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Design Sponge
October 10th, 2008
before and after: erica’s chair + chandelier

before_erica.jpg
today is definitely one of those tgif-type weeks. has this week felt incredibly long for anyone else? my epic battle with wordpress spam (again, sorry for this- we’re almost done with the de-bugging and updating) has left me exhausted and ready for the weekend. so while i check in with our spam-fighting coder i thought i’d post a great before & after that landed in my inbox yesterday. d*s reader erica young made over a great chair and chandelier combo- i love the letter wall behind each shot. great work, erica!

chairafter_erica.jpg
beforechandy_erica.jpg
afterchandy_erica.jpg
afterchandy2_erica.jpg

38 comments
Lisa said:
October 10th, 2008 - 9:58 am

That chair is now magnificent! I love the fabric you used!!! Thanks for the inspiration :)

October 10th, 2008 - 10:12 am

Delicious!

Judith said:
October 10th, 2008 - 10:13 am

Great job on both counts. Inspiring.

October 10th, 2008 - 10:22 am

Love the alphabet wall and the blue paint you chose for the makeover pieces!

Lauren said:
October 10th, 2008 - 10:28 am

does anyone know where that fabric is from? it’s exactly what i’ve been looking for!

kristin said:
October 10th, 2008 - 10:36 am

love the paint color on the chair. the alphabet wall behind it look fantastic! i wonder what was used on the chandelier…spray paint?

October 10th, 2008 - 10:38 am

The chair is great.

Alicia said:
October 10th, 2008 - 10:43 am

Great job! I’ve been thinking about painting a chandelier. Erika - did you use spray paint? It looks like you painted everything (including the wires). any special tips? Thanks!

Nicole said:
October 10th, 2008 - 10:48 am

Great job! I have a very similar chandelier in the house we just purchased. I was going to replace but would love to try painting it now. What paint did you use? Any tips? Thank you.

Kenesha said:
October 10th, 2008 - 11:02 am

Gorgeous, I have the same question about what was used for the chandelier. Maybe I’ll do this to mine, I currently have a brass monstrosity!

Malia said:
October 10th, 2008 - 11:06 am

Erica has such a clean, good style and I am so in love with the way the chair came out!

Caroline said:
October 10th, 2008 - 11:14 am

Stunning, given me loads of inspiration. Did you upholster the chair yourself? If not, where did you go and what do these people charge these days, I wouldn’t know where to begin. Help me please I want to do it too!!!

Erica said:
October 10th, 2008 - 11:14 am

Thanks everyone! In answer to your questions:

I got the fabric at Joann’s. I’m sorry I don’t remember the brand.

I used spray paint for both the chair and the chandelier. The chair was dark, so I used a white primer spray paint, and then the gray. For the chandelier I just used about three coats of blue spray paint, and yep I painted everything. The only thing I taped off were the sockets where the bulbs would go. It was super easy!

amanda said:
October 10th, 2008 - 11:16 am

These before-and-afters are seriously so inspiring.

eileen said:
October 10th, 2008 - 11:49 am

I love the arrangement of letters on the wall. I have a bunch of letters from old signage and have been wanting to do something fresh with them, so this was inspiring!

beth said:
October 10th, 2008 - 12:17 pm

beautiful! very inspiring.

Laura said:
October 10th, 2008 - 12:19 pm

LOVE the lettering on the wall!

Erica said:
October 10th, 2008 - 12:52 pm

Caroline — I just removed the old fabric and foam and cut new foam in the shape of the chair seat. Then just placed the new fabric over the new foam, and attached it to the wooden chair seat with a staple gun. Really really simple.

Catherine said:
October 10th, 2008 - 1:07 pm

This has made me rethink throwing out the hideous brass light fixtures that came with the house. Thank you!

Vicky said:
October 10th, 2008 - 1:31 pm

Love them both! We did something similar with a brass ceiling fan…

October 10th, 2008 - 1:33 pm

these are so great! we are in escrow on our first house and can’t stop daydreaming about what all we will fix up/ repair/ cuteify/ etc. I never knew I had it in me (well, I’m hoping that I do) until I started oohing over these D*S projects!

Kristan said:
October 10th, 2008 - 2:00 pm

Very cute! I also love the E/Z/Y installation on the wall. What’s that all about?

October 10th, 2008 - 2:12 pm

Wow! That chair is amazing. I’m going to have to try this out!

Erica said:
October 10th, 2008 - 3:34 pm

My name is Erica, my husband’s name is Zach and our last name is Young. Hence the E, Z, Y’s

Caroline said:
October 10th, 2008 - 3:40 pm

wow thanks Erica, sounds like even I could manage that, can’t wait to give it a go. LOVE these posts thanks x

Sally said:
October 10th, 2008 - 3:56 pm

What is the best type of paint to use for painting furniture? I have found, when repainting a chest of drawers, that the enamel house paint I used remained a little sticky even when dry…

grace said:
October 10th, 2008 - 4:19 pm

sally

i find you minimize stickyness by doing several, very-thin coats of paint, followed by a thin coat of varnish or poly. that, along with a very long drying period (over night at least) keeps most of my painted furniture free from stickyness.

grace :)

elle said:
October 10th, 2008 - 6:20 pm

i love posts like these b/c where i would see a dated looking chandelier that has no hope of fitting in to my apartment, someone else sees the beautiful details, updates its color and prooves me wrong! inspiring.

Lisa said:
October 11th, 2008 - 1:09 am

Erica-where did you find the large sized letters? My husband and I both love the idea of a monogrammed wall, and since we NEVER agree on anything design-wise I know that I have to act on this! I found smaller sizes at Michaels, but haven’t found the large letters yet. Help!

Erica said:
October 11th, 2008 - 11:21 am

Lisa - The large E I’ve had since I was little and it’s been painted many colors through the years, I think my dad found it in a dumpster. The large Z is cardboard and I got it at Joann’s. As for the rest - ebay, craft stores, and gifts from others.

Kenzie said:
October 11th, 2008 - 12:45 pm

Such a huge difference! They both look brand new and like they were bought in the end! Awesome job.

October 11th, 2008 - 4:19 pm

I am absolutely loving both of these transformations. She managed to take 2 very traditional pieces and make them very contemporary and gorgeous. Job well done!

Lauren said:
October 11th, 2008 - 7:48 pm

I LOVE this letter collage. It’s hard to pull off without being over the top but this is perfect! Good find!

Teresa said:
October 12th, 2008 - 10:55 am

*FAB*ulous! I would have *never* thought that chandelier could have turned out so beautifully. Great job!!

Emily said:
October 12th, 2008 - 12:55 pm

I love that chandelier, good work!

Sue said:
October 12th, 2008 - 11:26 pm

What a beautiful job, on both accounts!! Really l-o-v-e-l-y! Did you spend much time sanding / filling / repairing the chair (the before shows a few dings but the after looks perfect!!)? I read your comments on paint. So, you used enamel? And what kind of sprayer (can you tell I’m a novice??). Thanks!

Nina said:
October 21st, 2008 - 12:39 pm

I redid my chairs in the same fabric too! I also got it at Joann’s and it’s called “Diamond Eye” by Alexander Henry. It’s in the area with the black and white fabrics :)

Jenny said:
October 31st, 2008 - 10:33 am

Erica–Do you happen to be from the Dayton Ohio area? I ask because I saw a chair exactly like this, with an identical crack, at a thrift shop. Although, I suppose that crack could occur in a number of chairs of that design…

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