Cheap Sitting Chair Transformation

Yes, people! I said on the Cheap, like $1 out of pocket because I already had everything else! Yay!!
This is why I fully defend (healthy) hoarding! These two chairs just became super useful with stuff I had lying around the house...at least that's my defense when Shug wants to start throwing away my craft supplies because they've overtaken the dinning room! Haha!

So here's the story. We needed some chairs in our house because the couch wasn't enough but I didn't have extra cash to be spending on new chairs and plus if I like them today...chances are in a year or six months, I'll want to switch things up a bit. I don't like to commit lots of money to fickle things.
The name of the blog is "Compulsive ReArranger" for a reason! LOL

So I asked my lovely mother, who somehow always has what I need on hand, for a couple of chairs.
She said, "Sure! How many do you need?" Score! I'll take two...for now! :)
Super Thanks Mom!!

They were in great shape and bones but they needed a little face lift! Have a look see.

See what I tell ya! Not bad shape! This is nothing a can of spray paint and some fabric can't fix!!
Oh boy do I love spray paint!! :)

These are the materials I used:
*spray paint (whatever color you want your frame to be. I just used plain ole' black glossy)
*screwdriver, baggie, and sharpie (to put screws in and label the bag)
*foam of any sort. You can go to the craft store and buy some from there but I just used a leftover egg crate from an old mattress and folded it over twice to get it the thickness I needed! Score...Free!
*fabric to cover your chair seat. I got mine from the thrift store for $1.
*Glue gun and sticks or stapler (the heavy duty kind of stapler that's made for hanging lights outside)

So I started by taking the seat off with a screwdriver. Easy peezy! Done in like 13 seconds. Well, it did take a little longer trying to keep the twins from eating the screws...but the work load was actually 13 seconds! (Note: Put them in a safe place that you can remember away from small children and possibly your husband!)

Then I took those babies out side and sprayed them down with some black glossy spray paint. (I already had like two cans of the stuff so no money spend there!) I did a few light coats with about an hour or so of dry time in between. I sprayed a couple of heavy coats of protective clear spray on afterwards.

I let them stay outside that night and brought them in to cure for the next few days before putting the seat back on just to make sure it was fully dry.

Then they sat. And sat. And sat. Waiting for me to find the right fabric. I know you've been there. You go to store after store looking searching for the right stuff. It becomes an obsession. You're pinteresting and googling for the right fabric and where do I end up finding it...in the thrift store for $1.00! Are you kidding me?! I was prepared to pay 9.99 a yard for something I thought might work for what I was trying to do! Unbelieveable...and thank you Lord for all your small blessings! :)

Anyhow, gather up your fabric and seat cushion. I simply laid down the fabric, then foam, and then seat all upside down so I was looking at the chair seat bottom where I would be doing all the attaching. It takes a minute or so to line it up and some careful flipping in order to see a glimpse of the final product but once you get it lined up start putting it down! I used a glue gun but a stapler is my preferred tool. But once I got home with that thrift store fabric there was no slowing me down, not even if we didn't have staples!!! So there's no exact science to what I do at this point. I'm just pulling and gluing, and pulling and gluing until it's tight and it looks right.

Side note: Don't you just hate it when people give you that description. "Until it looks right." If I knew what raw cornbread was supposed to look like, MOM, I wouldn't be asking you how to make it!" Sorry, flashback! Moving on...

Make sure that you don't cover the screw hole with your new fabric. Now that everything is glued down, cut the excess fabric off and screw it back into it's place with your baggie of screws that hopefully everyone remembered where they put!

Finally, style and enjoy your hard work! If you're curious about the zebra print, it's just a blanket that I weaved through the rail in the back of the chair. If someone does sit in it, it'll be slightly more comfortable! And even if no one ever sits in it, it's always look nice!

Have you ever taken on a chair facelift? How'd it go? Leave comments and share, please!

Linked up on Craft Frenzy Friday and Inspiration Gallery Link Party

Simple Home Fall Decorations

I absolutely love this time of the year! The colors, the weather, the holiday, the cheer, the remembering, the traditions, the spirit, the reason for the season, the thankfulness.
This is really when I get into decorating! I don't really do much to the house during the year but the last three months of the year, it's constantly changing! 

I get into the fall season far before the first day of fall...even if we are still wearing shorts and flip flops! I long for those pumpkin cookies and pumpkin pie spice coffee creamer...mmmmm! 

Take a look at some fall decorations before I switch over to Halloween! 

 The two pictures on each side were made by my twins and they are oh so special to me.
They were super simple to make I taped of the tree image with painters tape and the kids painted over it. After the paint dried, we pulled off tape and there was a tree! Then we walked aroudn the yard they picked up sticks to make the frame with! They loved making those and seeing them hang up on the wall! Super proud!  
I, also, hot glued pine cones to some twine and made some super easy pinecone garland. 

 Our mantle and the 'FALL' banner hanging below.
That wooden "D" has been painted ump-teen times and does so well at fitting in different places in our home! Here it's painted cream and orange for the season but in the spring, I'll paint it white and green! How very appropriate! :) 

 My pretend chalkboard that is really black posterboard taped onto a large frame! LOL! It works very well. I've been using it for about a year now and don't plan to replace it. 
My husband jokes about how I cover up old dressers with fabric! They need to be refinished but when I don't have the time, I just throw fabric over it! This corduroy fabric works very well for this time of year since it brings a lot of texture into the room. 

 My recovered chairs! These were finds from the back of my mom's office. They actually used to be in a college office lobby but were let go many years ago. The biggest complaint when I first got ahold of these is that it felt like sitting on plywood so I added some cushion and new fabric and paint and, viola, a new ~comfy~ set of sitting chairs for the living room! 

 Outside our dining room window is my husbands great grandfathers ladder and pitchfork (it's hard to see but it's leaning on the ladder). It was special to be able to add some of his hertitage to our lives. 

A very simple front porch ready but it's ready for Trick-or Treaters on Halloween night!

 At our side door step, these three pumpkins welcomed folks on the right side...

and this on the left.

I made the gardent flag super simply using a dollar store placemat and paint! 

Back porch had a simple pumpkin and some mums.
And an adorable little tricycle :) 

I enjoyed sharing my decorations with you. I'd love to see yours! 

Linked up at Craft Frenzy Friday and Inspiration Gallery Link Party