This is a project I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time now, having been inspired by the lovely Emily on her wonderful blog The Nest and her gorgeous chair makeover. I was so eager to get going on this project, my only problem being that I had no furniture to upcycle… or so I thought. My parents house is full of old furniture and bits and bobs to makeover and give a fresh lease of life to, not least these two old chairs that once sat at the kitchen table. They were scratched to high Heaven, had drips of green paint on them and were long forgotten, hiding in the cellar amongst the cobwebs.
I firstly washed them down, I also used some disinfectant to given them a thorough clean. As I was using a chalk based paint for the blue chair and a spray paint for the pink I didn’t have to sand the chairs down – yay for being able to get straight to painting, which was oddly very therapeutic for me! I have to admit before I go on that I have never painted anything before, except for the fence in the garden so it was quite a new experience for me and one which was my mother was so surprised to see me doing, she in fact said – “I thought I’d never see the day” in response to me painting my chairs and being so enthusiastic about it.
The paints I used were Valspar Spray Paint in Rose Sugar Satin (pink) and Rust-Oleum Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Duck Egg (blue). I hand-painted the blue chair which did take some time as the ribs on the legs and back took some going over to cover them completely, the pink chair was done in half an hour though as the spray painting was so quick and easier, I also love the finish the Valspar Spray Paint gave, it was so smooth and looked perfect.
For the pink chair I used some angel and flower designed stickers and paper that I had for years, having been sent them by a woman in The Netherlands. Anyone who knows me knows that I love pink, angels and flowers so this chair really is a tribute to all I love. On the blue I used an old floral print envelope, unfolded it and cut it into a diamond shape. I also used some strips of the same pattern to decorate the top of the chair. I stuck all these pieces onto the chairs using a mixture of water and PVA glue..
When the chairs were completely dry – I gave myself two days for this project, I painted them with clear varnish, making sure to give a couple of coats on top of the added designs to keep them in place. I absolutely love how the chairs turned out and as you can see from the above picture the change was huge!
I love the new shabby chic look they have and think they really are rather pretty. I will be bringing them into my house at some stage but for now they’re in the flat next to my parents house and are perfect for the cottage vibe it has. I have another project in mind now and am anxious to get going on it. I never thought I’d have the DIY and upcycling bug but I’ve been bitten for sure!
I really hope you liked this post and my chairs and that you may be inspired to upcycle something yourself. I know I just can’t wait to get going on my new project and you can be sure that I’ll feature it here on the blog once it’s finished.
There are seriously no words for how much I love those. They came out AWESOME and I totally want them in MY house 🙂
Thank you so much Robin, I'm so glad you like them 🙂
Those chairs look really great. I especially like the one with the geometric on the seat. Nice.
Thanks so much Ben, I'm glad that envelope finally came in handy!
Oh wow Fi!!! Inspired me to do a few more 🙂 must get some of that spray paint, painting them can get a bit tedious! Love the result, well done <3
Thank you so much for the inspiration Emily, mine aren't as lovely as yours but I'm happy with my first go 🙂
Those are SO adorable!!! I can't believe how easy you made it seem! Really, no sanding? If that's true, then I just may also get bitten by the DIY bug! Looking forward to your next project pictures!
Thank you so much and yes, really NO sanding! So simple and easy without all that faffing about 🙂
I had a chair like that when I was a young girl. I love that you upcycled these chairs using paint and prints. Did you like the chalky paint? I am in California and it is all the rage out here. Thanks for sharing!
I didn't like the chalky paint as much as I liked the satin finish spray paint.
These turned out really nice! I have some chairs I need to redo as well, if the rain will ever stop falling! I also have a small table I want to paint. I'll have to try this.!
Oh how lovely! Have fun with your upcycling 🙂
I love these! I have 4 chairs very similar, I picked them up second hand with the intention of painting them but haven't yet, I must now!!
Nicola
Oh do Nicola, it's so much fun giving something a new lease of life!
Your DIY project is absolutely fun and awesome! Thanks for sharing! I have a couple of old chairs at home and wondered if I should donate them or do something with them. Your project is inspiring me to do the latter. Thanks for sharing!
Oh definitely do something with them Cara, it's lots of fun 🙂
I just love how these turned out! You did an amazing job on them, it's nice to know the difference between the paint choices, I'd like to try the spray paint since it's quicker 😀
Thank you so much, the spray paint was great!
These chairs turned out amazing!! My chairs desperately need to be redone my kids have totally scratched them all up and the table as well. This sounds fairly easy to do as a weekend project.
Thank you so much Jennifer. It really was so easy to do 🙂
That is very cool! Love those chairs! The light blue is my favorite and I would love to upcycle some old furniture. You are right, painting is very therapeutic.
Painting is very therapeutic, I can't wait to do some more.
These turned out absolutely lovely. I love recycling things but have never tried furniture – I think I need to start looking for some good pieces.
Thank you so much Danielle.
Oh how cute! I love these. The colors are just perfect too. Very adorable! I would love to do something like this for my littles!
Wow, these are amazing! I wouldn't have thought to do something so creative – I'm definitely going to look around and see what I can find to redo.
I am always amazed by people who can do DIY. Maybe I am just not patient enough to see the end result, let alone waiting for two days to let the paint dry. The chairs look so pretty! Thank you for the thorough tutorial.
The paints of the chair looked like pastel colors which I so love. They are great for children's playroom in our house. Good job in using the Valspar Spray Paint. The finish is perfectly smooth and shiny when reflected by sunlight.
Those chairs came out very pretty! I'm inlove with all thing pretty, shabby and chic! You did an amazing job on these. 🙂
Wow, what a transformation! You did a great job and I love the colors you chose.
Much to my Eames-loving husband's dismay, my style leans more towards upcycled Shabby Chic mid-century designer modern. A few years ago, I painted a bunch of drak wood chairs white and replaced their old country blue seat coverings with an upcycled table cloth. Here's the before & after: http://www.sageandsimple.com/2012/06/secondhand-chairs-redux/
It's amazing with a little imagination, paint, and effort can do : -)
Those chairs are so cute! I've never tackled an upcycling project but I'm kind of inspired to attempt one now!
Those turned out so perfect. I love the work you did on both of them, well worth the effort!
These turned out great. I love a good upcycling project. You did a fantastic choice with colors and details! I will have to try this for a chair for my son's room! I think it would look perfect!
Oh wow, how awesome is thatm yoiu did a fabukous job repainting and designing them.
You did an amazing job with those. I wish I had the knack of doing something like this. They are very pretty.
Wow – so inspiring – the old maple chairs are so dated and you've just made these to seriously gorgeous
I'm all for up cycling chairs, tables, anything really! These are great finds!
I've always loved looking at DIY projects, and looking at the "before" and "after" fascinates me. Those are really pretty chairs.
I would love to upcycle some furniture that we have here. You did a lovely job, the chairs are perfect! Thanks for the motivation!
Wow, these are amazing! I wouldn't have thought to do something so creative – I'm might have to pick up a few things around the house and see what I can do with it
Wow I love this chairs, so create and colorful. The pink one with the roses has to be my favorite, thanks for sharing, so very artistic.
Adorable. I love the pink and blue and the touch of personalization is great! Terrific DIY …
These are adorable. We have some really ugly old chairs I'd like to redo!
I really love the colors that you picked to paint those chairs! They look lovely and you did a great job!
Sooo pretty!! I just love the '50s/shabby chic colours you picked. 😀