"Before"
Remember this recent story about how to reupholster vintage dinette chairs affordably? Well, reader Melissa used the video shown to tackle doing the upholstery herself — both on the dinette chairs and a vintage Cosco high chair she found for $3.12. Melissa also used steel wool to polish the chrome, and achieved what looks to be perfect results. Oh my goodness — her DIY project turned out beautifully — you go, girl! Read on for Melissa’s story of triumph…
Mel writes:
Very impressive job, Mel!
Hello!
I’m always checking out your website, because I love retro and mid century modern style. I know your always putting people’s projected on your site. And I thought you might like to put mine up
I have refinished a 1950′s table and chairs as well as a high chair. I bought the table and chairs off craigslist about two years ago for about a $100… I bought the fabric for about $50… and then the steel wooling started. I thought it was going to be much harder than it actually was, and I was pretty worried it was not going to turn out well. But I surprised myself. and everything turned out better than I could have ever imagined.
Yes, who among us has not purchased and refinished a vintage Cosco high chair -- before we actually had a baby for it?
Then a few weeks ago I spotted a retro high chair at the thrift store for $3.12. I thought to myself well I don’t have any kids, and that would be stupid for me to buy. But I could just couldn’t resist it for only $3.12. So I thought, well, I could refinish it and sell it. But now that I have it done and it looks so good, I feel like I need to save it for when I have a child lol.
I asked Melissa whether she used the video I featured on my site, and also quizzed her on where she got the supplies. She said:
I did use her video. But I did not know it was on your site, I just googled “reupholster retro chairs” and eventually found that video. I bought the fabric from Beatrice, the lady in the video. I had originally emailed her to find out where I could buy that type of vinyl, because the only kind I was finding was the kind with backing or non plyable. Then she just told me I could buy it from her. So I did
Mel
Thank you, Mel, for this inspiration. Of course, I asked Mel what else she had going on in her house. More to come maybe!
Reupholster 1950s dinette chairs affordably 
Troy’s fabulous, like I mean fabulous, collection of vintage airline travel bags 
50th anniversary of the Eero Saarinen Tulip Chair by Knoll – iconic 50s 60s mid century style 
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Beautiful job!
That dinette set is just so beautiful, what a wonderul job you did! I found a gray one the same style with the vinyl intact, and I passed it up becasue it had some rust on the legs….perhaps I will check and see if it is still there now that I know the steel wool works!
by the way….I love that window shade. the dinnette set, the shade and the vinyl all look so good together. very well put together! so bright and cherry. love it!
Beautiful job!! Everything looks great! I am SO excited to learn that steel wool will work on table & chairs. The set in my kitchen has so much rust & I just tried the steel wool & it looks great- who knew?! Thanks so much!
Congrats on such an awesome job!!
Looks fantastic! I love the shade you have hanging there, too!
Those colors are so fabulous! And I wish they still made high chairs like that, so good for her to buy that now. The ones they sell these days are so big and bulky.
Agree regarding the high chair. My mom (great grandma that she is) has one and has used it often when needed. Great that it folds up and not so huge as others. Stainless tray cleans well too. You’ll like it! Love the colors too – just heard tangerine is the 2012 color of the year.
This is the happiest kitchen dinette I have ever seen!
Ugh ADORABLE!!!
Everything in the photo is bsolutely beautiful, Mel!
An alternative spelling would be….
A-bsolutely beautiful……sigh….
Absolutely gorgeous. You did a really great job, Mel! I’d love to see some close-up shots of the tricky bits, like the seams. I’m guessing the tabletop was in good shape when you started? That old Formica is so hard to kill. I love it!
I have a great dinette similar to this, and I have structural problems with the chairs- my kids lean back in them and snap the welds. I have to take my upholstery OFF, and get the welds fixed, and then put it back on.
What a happy space—I love it! Fabulous job on the reupholstering and on creating such a colorful, happy room!
The high chair in particular looks AMAZING!
Oh my gosh, you would not believe how awesome that set would look in my kitchen! I’m putting the final coat of paint on my cabinet doors today, and it’s almost the exact shade as those chairs.
Absolutely gorgeous job! I wish I had the patience to do that
The high chair looks beautiful, but would recommend against using it as-is. The newer high chairs have a strap or a block between the baby’s legs to keep them from slipping out of the front of the chair.
Good point, Amy: Yes, get informed about updated safety precautions and designs when considering using vintage furniture …
Thanks everyone! I worked really hard on them. And the chair actually came with a safety strap that was so disgusting that I threw it away. I do have a new one to put on. I just have not gotten to it yet
Again: Safety standards have changed dramatically over the years. Consult with professionals regarding the safety, or not, of these vintage high chairs!!!
Fabulous! The high chair looks just like the one I ate in when I was a little pipsqueak, but not after my mom was done having all six of us! It looked like a before picture then.
Stunning! Absolutely stunning! It looks like a showroom!
Great job! And the fact that she looks so young and is so interested in keeping vintage alive is great!
LOVE it!
I currently have a table very close to that one – except the sides are solid chrome, it doesn’t have the red strip. We had the yellow one when I was growing up, and my daughter has one like it that is solid red! Does anyone know who the manufacturer was? And we had a high chair just like that for my darling baby brother. Love it!
Cosco
Hi Susan,
Like Pam said, Cosco made lots of tables, chairs, high chairs, kitchen roll around utility carts, and also lots of the high step stools/chairs that had the flip out steps.
Another big manufacturer of the dinette sets was Virtue Brothers in California. I had one that was yellow cracked ice, with the wide solid chrome band, 6 chairs, and two leaves. Solidly built! Alas, I gave the set to my mom, and went to a mcm oak dining set, more in keeping with the room it is in.
Thanks for the info…yes, the “cracked-ice” tops are the look I love in those old tables.
You did a wonderful job:) Very colorful…I love the shade <3…
Great job Melissa!
I have that high chair hanging in my garage. Sad to say, but it was mine when I was a baby. It is missing it’s tray and foot-rest, though. Any idea if you can get replacements for those? This one looks so good that it makes me want to redo mine!
Gorgeous!!! I am so in love with that dinette set and hight chair! I am trolling Craigs List for a table just like this
Way to go Melissa!
RE: the high chair – I wouldn’t have been able to pass it up either, it is so darling! And to add my 2 cents about the safety issue – [pam edited commentary on safety issues -- no personal advice, folks -- consult with an expert.] Heck, it’s cute just for decorative purposes too
What a wonderful job of rescuing and reupholstering those chairs! The table is perfect with them and the whole room looks great!
On my screen, the chair vinyl looks like Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year: Tangerine Tango (http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/category.aspx?ca=88). Gorgeous!
Hey, MY color of the year 2011 was Orange like this!!!
Ahead of the curve, Pam, as always!
Beautiful job! I love it all, especially the high chair. They don’t make them like that any more, trust me.
Great Job!!! I just recently did the same thing with my cocktail diner room’s set! I too found a vintage cosco high chair exactly the same as the one you have and I covered it in a red glitter vinyl. I dont have children yet either but my sister inlaw is expecting in a few months and my husband and I are trying to plan a family so dont feel bad! Im always 5 steps ahead of things too! lol. I figured, that Im planning to have kids soon and theres my familys children that can benefit from the high chair.. you never know who may stop by and need a place for the baby! My dinette set is very similar. I used red and black and trimmed it in leopard print. I got 4 chairs and a table for 40.00. it was sooo beat up. it sat in someones barn for over 30 years. I got all the rust and such off and reupholstered it and did the furniture tacks and pretty much gutted everything and started from scratch! I get caught up in projects by myself and like to usually keep it that way. But from 4:30am on a sunday morning til about 11pm sunday night, I finished it all.. ofcourse with food and potty breaks here and there. But seriously!! fantastic Job!! us DIY’ers should form together and run a business! these kind of projects are what keeps me going day in and day out! Im so happy for you.. also anyone out there who is also in the midst of doing this kind of project, ive also found that the brand chemical “CLR” works wonders with just a scotch green scrubby sponge to remove rust.. I tried the steel wool and it scratched the chrome a bit.. so this was more effective for me and was alot quicker..
Have a great day everyone!
vintage decorating just makes me smile!!!!
Beautiful!
But I have one suggestion and I am surprised no one else has said this:
Now that you have the metal clean-ditch the steel wool. Too abrasive….and it will scratch up that chrome plating in no time.
I would just damp wipe it clean, and every couple of months wash it with a thin paste of Bon Ami or Barkeepers Friend and water; buff dry. Good for another 50 years!
Great job.
Another trick for polishing chrome is fine pumice powder. Can be found at most hardware stores. Use a soft moistened cotton cloth and dip it in the powder. Rub on chrome and let dry. Polish with another cotton cloth. I suggest using car wax to maintain the brightness as you would on your car. Doing this helps prevent oxidation that builds up in time. Fab job on the restoration!!
I just completed a project where I used aluminum foil to remove rust from chrome chair legs. A roll of the cheap stuff from the 99 cent store worked wonders. Use the non-shiny side and a little soap and water. It will crumple up on you, so you’ll use a few sheets. Who knew!?!
Wow! This looks so great. LOVE IT.
And another vote for the cheapo aluminum foil-hubby’s family has used that for years-works great and easy, cheap. The foil actually rubs off and fills in the little scratches so it all looks nice.
CLR-have to try that one.
I especially like the Marimekko-esque shade. Did you make that yourself?
I’ve been looking for instructions to make/cover shades. There used to be a family owned store near here that gave classes, but the chains ran them out of business. How I wish I had taken the class.
Need to make a custom shade for our kitchen.
Thanks for sharing-this is super cute.
Please, do not really use the high chair for children. That is the same model I fell out of twice as a kid. (you would have thought my parents would have learned after the first fall). I still hate hearing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” which was “my song” for years.
Kudos to Melissa! That dining set is beautiful! And I love that orange color; it is happy!
One way to polish chrome legs that worked really well for me: Get chrome wheel polish wool from an auto supply store. I used something similar to Luster Pad. It came in a metal tin and was chunks of wool impregnated with a buffing cream. It was not as abrasive as steel wool, it cleaned all the crud and rust off of the legs without scratching them and once it was buffed with a clean cloth, it polished and protected the legs from further corrosion.
Does anyone know a line of vinyl that is smooth and matte (like the original upholstery on the Cosco chairs) and not made to resemble leather? I’ve looked around on the websites mentioned in other posts (and a lot of others) and it seems like if it’s not sparkly or patent leather, it’s pebbled or has some kind of fake leather grain… Am I wrong?? Thanks!
I have two stories with sources — Naugahyde, for example, has hundreds of choices – ?
Melissa,
What brand and color name that is on your walls.