make me pretty – ikea circa 1984

When I stumbled upon these sad chairs in the alley, waiting for the trash truck, I knew I needed to try and give them a new life. When I took off the crumbling seat cushion I discovered an old Ikea sticker. These lovelies must be Ikea circa 1984 – they have hat mid-80’s vibe to them!

Well, first I knew I needed to have new wood cut for the seats and I needed part of it to be a half circle – so I enlisted my dad since he has the proper saw. Then I went over to Quilting Adventures to pick out some laminated cotton fabric. If you haven’t seen this fabric yet it is super cool – like a cross between cotton fabric and oil cloth. It has a protective covering but is still flexible and easy to work with. I chose a pattern by Amy Butler. You can also find this fabric on Etsy.

I spray painted the chairs after tediously sanding away all the rusty bits and put new foam and fabric on my seats and ta-da! like new, cute, outdoor chairs!

Come see these guys, and me, at my open house art party this Saturday! I hope to see you there!