The Cat's Favorite Chair

   Here is a tale of the cat's favorite chair, a.k.a. the tale of the chair that sat in my parents' carport since Hurricane Gustav.  Now, I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea: furniture adopting is not something that I started doing since the beginning of this summer.  No, no  it goes way back at least to my 16th year...the year that I got my drivers license and an SUV with a roomy trunk.  The year I started watching HGTV too much, and also the year I started thinking about my future in design.  First it started with a coffee table, then one chair, then another.  I had so many wonderful ideas, but I lacked the dedication to actually complete a project.  My parents eventually persuaded me to throw away some of this extra furniture that I had collected, and I actually did.  Except for one piece.  The chair pictured above.  I never lost sight of my original vision for re-upholstering and repainting.  I saw something in this chair...something like...potential. 
  So where did I find this diamond in the rough?  It was the day after Hurricane Gustav (whenever that was...several years ago?),  I was driving with my mom to go check on my great aunt.  We both saw it at the same time...someone had just put it on the side of the road.  It was actually her idea that I take this chair with me and do something with it.  I think I inherited my D.I.Y. addiction from my mother, come to think of it- you'd understand if you've ever been to my parents' house.
  We took the chair home and set it in the carport because it was kind of dirty and sort of wobbly.  Weeks went by, then months, then before I knew it I had graduated college and had not even touched the thing.  I hadn't even tried!  The only love this poor chair received was from my cat, Merl, who slept on it on a regular basis.  It became his chair.  But since all cats go to heaven eventually, it became in need of some real T.L.C.  Especially from someone with a lot of time on her hands.

R.I.P. Merl, the patron saint of neglected furniture!

First step: find some upholstery and some spray paint!  I probably spent close to $50 on supplies...fabric, spray paint, sand paper, wood glue, fabric glue, etc... I used coupons of course! This is probably the closest inspiration for my project: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-furniture/23789779.jsp



I also began by cleaning the chair, sanding down the rough spots, and taking off the cushions.  I actually tried to take apart the whole chair, but apparently the previous owner went a little crazy with the glue and staples and I couldn't take the back cushion off.

I had to be super careful when spray painting to not get it all over the back cushion...I actually did a really good job of covering it up and not a drop of paint went astray!
Upholstering the bottom cushion was a breeze! I decided to not rip off the old fabric for two reasons: I didn't know how fragile the foam core was and if it would disintegrate before my eyes if I ripped the fabric from it; and by having the fabric in place, it definitely would keep its shape.  I simply added an extra layer of foam on the top of the seat to give it an extra cushion, then wrapped the fabric around and held it in place with upholstery nails.  Easy peasy!
The back cushion was a bit more complicated.  I could not get that thing off for the life of me! Not to mention, it had a stiff ridge around it that contained staples.  So I started off by doing the back of the chair.  I cut out a piece to perfectly fit the shape.  Then I pushed the edge of the fabric up into the frame and sewed it to the existing backing.  Then I added some extra foam to the front part of the cushion, that way it would be more comfortable against my back.  For a while I sat there scratching my head what to do next.  Then I remembered I had fabric glue!  Normally, I would never recommend this, but it was my last resort! I simply glued a panel of fabric to the existing cushion!  And it worked!! It's still in place and I've never had to fix it.  It completely covered the old cushion.  Super success!!

Final Step: Stage a photo shoot!  And that awesome desk behind it? Totally salvaged it from the side of the road!  But that's another story for later on...