Often, furniture makeovers on Curbly are the stuff of DIY legend: a lone thrifter, spies a chair or a credenza with good bones and a terrible finish, and whisks it away, painstakingly coaxing all the joy to the surface with an adventurous stripping, sanding, painting, or re-upholstery. The story always goes: old, cruddy item becomes refreshed with a little elbow grease, and face it, lots of skill.But what about the folks who aren’t as gifted with a sewing machine or orbital sander? And, sure, while there’s plenty of ugly used furniture out there, there’s also so pretty ugly new furniture that is equally ripe for a makeover.
So, that’s why I’m digging this chair project by my friend Rebecca Orlov of Loving Living Small. She says,
“I needed more seating options in my small space and was looking for statement chairs. What I was finding was either
a) way out of my price range
So I decided to go with option #B and makeover some chairs the way I liked. I bought these chairs on a super sale at a local store – they were so affordable, so comfy and, in my opinion, so ugly. I found fabric that I loved and it was only $5/yard. I also found a fantastic local reupholsterer and negotiated the work. The chairs were picked up and delivered in…2 days. Can you believe?”
The lesson is: while we love breathing new life into old furniture, sometimes the comfort and style of new stuff is just as ripe for a makeover as a vintage piece. And it’s just as DIY to see something, source the best fabric, find a cool, local expert to work with, and make something beautiful.
See the full transformation at Loving Living Small
