Ta-DA Tuesday- Reclaimed Rocking Chair.

Hey guys! Thanks for stopping by for Ta-Da Tuesday! Today I'm sharing my reclaimed rocking chair project with you. I found this cute little rocker on freecycle.org. If you haven't signed up for freecycle yet, you should really check it out. It's a wonderful grass roots program that connects people who are giving away stuff they no longer want with people who would like to give said stuff a new home. ( =

You never know what you might find on freecycle. It's a great way to keep help the environment and score some cool stuff at the same time. I found this rocker locally from a lady who had purchased it with plans to restore it but after a new baby, found it ended up crammed in a shed collecting dust. I agreed to pick it up and give it a new home.

This poor little chair was in horrible shape. Missing spokes, half sanded, to wobbly to even sit in, and in complete disarray.  I started the project by wood gluing all the spokes back in to their holes and sanding down the rough parts of the chair. The chair was originally black and someone before me started sanding it back down to the original wood. I would have loved to left it the wood color but I just couldn't get all the black paint out of the carving detail on the back of the chair- so I decided to just paint it white. After gluing, sanding, and painting (SEVERAL coats of semi gloss paint!), I removed the seat of the chair, replaced the padding, and recovered it in a cute toile pattern that I had in my fabric stash. I also made a cute little pillow, in matching fabric to go with it.

I have this on my front porch right now, and I kind of like it there, so I am considering waterproofing it some. I think I will add a clear waterproof vinyl over the seat and a waterproof paint sealer to the chair- that way I don't have to run outside and grab the cushions every time it rains. But for now- I'm pretty proud of my rocker that cost me... $0! So- Go check out freecycle.org and see what you can reclaim today.