Filed under: Your Home, Projects, Furniture
Accent chairs can make an otherwise low-key room pop -- but no need to shell out for one that matches your decor. It's a quick and fun DIY job!Does anyone really need an accent chair? Probably not. But as someone who often hosts crowded dinners at my modest table-for-eight, I can say that they're more often useful than not. And even when there aren't extra guests, my accent chair serves as a purse rest, designated shoe-removal spot and yes, on occasion, the much-needed boost to reach the top shelf in my kitchen.
Amy Preiser
Another bonus: Unlike a sofa, or curtains, this is one piece of furniture you don't have to be sensible about. I mean, it's right there in the name: An accent chair can't be boring. No neutrals welcome here.
Even though this is a great DIY project for beginners, I took on this particular chair with my dad, a seasoned contractor. He's the one that found the chair in a client's basement, the last remaining piece from an abused dining set. He's also the one that did the less-glamorous steps: Sanding the wood and painting it with primer so it would evenly soak up the paint. (Note: Don't tell my dad this, but when I revamp chairs on my own, I often skip these steps. You can too, if you're willing to do quickie touch-ups for paint chips.)
Next came the best part: The creative decisions. I found this wacky ikat scrap of fabric and gold trim at one of my favorite hometown stores: The Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse, where even the name is inspiring, and owner Lisa kindly weighed in on paint colors for the chair. 75 cents later, we were off to Lowes, where I zeroed in on Valspar's Autumn Fire, and bought a pint for $8.
Back at home, we turned the chair upside-down to unscrew the seat, and put the new fabric right over the old, securing the edges with a staple gun and using fabric glue for the trim. As for the chair, once my dad prepped it for painting, we gave it two coats of Autumn Fire, followed by three coats of lacquer. Once it dried, we screwed the seat back in and spent the rest of the day bragging about our makeover.
The chair stayed at my parents' home, where it now offsets their beige guest room with the light blue comforter and white bookshelves. Needless to say, it was a room in need of an accent. Now, whenever guests arrive, their first question is about the chair: Where did you get that? And just like that, the accent chair reveals an extra utility -- a conversation starter.