy- and you definitely deserve some reading time after wrangling two young children all day.

So what do you guys think? Cozy? Inviting? Inventive? Who’s a fan of Teresa’s creative thrift store chair reinvention?

Comments

  2. Martha says

    Love the new look, Teresa! And I also love that Ikea fabric. I, too, am curious about the cost of re-upolstering. I have always heard it is more expensive than buying new. Several years ago I asked about re-doing my upholstered parsons style dining room chairs and it was going to be about $250 per chair. Needless to say, it never got done, they are gone, and I have new chairs. Wish I had the skills to do it myself! Great make-over, Teresa!

    Reply

  3. Andrea P says

    Hey S & J!
    Not sure where to put this question….
    What are the heights of each of your 3 recycled glass vases (1 on your console, 1 on your coffee table & 1 on your bedroom floor)? I am trying to get an idea so I can find some for myself…thank you!
    — A
    PS – do you water down your Dr. Bronners Castille soap?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They’re approximately 24″ (the shorter one on the coffee table is more like 21″ and the tallest one on our bedroom floor is 28″). We’ve seen extremely similar versions both at vivatera.com and places like TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. And as for our Dr. Bronners, yup we add about 33% water to our soap pumps to keep it flowing nicely (and to get even more bang for our buck). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  5. JoDi says

    Gorgeous transformation! And once again I am in awe of someone who can see a chair like that hiding inside the ugly original!

    Reply

  6. paige says

    I can usually see the potential in a gem like this, but pass on it because I assume I will spend too much to refurbish it. I’d love to know how much it cost to do the upholstery.

    Reply

  11. Joely says

    wow, I love this chair! What an excellent makeover. I’ve been lurking around checking out all the amazing transformations and am really impressed by all the clever ideas you have. Love your work!

    Reply

  12. betty in munich says

    Wow, love, love love! It’s an absolute gem! The first time I kept scrolling back up and down to the before/after picture, because I wasn’t sure it was the same chair!

    Reply

  15. Pam says

    I’m very impressed that she could see what a lovely chair it would become with paint and new fabric. Reupholstery can be expensive but you can make it more affordable by shopping for a great price for your fabric and making sure that you’re spending the money on a quality piece of furniture to start with. She obviously did both.

    Reply

  17. Jane Kostelyk says

    Love the chair. Would like to do something like this myself, but also am curious about the price of reupholstering?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  18. Laurie Jones says

    This chair is so pretty! I can’t get over what a great job she did! Perhaps this is the encouragement I need to try my hand at upholstering!! Thanks for the post!!

    Reply

  20. Hope says

    Wow, it looks AMAZING! I LOVE it! We have been looking for a chair just like that to do a nook in our bedroom! If Teresa stops by, I want to know where she got the basket ottoman under the sheepskin–love it!

    Reply

  22. Teresa says

    Hi everyone,

    Yes, the upholstery was a splurge. I shopped around and found the prices to be between $220 and $270. This included all new padding and tufting. They also did a beautiful job on the back of the chair (which you guys can’t see of course).

    I was looking around for the perfect chair for that area and all the pieces that I liked were between the $300-400. Definately more than I was willing to go for. So when I found this chair at an estate sale and put it all together, I was happy to end up with a one of kind piece that really suited my taste for a small splurge. Plus, I found a way to reintroduce that print in a way that was more pleasing for the hubby. He really digs that chair!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks so much for dropping in with that info Teresa! Cheap ol’ Target armchairs can run you well over $300-$500 (and Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel varieties can be over 1K) so the fact that you ended up with something personalized and lovely- plus you only spent $20 on the chair itself- is a great buy!

      xo,
      s

  24. Michelle says

    What a HUGE difference. I would have never seen the potential in the old chair. Congrats on your amazing find!

    Thanks S & J for sharing!

    Reply

  25. Teresa says

    Hope, that ottoman under the sheepskin is from Home Goods. They always have great ottomans with pretty patterns!

    Reply

  26. Elizabeth says

    What a beautiful area! I was wondering where you purchased the nesting boxes and the ottoman? My room re-do is almost complete and I have been searching for these items:)
    Thank you!

    Reply

  27. Tuyet says

    What a great makeover – the chair looks fab! I also have some chairs that need to be reupholstered… I never thought about using fabric from curtains!

    Reply

  32. {The Classy Woman} says

    I love that fabric and knew if was from teh show Sarah’s house in her nursery I just didn’t know where she bought it from and really wished I knew, now I do!

    I hope they still have them, can’t wait to put them up in our house! :)

    Great post, that chair transformation is brilliant!! So pretty, light and airy, perfect!

    Reply

  33. S says

    I love this chair! I was just @ Ikea,
    admiring those curtains, but couldn’t
    use them. Now I’m going to get them &
    cover the “avington” slipper chair from
    Target. Thanks for sharing & re-using

    Reply

  35. Erica says

    LOVE IT! I love taking things like curtains and turning them into pillows, or even upholstery fabric. Those curtains are super cute! It’s really amazing what a little paint and fabric will do for something!

    Reply

  36. Melissa says

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE that fabric too and need to run to Ikea fast! I can see my hubby saying the see thing but he knows when it comes to decorating – the wife knows best! Good job on the chair, it’s adorable.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s incredibly similar (that chair is also made by Ikea) but the pattern on the curtains is a bit different (and of course it’s a lot cheaper to buy the curtain panels than the chair). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

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