Remember the makeover in this room?

You can see the entire space here.

Do you notice anything that sticks out in this room?

If I go all Sesame Street and point out that one of these things doesn’t belong, can you see it?

THAT CHAIR LEG.

You might not have noticed it at first, but once I did doesn’t that chair leg get on your last nerves? It’s like it doesn’t belong in the space at ALL. Everything is so light and airy and girly and then there’s this dark, ominous out of place chair leg that showed up at the party.

Yikes.

Seriously.

That chair leg needed to GO.

Here’s how we fixed it (and it’s probably not what you think). It was so simple that I can’t believe it took me so long to change it.

Here’s our simple budget decorating tip for an outdated armchair.

Here’s a better picture of the chair so you can see the entire project.

This chair came with us from the farmhouse living room. We’ve had it for years and it ended up in Westleigh’s room and she likes the size of it and the comfortableness of it and it’s perfect for watching movies or reading books or listening to 10th-grade gossip.

I’ll let you discern what it’s used for most.

(total aside: insert eye wink)

Here’s a close-up of the leg so you can get an idea of how dark it is against the lightness of the gray rug.

When we were working on the bedroom makeover, we looked at buying a new chair.

And in the middle of all the chair shopping, I found the most amazing chair that I can’t find the link to now. It looked kind of like this chair. It was khaki with nailhead trim and a tufted back.

But there were two major differences.

It had clear, see-through acrylic legs.

And it was $850.

I don’t think I’ve ever paid that for a piece of furniture and I wasn’t about to start now. But the chair? It got me thinking. What if we just replaced the legs? What if I could find clear acrylic legs? Was such a thing even a thing?

Yes.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

I found four of these clear, lucite chair legs on Amazon.

You can see them here.

They were so easy to install.

We just unscrewed the other legs and attached the new legs.

Here’s a picture of the first leg after we attached it to the chair.

Our front legs attached easily.

In the back, the holes were slightly bigger and so we used this attachment that came with the kit to attach the back two legs.

We just drilled a slightly larger hole and attached this piece for the legs to attach to.

Here’s the chair after.

DOESN’T IT LOOK LIKE A BRAND NEW CHAIR?

Seriously.

Here’s a close-up of the leg.

See how it just blends seamlessly now into the decor?

The chair looks like it belongs in the room.

Here’s the before.

Here’s the after.

I love a simple, easy change that looks like you spent $850.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create a beautiful space.

That’s why my favorite decorating ideas?

They all start with “budget.”

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Posted On: June 14, 2019

Written By: KariAnne Wood

Comments

  1. Image for vicky vicky

    Good Morning Karianne, I really like the acrylic legs. So perfect. A couple of years ago I ordered a chair for my bedroom and same scenario: the legs were too dark so I painted them Paris Grey and used white wax. they now look perfect. I also shortened the legs a couple inches so it sat better for me. It is lovely in my bedroom.

    Reply
  9. Image for Suzanne Churchwell Suzanne Churchwell

    Karianne OMG!!!💃💃💃💃 The lucite legs make the nailheads pop!!! I love it!!! What a fantastic remedy!

    Reply
  10. Image for Elizabeth Elizabeth

    Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I’m going to look around my house and see where I can change furniture legs! Thank you for sharing this marvelous tip!

    Reply
  12. Image for Shelia P Shelia P

    Hi Karianne! Wow, the chair looks so much more expensive now! If I’m looking for something I can’t find elsewhere I always check Amazon! They have everything it seems,lol! Great job on thinking of doing that to the chairs!! Love it! 😍😊 P.S. I’d love to see more of your design tips on Instagram! 😁

    Reply
  13. Image for Nancy Nancy

    You can get anything on Amazon. Years ago there was a gift/home goods/baby clothing store downtown and we said “You can find anything at Buttners”. Again, nice job and the legs make all the difference!

    Reply
  22. Image for Shirley Shirley

    Who knew??????? (Well now we do, at least the wise people who follow and read your blog.) These legs are just the bomb....can't wait to get some. THANKS!

    Reply
  25. Image for Kris Kris

    OK, so my inner naughty person wants to wolf whistle and say, "Great legs!". :) Only you would think up this solution.

    Reply
  29. Image for Debi Debi

    I love to get your emails! Honestly you are my favorite of bloggers and I think one reason is that you have projects that are easy on our budgets. And of course......your stories!

    Reply
  30. Image for Cindy@countyroad407 Cindy@countyroad407

    That is amazing!!! I’m doing that! Didn’t even know those legs existed!!! My daughter is going to live it. And me! 🙂

    Reply
  32. Image for Susie Susie

    Those legs are so good looking. I did not know they made legs like that to purchase.. I have learned a lot from you!

    Reply
  35. Image for Brenda Brenda

    Hey, You might want to keep the old legs. You never know where you'll move the chair to next! ;) The clear legs are super cute! Have a great weekend!!

    Reply
  36. Image for Sharon Smith Sharon Smith

    Who would have ever thought of that! Certainly not me, I ashamed to admit. Such talent just keeps coming from you. The ideas you come up with! You never cease to be amazing and the chair looks amazingly perfect. Could I please have your brain for just one day! HA!

    Reply
  37. Image for Laura Harrie Laura Harrie

    KariAnne, what an amazing and stunning transformation with the new chair legs! Only you could a chair into a queen!

    Reply
  40. Image for Toni Toni

    Maybe we ladies would look better with acrylic legs too! Everyone would be looking at them and never notice our muffin tops??😄

    Reply
  41. Image for Mary S Mary S

    Oh my goodness... who would've thought little legs could make such a difference. I thought you were going to paint them.... You're a genius!!

    Reply
  44. Image for Ann C Ann C

    Oh how I wish I had a chair with legs! I absolutely love the new look! And you were right, I expected you to paint them, which would have been even cheaper but not nearly as dramatic. Does Westleigh want it back now?

    Reply
  45. Image for Leslie Watkins Leslie Watkins

    OH, MY GOODNESS!! Who knew? Every chair—well, anything with legs—in this house is now getting a look! This is brilliant!! 😘

    Reply
  48. Image for pamela pamela

    Well Karianne I must admit that I thought you were just going to be spray painting your chair legs white, or even getting a carved leg and painting that white, so when you showed up with those AWEMAZING acrylic legs you blew my mind! I am not doing what many of your other friends are doing. I am going looking on amazon! Good thinking chicky!!!

    Reply
  49. Image for Sue Sue

    I didn’t think I was going to like the after. Boy, was I wrong ,the legs are the perfect accent for the nailhead trim. I don’t know what I was thinking. Guess we know “who is the decorator “. Duh

    Reply
  51. Image for Susan Susan

    Oh-My-Goodness! You are a budget decorating genius! I would not have thought to source new legs! I love the new look. The girls are sooo lucky to have a mama to teach them how to "get-the-look-for-less" every time. Way to go!

    Reply
  52. Image for Rachel Going Rachel Going

    That is absolutely fabulous! I think I'll try to find a new acrylic make over for MYSELF on amazon!!!!...all on a budget of course. KariAnne, all puns aside...you my dear are brilliant!

    Reply

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