Side of the Road Score

Chris and I happened upon this chair while walking the dogs recently. One of our neighbors had put it out at the curb for trash pickup. It looked pretty grimy, but I liked the shape.
So we hurried home, drove back to the chair, and popped it in the back of our pickup.

gross.

gross.

gross.

It was upholstered in vinyl, so I figured that it wouldn't hurt so see if I could get it cleaned up a bit. 

 The results were promising, so I kept going...

I started out using a vinyl and leather car upholstery cleaner. It worked well, but I got faster results when I tried laundry soap and water.

Before long, it looked like a brand new chair!

The seat cushion is clean, but discolored.  I think we can get by with covering it with a sheepskin throw from Ikea, but if you have another suggestion, please let me know!

My New (to me) Chair

I'm the proud new owner of a reupholstered wingback. In case you've forgotten, here's what it looked like before.

After working a little magic on the chair's legs, I scheduled a pick up from the re-upholsterer.

Here's what it looks like now, only a week later!

I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!

Linking to DebbieDoo's Newbie Party and Remodelaholic's Remodelaholic's Anonymous

I'm a Reupholstery Virgin

I know it is silly, but I've always been intimidated by the process to get furniture reupholstered. I was overwhelmed by all the variables in price depending on the size, shape, condition of the chair, and the fabric selection. Much easier to go shopping for a brand new piece of furniture with a price tag already attached and delivery time in x days, right?

But then I fell in love with this chair while thrift shopping with a friend recently.

She convinced me that getting something professionally reupholstered is really no big deal. And so far, it hasn't been.

I started by contacting two well known businesses in my area. To my surprise, all they needed to provide estimates were some pictures. I emailed them my photos and bam! I got two estimates back within 24 hours. What was surprising was how different the estimates were.

Place # 1: $400 for the labor (fabric costs not included) and 6 yards of fabric


Place # 2: $575 for the labor (fabric costs not included) and about 7 yards of fabric. $10 a yard additional charge to use customer's own fabric.

Lesson: It pays to get more than one quote!

So my next step was to find fabric for my new-to-me wingback which will be going in our bedroom once he's all clean and new.  My dear and patient sister-in-law agreed to go fabric shopping with me, which was probably very frustrating for her because I had no idea what kind of fabric I wanted.  Three stores later, I found it: an off-white, chunky, cotton weave. Admittedly, my fabric choice isn't very exciting, but it is going to be perfectly soft and soothing in my bedroom.  And it was on sale--only $6 a yard in a JoAnn Fabrics sale bin.

The wooden legs were in rough shape, so I refinished them in a dark mahogany (the reupholsterer would have done this, but for an additional cost). Btw, I used Minwax Polyshades which is a one step stain and polyurethane. You don't even need to strip the old surface, you just lightly sand and brush Polyshades right over it.

Now all I need to do is schedule a pick up with the reupholster and wait 7-10 days! Piece of cake and relatively inexpensive too. All in, my new chair will cost about $500.

Now that I have a better idea about what the process entails and how much I can expect to spend, I won't hesitate to pick up a thrift store find that is in need of a good makeover.  Will you?

Thrifting Finds

Last weekend I went shopping with a friend of mine who was visiting from out of town. We went to all the usual spots, and ended up at my local Salvation Army. They had a huge selection of furniture.

The upholstery on this sofa has definitely seen better days, but we really liked its clean lines. The sofa and matching loveseat was $150 for the set. 

The fabric on this one was also really gross, but the chair had a great shape. Only 20 bucks. 

This solid wood chest of drawers was a great deal at $70.

This handsome wingback chair came home with me. It will go in our master bedroom after I have it recovered. It was only $30.

This little guy also came home with me. I'm not sure yet where we will put it, but at only $30 I couldn't pass up its potential.

Won't it look great reupholstered with one fabric on the inside and a different, coordinating fabric on the outside?

My lucky friend snatched up this smart buffet for only $120. It is in perfect condition, just needs to be refinished or painted. 

Sometimes you find something, sometimes you don't. I'd say that this time, we totally scored! 

Now I just have to figure out how to go about getting a chair reupholstered...

Have you have any luck lately finding the perfect piece of furniture at your local thrift store?