Directors Chairs- a quick before and after

I picked up 2 of these directors chairs at a yard sale last Spring.  It was late in the day, and they were leaning against the wall and folded with no seat or backs on them.  I had to ask the seller what they were.  She pulled out one ratty looking seat cover to show me what these were supposed to look like when assembled.  I took them home and planned to buy or make the seats and backs from canvas.  I found that the kits are sold at Pier One and World Market for $20 each, but I’m way too frugal to pay that much!  I held on to the chairs and hoped to have the time to make some myself.  But… months later, as I was browsing my local Habitat Home Restore, I came across 2 sets of these directors chair seats and backs!  I couldn’t believe my luck!  Sometimes, it pays just to wait for the right thing to come along…



So, I have just recently pulled these little guys out and cleaned them up.  They were made in the early 80’s, according to the tag underneath.  The hinges had some type of protective coating on them that had yellowed.  It was so difficult to remove, that I ended up sanding it off!  They were DIRTY too!  So, I cleaned, sanded some rough spots, and taped off all of the hardware.  I used spray paint,which I will NEVER do again on a project like this, but that’s another story.  It took many light coats to get the coverage I was looking for. 

Sadly, I was so into getting these chairs done that I forgot to take any pictures of the intermediate steps.  Sorry.  Once the paint was done, I sanded it lightly in the places that I thought would normally show wear.  I wanted them to look beachy and laid back- not perfectly crisp and white! 



Once I was ready to put the super duper cute canvas seats and backs on, I discovered, that they were not an exact fit for my chairs.  Uh oh…  Thank goodness my mom isn’t afraid of her sewing machine : )  Not saying I’m afraid of mine or anything…  She just hemmed both the seats and backs for me, and we were back in business!



Ta-da!  Aren’t they great?!?  I love the difference!  From drab to fab- for sure!



Here’s a little better shot of the seat.  I just love the bright colors!!

I already have some great furniture in my own sunroom, so these two went right up for sale.  I hope they’ll brighten up someone else’s space.

Happy Thursday to you!









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