Outdoor Market Trash to Treasure Furniture Re-Do.

Here is what I thought was a nice find. I actually drove by it a couple of times before stopping to check it out. The wood (which was still there), that was at the head of the back and the seat, was rotted. As you can see, it also had some rust (and of course dirt). Other than that, the places where it's welded together, were still strong. I decided to take it home and see what I could do with it (another thing to add to the craft stock pile).

I have one of those common glider rockers that I bought but have never really been happy with, so this would replace it nicely.....not too big, not too small. Of course, I kept the wood pieces to use as a pattern for those replacement pieces. By this time, I actually had a little "stash" of wood pieces in the garage that I had picked up at other times at the Outdoor Market. People are always throwing out decent size pieces of plywood.

I had to do some scrubbing and sanding of the rust in order to get as much of that off as possible. That's where one of those little Dremel tools really comes in handy! Once I had removed most of the rust, a couple of good coats of metal spray primer...and all I had to do is pick out what color I wanted it to be.

I decided on a hammered gunmetal spray paint. It really turned out nice! Now for the back and the seat. After cutting the pieces of plywood to the correct size, I decided to go ahead and cover them with some material I had purchased on a clearance table (as you know....I don't sew....so this material really had to draw me in order for me to purchase it for some possible future project).

Now what about the foam that goes under the material? How many upholstered chairs or sofas have you passed by that have been at the curb? If the material is still intack, you can be pretty sure the foam that's under that material is going to be okay. And you'll know right away if there's numerous stains whether it's something you should pick up and use. I don't mean the whole sofa....just the cushions! This will save you a lot as far as the cost of a project.....do you know what good density foam costs at a fabric shop?

After shaping the foam (use an electric carving knife to cut it to size) to the size of the boards, stapling the material around the boards and attaching them to the rocker, here is the end result:

As you can see, I also sewed a matching pillow! That was a real feat for me!

So, when you see something at the Outdoor Market that catches your eye....stop and check it out....it could be your next best completed craft project! And it didn't even take that much elbow work or expense to complete.