Remember those chairs I was going to tackle right before Christmas? Somehow they managed to get sidelined so that I could put my personal touch on my bar stools. Well, here they are, broken and tattered, waiting for a little love and affection.
I saw these on craigslist and couldn't pass them up. Their form was just so unique, I knew that they would make an excellent candidate for a project. Normally I would hold off on painting anything as old as these, but upon close inspection I could tell that they had been broken and glued. The glue must have been some kind of industrial strength glue, because it was still holding and holding quite well. So I went for my wood filler and got to work.
I took some filler and used my fingers to spread it over the cracks and crevices and then let it dry. Once it had dried I took some fine sand paper, 120 grit, and sanded smooth. I then started taking out many, many, many, rusty, smelly, old tacks. I will not lie, it was a pain but well worth it.
I find it best to do this in stages, that way you don't wear yourself out. Who am I kidding, my time for projects is defined by my 2yr olds schedule and for now that's just the way it has to be. Once I had most of the tacks out, I made sure the frames were nice and clean. I used Annie Sloan's Graphite chalk paint and applied two coats. I am was a little concerned after my first two coats, because I am a big fan of black painted furniture. The graphite color was not black, but a deep steel wool gray. I was a little skeptical as to whether or not this would turn out the way I was wanting it to. But I took a leap of faith and hoped for the best. There he is one more time before the paint process. What can I say, great bones. Definitely a looker.
So the paint went on quite well, but it was a two coater for sure. You can see some of the wood peaking through.
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| I am not the neatest painter and occasionally have one or two of these. |
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| Here he is after the second coat. |
This is where things got a little crazy with Christmas and I forgot somehow forgot to take photos of the whole waxing process. What can I say, definitely the signs of a virgin blogger. So here is what I know about wax. As you can see above the graphite color is a dark battle ship grey more than black. Using a 120 sponge sanding block I distressed areas that would lend themselves to normal wear and tear, mostly corners and edges. I used the clear wax, as a precursor to the dark wax. The dark wax was a little trickier. I had to layer several thin coats to get the depth of color I wanted.
I used the fabric that was originally on the chair as a pattern for my seat cover.
Extra hands are always a plus here. My dear sweet Momma, who is my greatest mentor and teacher, is helping me here. She is amazing and can do just about anything. Love ya Mom!
So here they are the finished product and let me tell you it took some work. The second chair was much trickier than the first. We just kept pushing and had to roll with the punches. Now to address the table between the chairs!!!!
Before
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After
Hope you like the transformation because I am loving it. |
There is nothing that brings on stress, like the Holidays. We pile onto our list of everyday tasks, with the hopes of completing the impossible. I am a prime example, aiming to lasso the moon, and failing miserably. This year was no exception. I had two great chairs that I had set out to redo, but somehow my misdirection pushed them down on the list of projects. So, I tackled my island bar stools instead. Funny thing is, No one except my mother noticed the barstools, and she loved them. Here is a picture before the rehab. There was nothing terribly horrible about them, but there was no personality either. 
I gave them a good scrubbing with some white Vinegar and water to remove the mystery goo that had been left by my boys. Found my paint and got to work. I recently purchased the much talked about Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Antibes Green. After two coats, I had a great base to work with.
