How to Convert an Occasional Chair to a Swivel Rocker

Today I am sharing how I converted this nice occasional chair to a swivel rocker.

Let me share just a little bit of the background on this piece. You may remember when I recovered this rocker for my friend.

You can read about it here. It was for her nursery. Then I painted this dresser for the nursery.

After being on a waiting list for 2 long years, my sweet friend finally got the call that a baby was available. You cannot imagine the joy that this precious little girl has brought to all of our lives. She is a foster child and the family is still trying to finalize adoption proceedings for her.  Fast forward 6 months. My friend received another call that another baby girl was available for immediate adoption if they wanted her!! Since this was completely unexpected, my friend had to improvise a lot in assembling another nursery. The chair in the first photo was in her guest room and she asked if there was any way we could make it a rocker because they enjoy the other rocker with the other baby. I came up with a plan.

The furniture guy that I use told me that he can’t get good swivels any more. So I bought an old swivel rocker at Goodwill for $17 and took the swivel mechanism off the bottom of the chair. I only had to remove a few screws to get it off. Because the supports boards were not wide enough for the new chair, I also removed them.

I used a hacksaw to remove the legs from the chair.

Next I turned the chair upside down and mounted the new support boards that I had cut to the appropriate length.  I used a Poplar board for this since it is a hard wood and is very durable. I attached it using strong wood screws.

Then I attached the swivel using the same screws that I had removed from the old chair.

Time for a test run.

Oops! Apparently I put the swivel on backwards because the chair leans slightly forward instead of backward. I simply removed the screws and turned the swivel around and put the screws back in.

Much better! I love it when a plan comes together.

Just a follow up note: we attended the adoption hearing for this precious baby and it may have been the sweetest moment of our entire lives! When the judge asked the father “What do you want to name this baby?” we were all overcome with emotion. At that very moment we all realized that this baby is theirs to keep! Children are indeed an heritage of the Lord!

I’ll be linking to the Scoop at Worthing Court, to Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life and to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style!