Turn A Chair Into A Lovely Rocker DIY

Do you have a lounge chair or have one in mind that you wish was really a rocker?  This DIY project will help you do just that.  A new chair is great but finding a used chair will save you more money.  Thanks to Interiors by Kenz for the fun idea.

Today’s post brings me great pleasure to share!  It’s a secret project I’ve been working on since I was 7 weeks pregnant.

It is my first DIY project for baby Crowder.  (First person to come up with a solid nickname for the IBK Fetus gets a prize!)  I’ve always been in love with wingback rockers.  But dang gina.  You might as well trade your first born child for one, and then, what’s the point?!  haha.  The rocker on the left came from Nurseryworks, and the rocker on the right is from Pottery Barn Kids.

And then, it hit me hard like my pregnant emotions during country music.  I could EASILY make my own wingback rocker.  All I would need to do is find a wingback chair, and some rocking chair runners.  It was so simple.  I thought “surely, this has been done a million times.”  But I googled it hard, and didn’t find anything on the matter.  (But in the Internet’s defense, my googling skillz are weak like a teenage girl at a One Direction concert.)

We picked up the Strandmon Wingback chair from IKEA, for $279.

I looked online and found a place that sells unfinished wood rocking chair runners.  I order a pair of adult large in maple.

We measured where we would need to drill holes for the legs to attach to the runners.

The holes need to be 1&1/8″ in diameter.  The center of that hole needs to be 7 1/2″ in from each end.  The hole needs to be 3/4″ deep.

**DISCLAIMER** Double check those measurements by holding up your runners to the legs of the chair to make sure it ‘dry fits.’  It has been brought to my attention that there is variation in the legs of the Strandmon, and my measurements might not be a perfect fit for your chair. 

We used the drill press at my parents’ house.  But if you have a cordless drill, you can use a forstner bit to drill the same kind of hole.

Images from Interiors by Kenz.

For the full instructions visit Interiors by Kenz.