Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Mermaid Chair


Isn't she a beauty!!!

Here's her story...
I bought this chair at a yard sale for $2. There was just something about the shape, and age, and style of the chair that made me buy it. The condition, however was not so wonderful.

The previous owners must have left it outside, as it was very weathered, had been visited by birds, and upon closer inspection, may have been in a fire.

But...she had potential. I knew that she could be beautiful!

Here is the original condition, as I found her.

$2 price tag




The seat was covered with rotted leather and stuffed with what we believe to be horsehair.


We removed the rotted seat and thought that maybe it was for a chamber pot, but soon realized that it was originally a cane seat.


We started to scrub the chair, and were intending to clean, sand, and re-stain, and possibly get a quote for cane-ing, but, after an hour of just trying to remove the dirt, decided that we would sand, distress, and paint instead.

I sanded her for almost 3 hours on a Sunday morning, when the temperatures were in the low 100's (yuck, it's been so hot here in Maryland this year)

Then, Scott took the chair and used his air compressor to remove all of the sanding remnants, and he dropped her.
And she broke her leg
And I cried

And he fixed her
(Gorilla glue and an air screw gun)




Then we painted her Whitecap Gray from MyColor Pantone (Lowes)
I wanted an off white/ivory color, and that is what this paint is- I don't see "Gray"


This paint is self priming, and drys pretty quickly. 
We used two coats.

Then Scott distressed the old fashioned way by randomly marking areas of the chair with a white candle.
 (Use what you have!)

He then Painted her with Valspar's Mermaid's Song paint. 
(OHHH..so that's why she's called the Mermaid chair!!)

And we distressed with Steel Wool in all of the right places, and recovered the seat with padding and a floral fabric.

Here is the finished project!






Linking to:


Domestically Speaking

Somewhat SimpleTransformation Thursday










HOGBeyond The Picket FencePhotobucket36th Avenue

















#ff63e0

freckled laundryA Little Knick Knack

18 comments:

  1. What a great chair! Thank goodness you were able to fix the leg... I would've cried, too, if it were my chair!

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  2. wow! you did such a great job on this!! i have a couple old chairs waiting for some love...thanks for the inspiration!!

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  3. Just beautiful! You really saved her! Thank you for linking to Wicked Awesome Wednesday!

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  4. it looks so beautiful! that color is awesome!
    and by the way, i read that book and it was awesome, too!

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  5. She is beautiful and I'd love to feature her next week on Thrifty Thursday! :)

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  6. She is a beauty! I love the color and the fabric!

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  7. It looks lovely! I love the color and the fabric is a wonderful touch. I'm so glad you saved her (twice!) I hope you can join my link party going on now with your project! www.alittleknickknack.com
    And thanks for the sweet comment on my yellow chair!

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  8. This is an awesome transformation! I love the colors you used. Thanks for sharing! Stopping by from Frugalicious Friday.

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  9. Oh she looked so sad before you got a hold of her. Now she is a happy chair!

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  10. Beautiful. Dont you love that feeling of pride and accomplishement when you take something is such rough condition and make this out of it?! I hope you will come share this at my VIP party today. http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/08/vip-party-22.html

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  11. Oh my she looks outstanding...love her color!!! I’m having an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Giveaway…hop over and enter…ends at midnight 8/7.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  12. Thank you all for the sweet comments! I've very happy with the end result of my "Mermaid chair" Ang

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  13. Absolutely beautiful! Thanks so much for stopping by to say hi today! Can't wait to check out your blog! :)

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  14. Awwww, she's beautiful!! Great job. Want to come make over my furniture?

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  15. What a great job you have done and a great price! Saw you on link party, now google following you, please pop by, Karima x www.karimascrafts.com

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  16. Great job!!

    Hop'in by from 'Boost My Blog Friday Blog Hop'. I'm following your blog now, wont you please come and follow me back?? ~KM

    Krafty Max Originals

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  17. That was one scary chair BEFORE! I don't know that I would have paid $2.00 for it -- LOL! But you sure transformed it -- oh my, my jaw dropped when I got to the part where dear hubby dropped it and broke a leg! Great repair job -- and lovely chair!

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  18. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Love this chair you just refinished! Very cute! :)
    Katelyn

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