Upcycled Chair

When we bought our 90-year old house and started clearing out the attic, we found a few things we decided to keep.  One of them was a chair.  For the six-month renovation it was the only place to sit in the house.  I used to come up to the house with the baby.  I'd work on the house and the baby would sleep or play on a little mat.  And then I'd sit in the old, dusty attic chair to nurse.

I'm so glad that phase of life has passed, but I love the memories this little chair holds for us!  And it must have been through a lot.

As I started unpicking the upholstery I found three layers of fabric.  This little chair has been well loved and gone through a lot of facelifts already!  The worst part about this project was working with the very dirty original fabric.  I wanted to keep it as a pattern, and couldn't wash it for fear it would shrink.  Finally I got to the bare bones.

The wood was in great condition.  I just gave it a good scrub with water and wood soap.  And then gave it a clean and condition with steel wool and boiled linseed oil.  The cushion, on the other hand, was shot.   I checked on cut foam options, but decided to go with a clearance cushion at Ikea.  It was the right(ish) size, cost less and by unpicking the covering I got a good pattern and "free" zipper.

I sewed a new cushion cover and then recovered the chair in fabric that matches the Nursing Chair.  (When we found the attic chair, I ordered the fabric from Suppose before they ran out.  The fabric has been sitting in the sewing cupboard waiting patiently for this day.)

And voila!  The chair has been "upcycled".  But seriously, given this is at least the third makeover this chair has seen, I think the chair just sees it as a new outfit.

Now we kind of have a set!