The Leather Chair Project

A week and a half ago I had a successful thrifting trip and during that trip I picked up a leather chair that has seen better days. Looks sort of rough huh? Well I saw the potential and for $24.95 and a leather chair with nail head trim for that price…I couldn’t pass it up. I brought it home and at first I just stared at it and wondered if I had made a mistake. It was too late to turn back now. I gathered my supplies and began the upcycle process.  

Process:

• Clean wood with soap and water
• Allow wood to dry
• Sand the wood (I used a sand block and sand paper instead of the palm sander because it was easier to get into the grooves.)
• Wipe the wood down to remove all of the dust
• I tried to use a regular paint brush to add the stain but it was not smooth. I traded the bristle brush for a sponge and it worked well
• I put one light coat of stain on and allow it to dry overnight
• Once the firs coat was dry I added a second and a third coat allowing it to dry between coats
• Once the stain was fully dry, I added two coats of polyurethane. I allowed the polyurethane to dry between coats as well
• The entire process took a week to complete

Finally, I used the leather cleaner to clean the leather portion of the chair. It was amazing how the leather came back to life. Once all of the dirt was removed, the quality of the leather really shown through.

It’s great finds like this leather chair that make me love the art of thrifting. Some days you find nothing but junk and then there are days when you find great pieces for very reasonable prices, like my chair. The chair found a home in my bedroom and it is both comfortable and nice to look at.

I found other items during this thrifting trip as well. Stay tuned for updates on them as well, once the upcycle is complete.

Have you taken a recent thrifting trip. If so, share your finds.