The Real Truth About Deconstructing A Chair

Are you a jump right into the middle of a project kind of person? This practice has served me OKay over the years. However, I seriously made a mistake when I decided to deconstruct a vintage chair.

The old saying “They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To” DEFINITELY applies to old chairs. The Real Truth About Deconstructing a Chair is those things are put together to stay! Since I did not realize this beforehand, I jumped right into the project with a flat head screw driver, hammer, needle nose pliers and A LOT of skin. This was a mistake for sure! Although I’m very happy with the results, the scars may be a reminder for the rest of my life. LOL

The result of all my hard work including fun pillows and then what the chair looked like originally! Hand Painted Bunny Tails Pillow and Seat Cushion Pillow are available in my store. Check out another favorite DIY here!

Seeing this cute vintage chair for only $5.00, I jumped on the deal. Proudly, I brought it home to begin the adventure of deconstructing it. Little did I know what was in store for me! LOL

The Project Begins

Tearing the dry rotted fabric off the frame was the easy part. Because the fabric was somewhat dry rotted, it tore away easily. Check out all the staples that are being left behind as the fabric is torn away. At this point, I was actually excited. Not discouraged at all. LOL

Down to the Frame

The deconstructed chair without the fabric. The Real Truth about deconstructing a chair. Farmhouse style decor — *Now we are down to just wood and staples! Although there was a moment of disappointment when I saw the large gap in the back of the chair*, quickly a solution came to mind. Still optimistic that the project was almost finished, removing the staples began. Boy, what a miscalculation.

Hours Later……

The Real Truth About Deconstructing a Chair. The deconstructed chair once we added the wood strips to the back. — Finally, all the staples have been removed! This is the part that took hours and hours to complete. When you don’t use the proper tools, your hands and fingers will pay the price.

The Real Truth when deconstructing a chair. Down to the frame. Farmhouse style chair. — *My husband helped me to fit two pieces of wood into the back of the chair. Because we don’t want anyone falling out the back of the chair, do we?! LOL*

Because this is a deconstructed look, you don’t need to bother with wood filler. Just sand with a fine grit sanding block until the areas are smooth to the touch.

Stain the raw wood

At this point, you’ll want to stain the new wood and any unstained portion of the chair. You want to choose a stain to closely match the stained areas of the chair.
For this step, I used a quick drying gel stain in Walnut.

Paint Chair Frame

Next, paint entire chair frame with your choice of color. I used Old White Chalk Paint from Vintage Cottage. If you want some of the original stain to show through, paint one full coat and then a light wash for the second coat of paint. See an easy tutorial on how to use chalk paint.

When using dark wax, you need to be cautious. In order to achieve the desired color , mix 50/50 clear and dark wax to age the piece! Add a 1/2 teaspoon of Mineral spirits to the wax and brush it over the piece with a chip brush. When you wipe away the excess, the mineral spirits remove paint from the edge of the piece for a perfectly aged look. Because this is a distressed finish, you want to allow the dark wax mix to settle into the crevices on the carved legs and arms.

Almost Done

I added a burlap cushion to cover the springs of the deconstructed chair. The Real Truth about deconstructing a chair. Farmhouse Style Decor — The springs were in great shape but needed to be covered. Here is a cushion of burlap and batting to cover the springs. Because you will still add another cushion over the top, this can be basically basically a flat cushion. Use a staple gun to attach to the frame.

Here is the re-purposed chair with the final seat cushion and decorative pillows and the lessons I learned while deconstructing a chair. — To finish this project, a distressed ruffled cushion from Navy Ticking Fabric was added. A hand painted pillow and a farmhouse style lumbar pillow add comfort to the back of the seat.

Using proper equipment

Here is the loose change found in the chair, however it wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of proper tools. Because I do learn from my mistakes, I have since invested in some tools that are appropriate for removing staples and tacks from upholstered furniture.

Three Piece Upholstery Tool Set
These tools are not expensive and will save you a lot of time and heartache.

I learned that proper gloves are a must.

Golden Stag Gloves

the real truth about deconstructing a chair and the results. A farmhouse style chair.

How do you like the chair? It’s exactly how I envisioned it but the task of removing all the old upholstery materials was a lot more than I bargained for. Because I know have property tools, believe it or not, I’m already starting to pull some staples from another thrift store find.

Thank you for stopping by! Hopefully you are not discouraged to try a project of your own. I have learned from my mistakes and hopefully given you the tools and encouragement to begin a project. Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions and your comments are always appreciated.

XOXO,

Rachel

DIY Farmhouse Style Chair. The Real Truth about deconstructing a chair for your home decor. Rustic Style — Pin for future reference

DIY Farmhouse Style Chair. The Real Truth about deconstructing a chair for your home decor. Rustic Style, re-purposed furniture, up-cycled, recycled, trash to treasure. Cottage Style, #farmhouse #DIY

Comments

Sondra says
April 6, 2020 at 1:11 pm
Thank you for posting this! I’m new to your blog and absolutely love your “down to earth” DIY’s. I have 2 very old french chairs I acquired and will be taking this on very soon. Beautiful chair and beautiful home!
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  April 6, 2020 at 1:14 pm
  Sondra,
  Thank you so much for following along. I wish you luck on your project. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
  Rachel
  - sondra says
    April 6, 2020 at 3:35 pm
    Thank you Rachel! I certainly will.
    - rahrags@gmail.com says
      April 6, 2020 at 4:38 pm
      Great!
deezie says
April 7, 2020 at 5:15 am
Good Morning Rachel
wow is all I can say* that before and after is incredible. I am not so sure I would have lasted to the end like you did. That is soooo much work. But what a great chair you have now. Thanks for sharing. Maybe I will do one some day*
deezie
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  April 7, 2020 at 10:42 am
  thanks so much Deezie,
  I appreciate your supportive comments.
jillian says
May 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm
Love this chair. I am not inspired to make one though, being lazy in my old age, but would buy one if I saw it. Great job.
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  May 18, 2020 at 8:34 am
  Jillian,
  It is a lot of work. I appreciate you for stopping by and commenting. Have a great day.
  Rachel
Carole says
May 23, 2020 at 8:35 am
Lovely. You are so talented. You truly must enjoy doing things like this. Keep up the good work.
Carole
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  May 26, 2020 at 12:24 pm
  Carole,
  I appreciate these sweet compliments. I hope you enjoy exploring more of my blog.
  Rachel
Carolyn Bornhoft says
May 23, 2020 at 11:50 am
Love that chair!!! I would love to make one I’m going to keep my eyes open for one. Once good will reopens.
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  May 26, 2020 at 12:23 pm
  Carolyn
  Thank you for stopping by. I can’t wait to see how your chair turns out.
  rachel
Jan says
September 2, 2020 at 8:14 pm
Where can you purchase the tools you suggest?
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  September 3, 2020 at 1:45 pm
  Jan,
  If you click on the highlighted description of the tools, it will take you to the shop.
  Any of the highlighted words are linked.
  I hope that helps.
  Rachel
Robin says
April 18, 2021 at 10:36 am
You are soooo right, the tools are a game changer!. I covet my staple remover, but adding the gloves is a must. Thank you for the great pictures and easy to follow directions!
Beautiful job 🥰
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  April 19, 2021 at 8:20 am
  Robin,
  Yes, I will jump right in without getting the proper tools. Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate your input.
Pat says
August 29, 2021 at 7:00 am
Rachel, I’m about to undergo a transformation of my parents’ first piece of furniture, an old rocking chair with an upholstered seat. I was trying to see what you placed under the springs. I’m not sure if I need to use a thin (fiber?)board to support the cushion. Everything is completely deteriorated and I suspect Mickey moused over the years. It’s hard to imagine the original arrangement of support and upholstery. Please advise what you used as the bottom support. Thanks, Pat
- rahrags@gmail.com says
  August 31, 2021 at 11:01 am
  Pat,
  My springs were very secure and I didn’t add any support underneath the springs. If they are deteriorated, I’d probably add a piece of plywood to the bottom of the chair to support the springs. You might want to check with a professional upholster for advise to be safe.

The Real Truth About Deconstructing A Chair