Happy 2nd day of January! Actually, it feels like a Monday instead of a Thursday, but it’s all good, right? I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year’s but now it’s back to work! My first DIY project of the year and it’s a child’s rocking chair makeover. Come see how it turned out!
Well, technically, I completed it last year (way back in 2019!) but am just now sharing it! I bought this cute little wooden rocking chair a few years ago at an antique store and have been saving it until I needed it. As you may have heard, we are expecting our first grand baby (a boy!) in a few weeks so I figured it was time to dust off this little charmer off and give it a make over. This is what it looked like when I found it:
The rocking chair looks pretty old judging from the faded lime-green velvet fabric and the obvious wear and tear. However, the rockers and wood seem to be in good shape. i.e. still quite sturdy.
Clearly someone had recovered the chair at some point because as you can see there are exposed tacks on the back, which look to be an afterthought. And not exactly a safety feature on a child’s rocking chair.
So, a few weeks ago while we were at the lake house, I decided to tackle this little project. As I removed the tacks and staples and started to remove the green velvet, I discovered the original fabric underneath, which was red vinyl. It was in terrible shape!
I kept plugging away, pulling off the multi-layered fabric and a gazillion tacks and staples using pliers and a tack lifter.
I stripped it completely down to the red vinyl and can understand why someone decided to recover it. Still such a cute chair though.
The underside of the chair had what appeared to be the original dust cover. So, I removed it as well.
Under the dust cover were springs and horse hair, which makes me believe the chair is fairly old.
I removed all of the old fabric, batting and foam. It was old and stained so I tossed it.
And here’s what the little rocking chair looked like completely stripped.
The chair was in great shape structurally, so I decided to clean it and paint it.. 
I tacked down a few of the nails and gave it a few coats of white semi-gloss paint. After all of this work, I decided I wanted to have it professionally upholstered instead of doing it myself. I left the original springs in place so my guy could see how to put it all back together. I had some black and white ticking stripe from a previous project and thought it would be perfect for a little boy’s rocking chair. After I painted the chair, I took it to my upholsterer. A few weeks later I picked it up and here’s how it turned out!
The upholsterer kept the original springs at my request, but used brand new foam and batting. He added cording and new upholstery tacks in just a few places.
It will be a while before the baby is able to enjoy the rocking chair, but it’s ready and waiting for him!
And a quick before and after picture. What a difference, right? I’d love to know the history behind this little chair, but there were no markings or tags to give away a manufacturer or date. But now with new foam, padding and paint, this little chair looks brand new but has the charm of an antique. That’s what I love about vintage furniture!
Well, one month and fourteen days until our little bundle of joy is scheduled to arrive and we can hardly wait! Cradle? Check! Rocking chair? Check! Bassinet? Check! Anything else? Obviously, but these have been a few of my favorite DIY projects since we found out about the baby.
Thank you so much for stopping by my little blog, and if you’ve been following along for a long time, an extra BIG thank you! We have lots of fun things waiting in the wings this year so I hope you’ll join us for new recipes, home decor and remodeling projects! (and a BABY!!!) Have a great day!
Much love, Dell
