I’ve been putting off this project for months now. To have it finally completed is such a weight off my shoulders!
My father-in-law gave us a rocking chair that had been in the family for years. It is the same rocking chair that Tyler was rocked in as a baby, so naturally it was passed onto us. It was great for the first two weeks or so of Jack’s life, and then it broke. Bummer, right? The brittle wicker snapped in half, leaving it completely unusable. So not knowing how to fix it, the rocking chair just sat broken in the corner of Jack’s nursery for 8+ months.
When we moved to California, I decided to tackle the project of fixing it. After talking to my dad and sister Mackenzie, we decided the best route would be to forgo the wicker (which doesn’t fit in with the modern decorations of our home anyway) and replace the back with wood, and upholster it with fabric. I also decided to paint it with oil-rubbed bronze because the wood wasn’t in the greatest condition anyway.
I wish I had taken progress photos, but I only have before and after photos for you all. But here are the steps I took, in case anyone else has a rocking chair project they’d like to tackle!
- Remove all of the wicker, and using posterboard, trace a template for the back and seat. Trace onto wood and cut out with a jigsaw.
- Sand down the entire chair (what a task, with all those nooks and crannies!) and spray a coat of primer on it.
- Spray paint two coats of oil-rubbed bronze.
- Use wood glue to adhere your back and seat cutouts to the chair. Be sure to clamp it down or if you’re like me, you’ll just pile heavy books on it. :)
- Cut out your foam to fit the back and seat of the chair. I used a 1″ foam for the back and a 2″ foam for the seat. I purchased them at Joann’s, taking advantage of lots of sales and coupons!
- Using your template one last time, cut out your fabric, leaving at least 3-4″ on every side (to compensate for the foam you are adding).
- Staple gun your fabric over your foam, onto the seat. You may also want to glue an extra piece of fabric or wood onto the back, to cover up your staple gun mess. :)
- Assemble your rocking chair again, and you’re done!
I love, love, love the end result. And if you ever sat in it before, you’ll notice now it’s much more comfortable!
LOVE this! Derek and I are wanting to get a new rocking chair for when the baby comes in a few months, but maybe I’ll look on Craigslist first for an older one we can re-do….not like we have enough to do already, ha!
You should totally look on Craigslist! I really want an Eames rocker but they’re waaaaay expensive so that is definitely not an option. But redoing an old one isn’t as hard as you think. Just break up the steps and then it doesn’t seem overwhelming.
Refurbishing/building/projects are the kind of thing Derek and I love doing – we just have the longest list of projects already! I looked briefly on Craigslist last night…nothing quite as cute as your rocker, darn. But I’ll definitely keep my eyes open!