A chair to call my own...

I have never really had a teacher's chair.  I either sat in my desk chair or one of the kiddo's chairs.  I wanted to try something new this year that involved my new hobby.  One of my favorite places to go is Rockwall Helping Hands, our local thrift store.  I can usually find pieces that need some love.  Having in mind to upcycle a chair, I would visit with a purpose... that is usually never the case... lol!

I searched frequently for about two weeks and began to get a frowny face.  I just wasn't hearing anything speak to me.  The pieces were either way out of my league (or should I say I wasn't ready to take them on) or just yucky.  I didn't give up, though...and kept visiting.

Then one day, I stopped in on my way home while running some other errands.  As my eyes quickly scanned the store since I was kinda in a hurry, no time for strolling, I noticed bar stools.  "Nah, they never have those," I said.  I headed over to check it out.

Well lo and behold!!  A pair of wood bar stools!!  Granted, they were rough...but for $15 a piece, very doable!  So, I picked out the best ( I use the term lightly) and checked it off my list.  Here it is...

Yes, your eyes are seeing it...vinyl on the chair pad!

Okay, how hard could it be to reupholster a chair??  I am guessing it all depends on whatcha got.  Let me tell ya, this stool did not want to play nice!  It took Fire Jack and me (we had to rotate because our hands were falling off) almost an hour to get all the staples and 7...yes... 7 layers of nasty fabric, vinyl, and padding off.  It was g ross!!  That was all I could do the first night... yuck!

The next day I approached my sad stool with some hope... I could make it fab!  I headed to Jo-Ann's for some fabric.  I was completely in overload with all the fabric choices.  I am sure I drove my BFF CrAzY with all the photos of fabric choices...hehehe!  Anyhoo... I found a super cute blue and white coral outdoor fabric that would bring a sweet twist to the other beachy colors in my room (at 50% off, too..woo hoo!).

I needed to get some new foam since the original foam was just gross... I headed to Hobby Lobby for that because I had a coupon!  Yay!  I decided to invest in the higher priced foam.  I wanted something with staying power because this would get some use being in a classroom.  I wound up purchasing this fancy foam...

Word of warning:  electric knife or bust to cut this bad boy!!  I learned the hard way...

When all was said and done, I had this beauty staring back at me...

I patted myself on the back at my first attempt at upholstery.  This is where my ambition took over... I wasn't pleased with the look of the fabric on the flip side.  I think I was still traumatized by the original seat.  Hmmm...what about putting cord around the fabric?  Why not!

I found some fab hot pink cord at Hobby Lobby that just happened to be 40% off...I can handle $2.57 for that!  After a little hot glue and a few minor burns on the pinkie... this is the result of being overly ambitious...

I just LOVE how it turned out!!  I was just (still am) beside myself!!  The colors are sooo cute together!

Okay, now comes the paint.  I wanted glossy white.  I mean really, what else would look fab but let the fabric be the star?!  I was super nervous about using spray paint, though.  Had never done a project with spray paint, but had seen some really bad jobs!  The guy at the Depot recommended a spray paint trigger... a what???  This is what he handed me...

I gotta say, a very, very wise $2.50 investment for smooth and not-so-tiring spray painting.  My little finger tips were thankful.  I primed the chair and put 3 nice coats on the stool frame.  I sanded lightly any paint drips.  Surprisingly I did not have as many as I was planning on... yay!

It was super humid, so I let it dry a 3 full days before putting the seat back on.  Okay, heart is racing as I prepare to show off my first attempt at a bar stool... drum roll please...

Love, love, love!  I look forward to showing off my new stool in my classroom.  The picture in the cave does not do the chair cutey justice.  I will post a new one when it is shining bright in the classroom.  When all was said and done, this baby cost me around $30 bucks.  Not bad! 

Speaking of classroom... oh boy!  When does school start again?!