Old Chair to Clothes Rack

 Hello Readers. Is clothing storage a problem at your home? I never seem to have enough storage and I know I am not alone in this. I can't be. I have been wanting a small clothing rack of some kind in my bedroom and when I saw this chair, I knew exactly what I was going to do.  

 This old chair got a new life. 

That's me. I went for a walk and found this red chair. My neighbor didn't want it anymore and was going to throw it away, so it came home with me. 

I brought it home and stored it in my garage until I had time to deal with it. It was very dusty so I wanted to clean it. 

When I had time, I gave it a good wash down with liquid dish soap and water so it would be nice and clean.

 

I sprayed all over the chair from every angle I could. The chair was a little banged up. I like that old, beat-up look but the red paint would last longer if I sealed it with a clear coat to seal it. This can of spray "Clear Glaze" was in my basement so I used it. I always try to use what I have on hand. It splattered a little but it will dry clear. Don't worry, this will work out great.  

I used this Clear Glaze spray paint. It was easy to apply and worked like a charm.

 

I let this clear coat dry for 48 hours. It made a clear sheen all over the chair. No blobs are visible from the splattering can of spray I used. It was fully dry and ready to come back in the house. 

  

This empty corner is the perfect home for the red chair. I want to hang it up on the wall and use it as a clothes rack. I was thinking this would be a dressing corner with a mirror to help me get ready in the morning.

 

We started by marking where the chair should be hung. I wanted the hanging clothes to be in my eye line. I am pretty short so my eye line is lower than most peoples eye line. Choose a height that works for you. 

 

The chair might get heavy with clothing hung from it. That means we need to find a wall stud to hang it from. We used a stud-finder tool. And, the wall studs were not where we needed them to be. We marked where they were for later. 

 

We decided to use a small board to add strength. This doesn't blend in with the wall so we took a break to paint this board to blend into the wall. 

 

This craft paint matches my walls almost exactly. It is called "Antique White" but it matches my cheap builders grade off-white paint really well. I painted the board with this paint. It needed to dry overnight. We came back the next day to finish this project. 

 

Now that little board matches the wall much better. It is wide enough to overlap the studs by a couple inches on both sides. It still needed to be level to hang the chair properly. We checked the level and marked where to drill into it and the studs. 

 

We drilled through the board and into the stud. This will be stronger than just hanging the chair from the drywall. 

 

We did the same thing over on the left where that wall stud was. These were the only studs in this little corner so this is where it's going.

 

The top center part of the chair back touched the wall so that is where we drilled through the chair to screw it to the board and to the wall. That little board will distribute the weight to the two wall studs. It can hold so much more weight/clothes now. 

 

My chair was missing it's seat so I added a couple books to make a shelf. 

 

This is a great spot for putting an extra handbag or hat. 

 

The rails at the bottom of the chair is perfect for hanging clothes. I thought I could hang up my outfits for the week. If I set out my clothes for the next day or the next few days, I would be more likely to get ready, dressed, and out the door on time in the morning. It would also be great for jackets, hats, and bags by the door. Either way it can be a help to get you (Or your kids!) ready to go in the morning. 

 

I added a mirror next to the new clothes rack, to help me get dressed in the morning. I think if the outfits and the mirror are close by each other, it would help me get myself together on time in the mornings. I hope you can try this or it inspires another organization idea. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use a Broken Chair

 Hello Readers. Sometimes in this life, things break. Lots of things break, I found a broken chair and thought it shouldn't be thrown out. Do I know how to fix it properly? No. But that's OK. Let's use that chair. I have so many ideas!

 Yes, that is me taking my neighbor's trash. But this chair was really sturdy and still had a lot of life left in it. I wanted to save it from the landfill.

I took this brown chair and let it sit in my garage until I was ready to do something with it. You can see the seat is missing. It seemed to be missing some kind of seat that must have worn out. It sat in the garage until I was ready, I never take anything like this in the house until I can clean it. 

 

The seat of the brown chair was missing but it probably looked something like this. There must have been a cushion or seat of some kind originally. It could be replaced but I can still use this chair even if I don't fix or replace this seat.

 

I used various brushes to clean this chair. I wanted to really get in the nooks and crannies and make sure all the dust and dirt was gone. This is important for the next step. I don't think it matters what kind of brush you use, but I found that the toothbrush worked best me. 

I went it my utility room and searched for something I could use to wipe the chair down and refresh the finish and hide some of the little scratches, roughed up and faded areas. 

 

I grabbed this one because it was thin and watery. It was also clear. I just wanted to freshen up the finish, not re-stain it. This stuff smells bad, make sure you have good ventilation if you use it. 
 

I wiped the entire chair down with a sponge and I added a little more refinish liquid as needed. I didn't want the sponge dripping but it needed to be wet enough to cover the surface of the wood. 

 

The wood looks so much better when it is wiped down and refreshed. It almost looks like it was moisturized. This wood was not smooth, it had a bit of a rough finish. That was just the way they stained/finished it. It was pretty but a thick furniture polish might have gotten stuck in the rough surface. I thought this watery kind of wood refresher would work best. 

 

I was thinking of this chair as a side table instead of a chair. A large book can sit over the missing seat and it can work as a small bookshelf. Large thin books can even fit under the seat in between the legs of the chair. 

 

A large tray can create a side table that can hold small items at the front door like keys, wallets and glasses. The chair and tray could even be a small night stand by the bed. 

 

Need a plant stand? A medium plant can sit in the open seat. Check the sizes carefully to get a good match. This plant fit well and was large enough that it rested in the open seat and did not fall to the floor and make a mess. 

 

This chair/table can hold a large plant too. Check the sizes carefully so your plant will be secure. This plant sits well on the chair and it gets it up off the floor. I love all the different uses of this chair. I'm sure you can think of a few of your own. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.