Dining Table Redo

From Do It Yourself Divas

I needed a change!! I have been dreaming of a new kitchen table for a while now. Due to the fact my husband is in school, it is not in the budget to buy a whole new table. I decided to take matters in my own hands, and do it yourself diva it!

Here is the Before. The legs and all chairs were painted an off white color. I thought that painting the cream color black, and staining the wood color would look simply beautiful. Here's hoping!

1. Before I painted or sanded or stained ANYTHING, I scrubbed and cleaned every surface. Warm water, soap and a sponge did the trick. I also removed all seat cushions as shown above.

2. I then sanded down most surfaces. I used a very fine sandpaper, aka 220 grain.


3. After sanding make sure to clean the surface again making sure to get rid of ALL dust!

4. Before painting I stained the table top. Below are the items that you need for a successful staining experience. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN OF STAIN TO ENSURE PERFECTION :)

5. Paint in the direction of the wood grain.

6. Let it set for the allotted time.

7. Wipe stain away once the time stated on the can is up.

8. I repeated these steps 3 times to get the rich color I wanted.

(Note to all: Stain is extremely strong smelling!! I learned this the hard way! Make sure that the area you are working in is well ventilated! I found it helpful to have a couple fans going, and windows open while the stain dried.)

9. Here's what you need to paint. Lots of newspaper, favorite color of paint, and sponge paint brushes. The lady at Home Depot advised me to use real paint brushes, but I found that the sponge paint brushes worked wonderfully, especially for the detailed parts of the chairs.

9. Paint away making sure you are always painting along the grain of the wood. I did a grad total of 3 coats of paint on each chair and on the legs of my table, plus touch ups.

10. While my paint was drying, I decided it was time to change up the fabric on my cushions!!

11. After measuring and matching my cushions with fabric I LOVED, I folded it tightly around the cushion.
12. I stapled the fabric in place until I felt that it was smooth and under control.

13. Because of my baby, and babies to come someday I felt it necessary to preserve my lovely fabric with plastic. You can buy this at Walmart by the yard in the fabric/craft section. I measured, and fit it to wrap around my cushions just like I did the fabric.
14. Grab your staple gun and get busy again!

15. TADA! So shiny!
16. After cushions are wrapped up and stapled, fasten them to your chairs again... and you have completed your TABLE MAKEOVER!!



I AM IN L-O-V-E with my new table. BTW, this took about a week and a half from start to finish! All in all it cost me around $35-40 to complete this dream come true!

Recliner Reupholster

From Do It Yourself Divas

DIY

Reupholster an old lazy boy recliner

Here it is before

After!

Total Price: $40

This old sucker has been in my family for years; in fact I think it is as old as I am. This was the first reupholstering project I have ever done and I did it because I am nesting and I have to get the baby's room done! After searching on KSL.com for months without finding anything, and not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on a brand new rocking chair, I decided to ask my parents if I could have their old La-Z-Boy recliner. My husband and I got to work right away.

Since every chair is different, I can't really say how you can reupholster your very own chair, but this is basically what we did.

Step 1: Take the chair apart! It is helpful to have a handyman around if this is not your thing. Make sure you keep all hardware. You would not believe what I found inside this chair. Clumps of dust, sunflower seeds, and yes, a butter knife.

Step 2: Measure all parts covered in fabric and estimate how much fabric you need. Add extra fabric for seam allowances, or in other words, staple allowances. No sewing required. :) I used about 5 yards of very wide upholstery fabric.

Step 3: Rip off old fabric and cover with new fabric! Or you could even cover the old fabric with new fabric. I cut squares of fabric that cover the area of the piece I was working on and went at it. This takes a lot of tugging, pulling, folding and stapling. (Note to self and those reading: An electric stapler would be awesome for the next project. )I even used a hot glue gun to attach the fabric to the cardboard pieces. I didn't realize just how much cardboard was used to make this recliner until I gutted it. You would be surprised at how easy it is to just follow what the manufacturer did. Once the chair is in pieces, it is clear to see how the chair was upholstered in the first place.

Step 4: The hardest part about this particular chair were these buttons. I bought hardware called Cover Button Refill. This allowed me to use the same fabric as the rest of the chair for my buttons. The hard part was putting the buttons on the chair. It would have been nice to have a super extra long needle with a very wide eye to string these buttons on, but we didn't have one and I don't even know if they exist, so we got creative. We used a long skinny screwdriver to stab through the thick chair. We then taped the button parts onto the screwdriver and pulled it back through to the back of the chair and into place. Hard work! If there is an easier way, I would love to know.

Step 5: Once you have everything covered, put it back together. What do you think? Since this was my first reupholstering project, I would have to say that I am satisfied. This chair even has moving parts and it still worked out. :)

And if your not completely happy with the way it turned out, add a pillow. It may add a little something and make you feel all better. So have no fear with your reupholstering project. Hack away at that old Lazy Boy chair and create a beautiful new one.