When I went to the thrift store recently, I stumbled upon 2 of these great rush chairs. And for $5 each!! They were in great condition and solid construction too. The rushing could stand to be redone as it’s a little worn, but I have NO clue how to do that, and this isn’t the type of chair where you can take the seat off to reupholster. So anywho, I’m just fine with how it is!
Here is the chair before. I do have another chair identical to this, but it has a water stain ring on the seating part, so I need to figure out something with that. Maybe stain it.
Then I wrapped the seat up with a trash bag and started painting with Heirloom White. I did spray a coat of polycrylic first before the paint.
Wow, what a messy garage. I need a work shed for painting, and another to house all my thrifty finds. It would be cool to actually use the garage for our cars.
Here she is all painted white. I totally should have primed first because it took several coats. I don’t know why I didn’t. Probably because I’m impatient.
And here she is living in our new master bedroom!
She makes me smile. :)
I hope I’m able to find some more thrifty treasures this week. Last week was a flop!
*Please click here to see the parties I will be linking to and you can join the fun too!
xxoo,
Decorchick!
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{ 68 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful!!! You have so many great ideas. I can’t wait to try some of them!!!
Thanks Allison! You have a brand new house to decorate! :)
I have some second hand rush seat chairs, too, and when I got them the seats were kind of stretched out. Someone told me to spray water on the rush seats and set them outside to dry upside down. As they dried the rush tightened up. That worked well, but now these many years later I could stand to do it again. Perhaps your water stain can be minimized by wetting down the whole seat and letting it dry outside?
Oh great, thanks for the tip Carol. I had no idea. Will definitely try that. That would be great if the water stain minimizes too.
LOVE it!! I’m so inspired by your makeovers! I’m just starting out (had an epic fail yesterday) but will NOT give up yet!! Thanks for being awesome!
LOL, epic fail! That’s hilarious. We all have them, don’t worry. :)
Looks fabulous!! Love the color and the price! I have a chair just like that and I don’t know what color to paint it. I love the white, but my house isn’t white. Still pondering on my color choice.
Thanks Haley! Yea, maybe on my other chair I’ll do it in a different color. But first I need to figure out where it’s gonna go!
Love that chair! Can’t beat that price :o)
Thanks Diane! :)
Very cute chair! Its amazing how you transform so many things into treasures!
Thank you Elizabeth!
It turned out so neat! I love it white. You done good!!!
Nancy
Thanks Nancy. :) xxoo
Great job, I too heard that you could wet the seats to make them more tight. I need another chair like I need a hole in the head but I love them very much. Great color in the master.
Ha, thanks! I may try wetting it.
Oooh, very nice!
Thank you!
Very nice! The two tone chair thing is so hot right now! :)
Thanks Jill!!
Love it, it turned out so sweet and looks great in your bedroom! I looked for Heirloom White at Lowes but couldn’t find it…maybe I don’t know what I’m looking for.LOL I was looking in the spray paint section.
Rondell
hmmm that’s weird. They could have just been out of it too. It’s “Rustoleum 2x’s coverage, painter’s touch” I believe. Just ask someone to help you find it next time. :)
looks great with the white paint. What is the wall color in your bedroom? I really like it.
Anna, look at my master bedroom redo post and you’ll find all the info there. It’s called Rainwashed. :)
It looks so different with just a little bit of paint! Wonderful job!
Thanks Amanda!!
What fun chairs. They remind me of my mom’s house. Congrats on such a great find.
Love that after!
The rush chair looks super painted white! I did replace a rush seat by weaving old leather belts from the thrift shop. It could maybe be an alternative for the other chair? Here’s what I did. http://veryirie.blogspot.com/p/before-afters.html (Sorry, it’s on my before and after page and doesn’t have it’s own direct link.) I’m already a follower and enjoy reading your blog to see what you’ve been up to. Pam @ Sallygoodin
I have done quite a bit of rush seat weaving in my day. Your seat material appears to be a paper fiber rush material which is the most common. Be careful when wetting it. Over wetting will cause it to unravel. When I put finish on rush I use amber shellac that has been thinned with denatured alcohol. The first coat is usually a 50/50 mix. The second coat and third if needed, contains more shellac than alcohol. I did a post on rush weaving a while back. Here is the link if you would like to read it.
http://toolsareforwomentoo.blogspot.com/2010/05/rush-seat-makeover-tutorial.html
Best of luck with your chair. Please stop by and ask questions if you need help. That is what my site is for.
Rory
It is so pretty! I love it! :)
Thanks Melissa!
Don’t you love great thrift store finds? And, as you said, some days are a bust! That’s why you gotta go all.the.time!! Good job on your chair!
Thanks Chantelle!! Luckily I’ve had some good finds this week. :)
Wow, what a transformation. It’s amazing what a little bit of white paint can do isn’t it?!
Best wishes,
Natasha.
very nice! and wow, for just $5/each, you can’t beat a project like this :)
I’d say the chair turned out perfect. Great job!
Laura @ along for the ride
wow! What a great find and transformation!!
Thank you Kaysi!! xxoo
Thanks for linking up to the Mad Skills party!
madincrafts.blogspot.com
I have those exact chairs (6 of them ) AND the oak table to match! My Mother and Daddy purchased them at least 30 years ago!! I inherited them when they passed. The chairs are in relatively good shape, but the table needs to be refinished. Neat find on your blog~~
oh, this looks great. What a great chair and an excellent price. I’d love to stumble on a set of these.
Thank you!! Yep can’t beat the price that’s for sure. :)
It looks great white!
Thanks Wendy! :)
Wow! This turned out so pretty. Great job!
Thank you for participating in the Creative Therapy Session at Life in the Pitts.
Thanks so much. :) xxoo
Love it!
You should link up to my Upcycled Awesome linky party!
http://www.thetshirtdiaries.com/2010/06/upcycled-awesome-linky-party-2.html
Thanks for telling me about it Robin!
Love how it’s makeover makes the rush seat stand out! So pretty.
These are great chairs! I have two rush seat chairs but they are not old. They are green and I am tired of the color. Now I can see how they will look with a new coat of paint. Yours turned out so pretty.
Happy Friday! I am stopping by via the linky party.
Your chair looks utterly charming!
Thanks so much Laura! :)
Drooling!!! I LOVE those chairs.
Aww thanks Maryann!!
Turned out great.
If only I had room to spray paint furniture, I would be all over it like cream in a Twinkie!
haha, thanks Meghan!! Our garage is a wreck because that’s my “room.”
It came out great–our garages are twins of mess! :)
haha, I’m sure mine is WAY worse.
It looks really nice in that corner, good job.
Thank you Kim!
Very nice!
Thanks for sharing @ Anything Related!
Love the white! Fantasic find and great makeover! Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase. I greatly apprecite it! Hope you have a wonderful week! ~ Stephanie Lynn
It looks so fresh now.
-Rene
Your chair came out great!
Thanks so much for linking up to Fab Friday –
cheers!
Thanks Julie. :)
Hi! I’m on of your new followers! I just started blogging recently and I am so inspired by all of your ideas and those of blogworld! I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on so much creativity and only relying on magazines all this time!! Anywho- I was super excited to see we had the exact same idea! I actually came across a similar chair at a garage sale and did the same thing! Can’t wait to see all your other posts!
~Mari
Oh my.. I have your chair’s twin in my kitchen! Love the colour change you did to yours, pretty with the seat. Very nice!
Donna