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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Have a Seat

A friend read in my earlier post that I was in the market for more children's chairs. She had two chairs I could use and I had them the next day! Thanks, Christina!

I liked them the original color but really wanted a red chair to go with the other two. In the end, I chose to paint the smaller one and keep the larger one white, putting it in the boys' bedroom. The rocking chair that resided there previously bit the dust.

Quite a few of you wondered what steps I took to paint my various chairs. Here you have it:

::I first sanded all surfaces with a fine grain sandpaper, taking extra time to smooth all areas with chipping paint. After sanding, I wiped off all dust with a damp cloth and let dry.

::I then used a spray primer on the children's chairs. On the adult chairs I brushed on the primer.

::When the primer was dry to the touch, I sprayed each of the children's chairs a different color. This spray paint from Rust-oleum is exterior/interior paint for all surfaces. I wish I had found a non-glossy red so that it would have looked more uniform, but I'm learning to go with the flow.

The paint went on very nicely. I used two coats to catch a few spots I had missed the first time around.

The adult chairs I brushed with leftover wall paint from the library/schoolroom. (Grass Cloth by Behr.)

::After the paint was quite dry, I added an accent detail to the children's chairs using my foam alphabet stamps and black craft paint. I have multiple alphabet sets, so I used three slightly different ampersands. Why an ampersand? Occasionally I can be random. This is one of those times.

The symbol wasn't as solid and black as I had hoped after stamping, so I went back over it with the paint brush. Much better.

And then there were three. Maybe the chair family will grow again some day, but I have at least one chair per child now.
Are they perfect? Nope. I've learned that waiting till something can be done perfectly means that it will never be done (in my world). Will they hold up to scratches and dings? Not in this house. Should I have covered them with enamel? Probably. Will I have to repaint them at some point? Yep. Luckily I have extra spray paint. Do I love them? Yes. Do the boys use them? Yes.

Same answers for the big chairs. The only difference is that I covered the seats with fabric and reattached them rather than painting something on the back rest. I thought about it though...

Hopefully that answers a few questions!

11 comments:

Darcy @ m3b said...

Heidi,

Your photos here are gorgeous. I've had a good time perusing your site tonight. I'll be back for sure!

-Darcy from LWM3B

Anonymous said...

Love it, as usual! Great color choices.

Anonymous said...

Hey Heidi, I made one of your projects! I just blogged about it today: here's the link

Thanks for the great idea!

Elise said...

Hi Heidi

The chairs for the boys are full of character. I like that you used three slightly different ampersands, this makes them unique.

The fact that you have added your own creative touch makes them special.

Through reading your brilliant blog(and other people's spectacularly creative blogs), I have become inspired to lovingly hand make some items for my children. I have always loved handmade items, but never really made anything myself. Now that I'm a mum it seems to have sparked this passion in me to create and be creative with my little girl and soon to be baby boy.

Simply Me... said...

Great job! I love to spray paint too! I love the colors you did...
Have a great day.

Lanny.
www.simplylanny.blogspot.com

Mumsy said...

AWESOME.

I needed this post. You should see the chairs I did a few years ago--my first attempt at using spray paint. They still look terrible!

The colors are magnificent.

Laura said...

Thanks for the step-by-step. Redoing a little white school chair has been on my "to-do" list for a year! I just haven't known where to begin. Thanks for the encouragement to get sprayin'. :)

Laura said...

P.S. My husband and I are dying to know which kind of camera you use! I searched through your site and didn't see any info... 'sorry if I missed it. Please do tell!

Ann Voskamp @Holy Experience said...

Thank you.
Timely.
Some chairs for these homeschooling littles need some loving and a splash of color. You enlightened us!

With humble gratitude,
Ann

Heidi said...

I'm so glad I could inspire a few of you! You are all so encouraging to me. Best of luck on your projects!

Laura~ I answered on your blog, but I'll put it here as well. I use a Nikon D50 with the standard lens (Nikon AF Nikkor 28-80 mm). I just started editing most of my photos with Nikon Editor in about January. Before that, they are all straight out of camera.

E & T~ There is just something about a handmade item. Especially when you make it out of love for someone dear to you!

Simple Mom~ Love your circle collage! Great job.

Country Decor said...

Beautiful work.