before + after: faux fur chair makeover

A few months ago, this chair was destined for the landfill. It was pretty hideous but the seat was very comfortable and it was free so I decided to rescue it and give it a makeover. For a while I debated about various paint and fabric combos but never really found anything I loved. Eventually I just kind of forgot about the chair entirely. Then one day I saw this gorgeous chair at our local Anthropologie:

Flokati Garvey Chair via Anthropologie

I was smitten but I simply couldn't afford a chair that expensive. I remembered the ugly little chair I had at home and decided it had found its calling. The makeover was pretty simple. Here's how I did it:

First I removed the seat and stripped the frame. I had to repeat the process three times until the finish was mostly gone. Then I washed off the excess stripper with a wet rag and removed the rest of the finish with a sanding sponge. I decided to leave the frame unfinished because I loved the beautiful, aged look.

 When the frame was finished, I reupholstered the seat. I removed the original fabric by prying off the staples with a flat head screwdriver and pulling them out with pliers. Then I re-covered the seat, first with muslin to protect the foam cushion and then with some wonderfully plush and long Mongolian faux fur fabric. Then I stapled the bottom seat cover back on and attached the seat to the chair frame.

The makeover took me one weekend and all I had to buy was the fabric. I'm so pleased with how it turned out! While I sometimes am a little too willing to take in free furniture, (especially chairs), it definitely paid off this time.

Photos and text by Tamsen Anderson