So I bought these four chairs on Gumtree for £25:
Very tired looking. And mouldy! So I gave them a good scrub down with some hot soapy water and left them to dry in the sun.
Because there was mould on the chairs, I was a bit concerned about the padding. So I decided to take that out too.
The old tacks didn't come out. They were pretty rusty. But it was ok,
I got some new upholstery foam from the local market. I went for a sheet 1.5" thick, although I think retrospectively that was probably a bit too thick. It very easy to cut, by just using a bread knife:
I put one coat of Zinsser Primer on (left over from the interior door renovation) and then one coat of Johnstone's Brilliant White Eggshell (also left over from other projects).
For some reason the eggshell took absolutely ages to dry - probably 2.5days until it was completely dry. I have no idea why, but it got there in the end. Each chair also took ages to actually paint, maybe 1.5-2 hours per chair, per coat. It was worth it though.
I bought some lovely flowery fabric, and a superb staple gun to reupholster the seat.
It did take two to stretch and staple the fabric though.
And there we have it. 4 lovely chairs, from drab and mouldy, to fab and flowery :)
Total cost of project:
Chairs = £25
Paint = Leftover
Upholstery foam = £13
Fabric = £10
Staple gun & staples = £13
TOTAL = £61
