Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Dumpster Diving...

**Update** I am linking this post up to A Soft Place To Land for this week's DIY Thursday.
DIY Day @ ASPTL
It is Day 3 of Craft Room Week here at Mandi Shandi's and today I am showing you one of my favorite makeovers, EVER! This little chair I got dumpster diving.
Here is a little history on this little beauty...
On our way to the beach in June, we stopped by the dump to drop off some trash. As I was pulling away I saw a man with a trailer FULL of "junk" that he was throwing away. I have been on the lookout for a chair for the craftroom, and when I saw the one he just tossed in the dumpster, I knew it was my lucky day! When I asked him if I could have the chair he acted like I was looney. "Whatever lady. Do you want all 4? If so you're gonna have to get in the dumpster for one of 'em." Luckily he still had 3 on the trailer so I didn't have to climb in after it. If we did not have the Armada packed to the gills for the beach then I would have taken several items off his hands. All I could squeeze in were two chairs.
They were dirty and stinky (one of them still is), but after a little soap and water I had a decent chair. I unscrewed the seat, and took off a couple layers of the old upholstery.
I decided to use the striped material and just stapled it onto the clean cushion, and then at the last minute decided to add a ruffle. Since I wasn't sure about the ruffle, I hot glued it on. That is, I hot glued it on after I got my glue gun back from Daisy. (No need to worry, the gun was unplugged!)
When I screwed it back on to the chair it was a nice tight fit, so the hot glue is gonna work out fine.
I painted it with several thin coats of Ivy Leaf. For a little over $3 a can, this stuff is wonderful.
Do you love my new chair as much as I do?

27 comments:

Girl with the Curlz said...

Love it!! O.K. miss creative you are starting to make me look bad now (ha-ha)

Anonymous said...

Mandi I am Terrible about forgetting to tell you how much I enjoy your blog - where on earth you get your wonderful crafty ideas, I DO NOT KNOW! Keep up the good work, and keep me proud! I love you so much! Love, Mom

Unknown said...

That chair turned out really cute--I can almost hear it breathe a sigh of relief that it was saved from the trash heap--and now sports a whole new look!

Kelli said...

Cute chair. I need to try spray paint. I'm sure there are some things in my house I could redo.

Michelle said...

What an amazing transformation...you did a great job! I bought that same exact can of spray paint to tackle a few patio projects :)

Happy Wednesday!
~Michelle

Stacie said...

Love the chair--the ruffle was a good choice. And I am assuming that the glue gun wasn't on when Daisy decided to make it her new chew toy?!?

Mandi @ Sweetly Home said...

The ruffle really made this makeover. I just love it! I've never actually dumpster dove but I do drive around on Tuesday and Wednesday night looking to see what kind of trash people have left out. I'm so thankful I've never been caught. I'd be so afraid someone would say something like "whatever lady" to me! Your Daisy is soooooooo cute!!!!

Anonymous said...

I just love that color of green! very cute!

TurtleMommy said...

awesome post!!!! that picture of daisy is hilarious!!

Miss G said...

I came over to your blog today from someone's blog, I can't even remember. :) But, I LOVE your chair! I like how the back is open. Really unusual and cool. I like the color you chose and the ruffle! So fun. I have a little bookcase that was sitting outside our apt. dumpster. I too was glad I didn't have to go diving in. :) Kelly

The Runyans said...

i LOVE ivy leaf. . .i've sprayed several things that color.

excited about your reveal. i'm just excited about getting a craft room in a couple of weeks. . .

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

LOVE that green you chose! :) Visiting from Kimba's party. :)

Joy said...

Yes! I do love your chair---the paint color and the seat cover are so fun!

Heidi of Operation Organization said...

cutie-pah-tootie indeed!!!

Funky Junk Interiors said...

Gosh that's adorable! Amazing what a fun colour and cute fabric will do! Nice choice of colours!

Donna

The Beauty Bargainista said...

great makeover!! Love the color! :)

BJ_Mama said...

Yes, yes I do. I just need a trip to the dumpster now....

Unknown said...

I love it! It shows so much personality. Perfect for a craft room

Kitty Scraps said...

Cute chair! Love the choice of green and the fabric is darling!

Richella Parham said...

I do love your chair! Isn't that Ivy Leaf paint great? Can't beat that price, either. The finished product looks wonderful.

But I must say that I like Daisy best of all. What a cutie! How old is she? A Basset hound was my very first baby many years ago, and they're my favorite dogs. Sooooo cute.

queenbee said...

Great chair!!!! I will be re-do a set of chairs really soon that I got from the Habitat store. Love the green

Britt said...

Very cute! I love what you did!

Bonnie said...

Cute re-do on the chair! Looks great! And a big hello to Miss Daisy!

Decor To Adore said...

Love the color!

I made my own expensive looking typography basket~come see.

Kelli said...

Love it!!

Unknown said...

Krylon RoCkS! Great job!

Kathy C. said...

Mandi, I do love your new chair! It's so fun and bright! :)

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