The Rattan Chairs

Happy Sunday! 

I hope your weekend was as fun as mine! My work friends and I went to a bonfire in Winston-Salem, so needless to say the chair isn't finished yet. While you're waiting for me to finish it up, I thought I'd share with you another upholstery project that I've done in the past. 

Once again I'm kicking myself for not documenting past projects better, but you'll just have to forgive, forget, and try to visualize the in-between steps!

I found four of these chairs in Bluffton, SC with my grandma (thanks Dee!) when I was interning for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. I love rattan, and I knew I'd use them one day when I had a place of my own. The existing floral fabric was the worst. Not to mention dirty. So I used my free time as an intern to fix them up!

When I took the seats off these chairs, they had a particleboard base which crumbled as the screws came out, so I had to replace them. Since I was living alone that summer with no power tools (and no knowledge of how to use them), I asked my boss if he could help me cut four new bases out of some wood from Lowe's. 

While waiting for the new bases, I spray painted all four of the chairs. My original plan was to use a very light blue, but since it was backordered at Hobby Lobby (and I'm super impatient) I chose a super bright blue called "Aqua" by Rust-oleum. After I got my new bases, I used the existing foam cushions for padding and began hunting for fabric!

I found my fabric at a local fabric shop, and as soon as I saw it I loved it. I actually wish I had bought more of this for future projects. 

Here's the "after" picture of my first chair...

The "after" picture for three of the chairs...

And a side-by-side comparison (plus an Instagram filter, I'm sorry)!

Maybe it's just me/I'm a little tacky, but I LOVE the "new" chairs! They're fun and bright, but still neutral enough so that they blend in with my apartment. Here are a couple shots of them in my apartment today:

Three are around my rattan glass breakfast table...

A close up...

And the fourth is sitting beside my glass bamboo TV table.

Needless to say, these chairs in total were way easier to fix up than the cane back I'm currently working on. They are also super lightweight and versatile, and easy to grab and throw around the coffee table quickly when friends are over.

What do you think of my fixer-uppers? Is the blue too bright or would you have gone with a different color?

Until next time!

-Emmi