So I had every intention of finishing this project last night, but after working out and profusely sweating, and playing with the dogs outside and profusely sweating, I found that as I worked on this project after my nice cold shower, I was just continuing to sweat.  Needless to say I hate sweating, especially after just taking a shower, and so I quit about half way through haha.

Now that I have grossed you out – let’s move on to part 1 of this tutorial!

Here are the outdoor chairs that I have (accompanying iron, glass-topped table not shown).

Some of you might recognize these from Ikea – part of the Granas Table and 2 Chairs set.  In their prime, they were perfect for the front deck.  But, as you can see, the weather has taken a toll rubberwood seats.

Seeing this gave me the perfect opportunity to embark on one last final project for the New to You series!  If you would also like to revamp your Granas chairs, or ones similar to them, here’s what you gotta do:

First, take the existing seat off of the chair, and measure the length and width of the frame.  Mine was 16″ x 15″.

Second, find a super great friend who works at Home Depot, and have them cut you two 16″ x 15″ pieces of 1/2″ plywood.  *Side note: You don’t have to have a super great friend who works at Home Depot, most of the lovely fellas there will cut the wood for you for free any time.  I just happen to have a super great friend who does work at Home Depot – it’s ok to be jealous!

Third, you’ll need 2 cushions – about 2 inches wider and longer than your wood.  I recycled a pair that I already had, but you can buy outdoor upholstery foam or other cushioning from Joann’s or your local hardware store.

And finally, you’ll need some cavas or outdoor fabric to cover the seats with.  Mine is outdoor canvas from Joann’s – leftover from the tennis bag I made my Mom last year.

I also picked up a lightweight plastic drop cloth to help secure the padding to the wood, and deter moisture from settling into the wood and padding.  (This is optional.)

You’ll also need a staple gun – which I did not photograph (duh) – and I used 3/8″ staples (also not shown).

Next, I cut the plastic down into 2 pieces so that it was 12 inches large than the width and length of the wood = 28″ x 27″.

After cutting my plastic pieces, I stapled them to one edge of each wood piece – allows about a 3 inch overhang.

Then, I lined the wooden pieces up on top of the cushion, centering them.  Pull the plastic so that it taught and staple into place on the opposite side.

Continue stapling the other two sides until fully secured.

This is where I got too hot and gave up.  Check back tomorrow for the finished results!