Tired Chair to Piece of Flair

A neat new seat needn't have a hefty price tag -- or even come from a store. This one reminds us of a Le Corbusier bathroom stool, but it's actually a $30 garage-sale score (if you're lucky, you can find similarly cool free ones on the street during furniture-pickup night). We rejuvenated the find with appropriate upholstery: a mint-green bath towel. "It's soft and welcoming, and you can choose a color that matches your decor," Rebecca says. If it gets worn out or you grow tired of it, just tear it off and use a different towel.

To shine up the chair's chrome frame, Rebecca employed a quick trick her dad uses for his bike: buffing with aluminum foil. Crumple up a piece and rub away the chair's tarnish as if you're using sandpaper. "It sounds like it wouldn't work, but it does!" Rebecca promises. To reupholster the chair, she unscrewed the cushion and cut out a circle of towel that was a few inches wider than the seat. Then she draped the circle over the cushion and used a staple gun to attach the towel to the underside.