Spring Time Means New Life.

Well, life has been a big blur these past 6 months! But, I have actually had the chance to be creative and give new life to some great furniture in my home.

The first items I'll post about (because they're finished) are my kitchen table chairs. When we were first married a lovely older couple was updating their dining table set and gave us their old one. This table and chair set is fabulous but has been in serious need for a face-lift for a while.

Before:

After:

 

 

 Don't they look great?! I did two of the six chairs with the beautiful pendant material and the other four with the less decorative. I absolutely love how they turned out.

Here's how I did the chairs:

1. I cleaned the chairs with a wash rag and warm water.
2. I primed the chairs with the handy Zinnser 1-2-3 bonding primer. It bonds to previously finished surfaces so you don't have to sand things down. AMAZING.
3. Then I painted the chairs with Rust-oleum Painter's Touch spray paint in heirloom white with a satin finish. It took 2-3 coats but if I was careful it only took 1 can per chair.
4. After I let the paint dry/cure for a day or two I put Minwax polycrylic topcoat on to seal everything up. 

Here's how I did the seat covers:

1. I removed the previous material and staples from the seats.
2. I used the same padding that was already there and just added another layer of 1" foam on top to make them more comfy.
3. I used an indoor/outdoor material from Joann's that's supposed to endure sunlight and exposure to water (I was thinking, "Hmmm, great for kids?") to go over the seats. I stapled them on and that was it. Easy-peasy.

What I like about how I did things:

• I LOVE that the spray paint eliminates brush strokes and gives a smooth finish. 
• I love the material I chose to cover the chairs with. 
• I love how easy it was to recover the seats, and that the material will be durable.

What I don't like/would change if I did it again:

• If I didn't already have oodles of my favorite Zinnser primer I would have used a spray on primer to completely eliminate brush strokes. Even though brush strokes were minimized with the spray paint, the strokes from putting on the primer are still noticeable up close.
• I have also recently learned (after I already did this) latex paint, when fully cured, doesn't need a topcoat to seal it because it's strong and hard enough on its own. Had I known that handy tidbit I would have eliminated that step of my process to save on time and resources.

Well that's all for now. I haven't started the table yet but when it's finished I'll post before and after photos. I've also recently stumbled upon Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint and have been experimenting and becoming familiar with it. So far I love it. I'll post pictures of those projects soon too.  Thanks for stopping by!