Make your own Creepy Chair - Tutorial

For this chair, I found an old antique chair that was really beat up and missing its seat. The details were chipped off and the veneer peeling away. But it had some nice detailing on the legs and an opportunity to add some details to the back.

I took some time to make sure the chair was sturdy – added some glue here and there to make sure someone could actually sit in it. Didn't want anyone to break the chair and ruin the party!

If you want to add details to your chair, it’s important to add them at this stage (before you paint). I thought the raised detail on this chair reminded me of bones a bit so I decided to go with that theme.  I had some plastic skeleton hands from the dollar store that fit just perfect on the back. All I had to do was remove that little piece off the ‘wrist’ to make it look correct and glue on the chair. Wood glue did the trick for me this time.

Next I painted the whole chair black with some regular craft paint – you know those paints in the little bottles you can get for a buck. I like working with them and they dry super fast.

Now is the fun part… I mixed white craft paint with a dab of black to make a grey color I was happy with. I dipped the tip of my finger into the paint and gently went over all the raised details on my chair. I wanted to make sure the skeleton hands stood out and also the cute details on the legs. I knew my chair would be in a very low-lit room, so I decided to go a bit lighter on the details so that they would stand out a bit and not get lost.

 

Now, I’m almost ready to add the seat but I decided a nice coat of clear varnish would keep it from wearing and give it a bit of shine (it helps reflect any decorative lighting in the room).

Next, I wanted to pick a fabric for the seat that would complement the skeleton feel I was going for. I found this fabric on the internet. Note when you look close it has skulls on it. Score!

 At this point I had to cut a piece of wood for the seat and add padding and a quick wrap around and staple the fabric. Screwed the seat in place and voila! A real show piece for my living room.

This chair was destined for dump, but now it has a new life and will most certainly be a conversation piece!