Just 2 short weeks ago I shared my plans to turn a give-away chair into a “funky” master piece. I had a vision, but knew I tend to procrastinate on these types of projects. I decided if I announced my intentions here, I’d feel compelled to complete the project in a timely fashion. And, tah dah, it worked! Tim and I got it done.
I suspect this is going to be a chair that you are either going to love or hate! Don’t think you can go middle ground on this one! Yes, it is wild and crazy. Yes, it is funky. And, yes, it is different than anything else I have in the house, BUT I LOVE IT!
Last week I shared our Getting Started. We took off the seat, cleaned the chair, filled holes, and sanded. We then primed the wood, getting it ready for painting. Then, the HARD part… reupholstering the chair. Yikes! THAT was a project. You can read more about that HERE.
This week, I painted the chair. I began by painting 2 coats of the red. Then, basically, I treated each surface like it was its own canvas, and just had fun! Here are some close-ups.
I started by painting the 3 back slates. On the top slate I painted blue stripes, with green dots on the blue stripes. Anywhere you see the small dots, I made them by dipping the wooden end of my paintbrush in paint, and making small dabs. I put more paint on the brush after each dab. I call these my “dotted Swiss” after the fabric of the same name.
In the middle slate, I lightly drew circles, than used green paint to fill in the circle, leaving the center open. I used blue paint to partially outline the circles, then add a yellow dot to the center of each circle, and then adding dots in a random fashion around the circles.
For the bottom slate, I started by painting a yellow circle in the middle, adding diagonal blue lines, with a blue dot in the center of each diamond that was created. I then added the large blue swirl and the 2 little green swirls. I finished by adding green dots around the circle and 2 blue swirls, and blue dots around the green swirls.
Next, I painted assorted blue swirls on the front apron. I painted yellow dots at the tip of the swirls and in the centers of the figure eight. I also painted 3 green dots on the swirls.
I then painted the 2 horizontal bars blue. (The back bar is not visible in this photo.) I then made green dots on the blue.
On 3 sides of the front legs, I painted striped “socks” on them. I added green dots to the yellow stripes and yellow squiggles to the green stripes.
Finally, on the side and back aprons (side aprons not pictured), and the back slates, I added blue dots.
And there you have it. The paint job IS NOT perfect… but it does not need to be. If you are painting your own “funky furniture”, just look for designs you like, and incorporate them into your project.
After the chair was dried, we applied 2 coats of a sealer. Finally, we screwed the seat on, and our funky chair is now ready to be used and enjoyed.
So, here it is… side by side… the before and after. How fun 🙂 I’ve learned a lot, and you can be sure I’ll be doing more of this. As a matter of fact, when Fairy was over yesterday, she asked me if I’ll make another one for them. You can be sure I will 🙂
Way to go!!! Congrates on staying focused and finishing. Beautiful job. Love the paint job.
Well, there are several other projects that got put on the back burner, but I am thrilled that I finished this. I have a small table that my dad made be years ago that would look great next to this. Add that to my to-do list 🙂
LOVE this – I have a rocking chair I’ve been saving for this type of project – perhaps I will finish it this winter. You’ve inspired me.
Tell someone when you plan to get it done, and have them gently nudge you. I have to remember to blog about these types of projects. Truly, you guys inspired ME ! Have fun. Every stroke of the paint brush is a liberating creative journey 🙂
Oh, I love it as well!!! What a fun chair. Great work; thanks for sharing the final result with us!
wow, kimara! that chair is eye popping pretty! it’s a work of art and worthy of exhibition in an art gallery!
congrats for getting it done! 🙂
Your creativity always amazes me! I have a chair I am inspired to paint now. Can you tell me what kind of paint you used and if you put some type of finishing coat on top?
Since this is not a child's toy, I used American Heritage latex paint, for wood and walls, on the chair. It matches some moldings in my house. (I had this at home.) Then I just used small jars of Folk Art acrylic paint from the local craft store. We used a water based finish.
Note: for children's toys or furniture I use milk paint or water colors that are child safe and our olive/beeswax finish.
Love, Love LOVE IT!!!!! Congratulations on getting it done so soon! It is just wonderful and I especially like the understated back side of the chair with the blue dots! Awesome work!
I love your chair, the colours and composition. Congratulations for your wonderful works.
I love the end result of the chair you painted. I have been wanting to do something like that for a long time – and now I have a good idea on how I will go about it. The colors are very eye appealing and I am sure adds a “punch” of color to whatever room you put it in.
It was so much fun to do because every surface became a new canvas and new design. Have fun with your chair. I have a couple other pieces of furniture on my to-do list.
WOW! Love it!