Retro Office Chair Revamp
It’s probably clear from all my posts on my furniture makeovers that I’m pretty much the home stylist in this house. My husband has great taste and we usually do discuss furniture purchases and how we’ll revamp them, but in the end, he leaves most of it up to meandlets me do what I want. But, he’s had a different opinion about our office chair.
It’s been a year-long search for just the right chair that would meet his requirements of comfortandfunctionality, yet still have that eclectic originality I wanted for the room.
This is the inspiration chair I’ve had on my mind for months. You can find it here at Horchow. I love it. The only problem is that it’s literally 3 times the price of our first car. And it doesn’t roll, which was one of Dave’s prerequisites. And did I mention it’s crazy expensive?
So, I did what so many good DIY-ers do. I pinned it to Pinterestandtried to find one to do myself.
Our search finally ended when we walked up on this little beauty at a yard sale. Circa 1976. It was $2. I know. It looks nothing like my inspiration chair, but it did have wheelsandit was comfortable, so I accepted the challenge.
And this weekend, we found the time to work on itandgive it a new life in the library…
I like it. It’s comfy. It rolls. It’s unique. And because I already had all the materials I needed for the re-do, it literally only cost us $2.
Here’s the breakdown on how it was done…
Dave took the chair apart for meandI used some canvas dropcloth leftover from this project to cover each piece. Since the foam was a little crumbly, I left the original fabricandjust covered it with the new. I used the pin-to-fit method like I’ve done for other slipcoversandpinnedandsewed the corners of the seat for a tighter fit.
The seat bottom had these teeth to hold the fabric in place.
To get the postmark motif from my inspiration chair, I used plain black craft paint, a couple of my glass mixing bowls,andsome alphabet stamps.
To get the circles for the postmark, I painted the rims of the largeandsmall bowlsandthen “stamped” it onto the fabric. Then I just washed my bowls right away before the paint dried.
I did the same thing for each letter, wiping the paint off of each one with a wet paper towel as I went.
That was it! This would be so easy for pillows as well.
To fit the seat back, I had to get a little more creative because the back was rivetedandcould not be removed. So, I pinnedandsewed, leaving a gap to slip it on.
Since the arm pieces were permanently crimped, I just used some good old hot glue to secure the canvas in place.
For $2, I’d say this beats my record for cheapest furniture makeover yet. {The money we saved can go toward our built-in bookshelves I can’t wait to get.} And now Dave has his comfy, rolling chairandI have my statement piece. I think I’ll keep it! I’d love to hear what you all think!
To see more of my projects in the library, click here. And be sure to visit some of these sites where I’ll be linking up my chair!
August 1, 2011 @ 2:28 pm
looks great! and so much easier on the budget! lol i do heart horchow.
August 1, 2011 @ 2:43 pm
Julie,
I love it!!! You did a fantastic, creative job. Never would have thought to use the bowls as your circles. Thanks for the inspiration:)
August 1, 2011 @ 2:43 pm
I think it looks fantastic!! I especially love the stamp detail. Very cute indeed. 🙂
August 1, 2011 @ 4:30 pm
Love the chair. Great idea!
August 1, 2011 @ 5:41 pm
You did a GREAT job! One of the best remakes I have ever seen on an old office chair- PERFECT! xo Diana
August 2, 2011 @ 12:02 am
WOW! What a great transformation!! I really like it! It's the most stylish office chair I've seen 🙂
August 2, 2011 @ 1:27 am
Great job! Now it's hard to believe that is just an office chair! Visiting from Coastal Charm!
August 2, 2011 @ 2:40 am
So pretty! I saw you on Tip Me Tuesday (Tip Junkie!) Great ideas!
August 2, 2011 @ 2:56 am
This is something I really need to do. There isn't any "cush" left in the cushion of our chair. it's downright painful to sit for any amount of time. Did I mention it was rediculiously expensive and is only a few years old. A nice, built to last model from 3 decades ago, or so, is just what we need.
I love how you created the postal stamp, clever.
August 2, 2011 @ 3:14 am
I love how this turned out. Seriously – $2?? That is awesome and it's really cute.
August 2, 2011 @ 2:15 pm
So cool! can't wait to try this out =D
August 2, 2011 @ 2:31 pm
WOW! Impressive! you did such a great job on this project!
Smiles,
the Joyful Thrifter
August 3, 2011 @ 1:31 am
that was such a great idea with how you created the stamp, julie! awesome job!
August 3, 2011 @ 3:34 am
Your chair turned out great!! I finished my project over the weekend too, inspired by your photo I found on Pinterest 🙂
August 3, 2011 @ 5:07 pm
Looks great! I am in the midst of an office chair redo myself–great inspiration! Stop by and link up if you have time.
August 4, 2011 @ 1:12 am
this looks awesome! thanks for the tutorial on making a post mark, very creative!
August 4, 2011 @ 12:01 pm
Well, I clicked on your 'here' to look at your inspiration chair and almost swallowed my tongue when I saw the price! I'd say you've done yourself proud on this one! The way you made the 'postage' stamp is beyond brilliant!
August 5, 2011 @ 2:14 am
This is so awesome! Nice job!
August 5, 2011 @ 2:36 am
ADORABLE. It is very cool and I've been looking for something similar – wheels are a must for me too. thanks for the inspiration!
August 5, 2011 @ 3:31 am
Great job on the chair! I love how you used the bowls for the circles. Clever! Lisa~
August 5, 2011 @ 4:03 am
That is fabulous! I am so going to make a pillow with your stamp!
August 5, 2011 @ 4:42 am
WOW! How resourceful! I love that you had all the materials, and the innovative way you came up with that stamp. Brilliant!
August 5, 2011 @ 11:06 am
that is amazing! love what you did for such little $!
August 5, 2011 @ 11:43 pm
It looks amazing! I love it so much! I spend lots of time in my office chair and this one looks much nicer to be sitting in! I hope you will show this off at my VIP party today… http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/08/vip-party-22.html
August 8, 2011 @ 10:08 am
Wow I love it. Just my style
August 9, 2011 @ 8:34 pm
That looks amazing! You are so creative! We would love for you to share this at our link party and come enter our free digital scrapbooking software giveaway!
Love,
The Sisters @ Six Sister's Stuff
http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/search/label/Strut%20Your%20Stuff%20Saturday
http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-memories-digital-scrapbooking.html
August 10, 2011 @ 1:28 am
This is my inspiration for our ugly computer chair, and wow what a creative way to do your own stamp! I am impressed!
August 10, 2011 @ 2:16 pm
I featured your Chair! http://typeadecorating.blogspot.com/2011/08/highlights-from-party-28.html
August 13, 2011 @ 7:08 am
I cannot believe how awesome that is!!! Perfection!
September 1, 2011 @ 3:18 pm
Wow! This is perfect! Love all of your projects!
September 2, 2011 @ 8:26 pm
That is so cool! I wish I could do that my office chair from work but I doubt my work would go for that. 😉
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June 13, 2013 @ 11:43 am
Wow! This is fantastic, especially that you made the print on it yourself too! Ive been meaning to revamp my office worn chair as well, this is a big inspiration boost.