I consider this project garage sale redemption for the my first ever garage sale which was pathetic. My mom took all the stuff that did not sell at my garage sale and hosted a second garage sale at her house. She lives in a much better area with lots of traffic. The sale went well and I scored a few things for myself.
I think everyone in the family was probably surprised at my attraction to this old chair my mom was selling. It is not my style at all! But, thanks to this Pinterest inspiration, I knew it had great potential. For $15 I could not pass it up. The perfect office chair for my studio was right in front of me waiting to be created.
This is one of several projects that inspired me to finally try Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP). I stocked up with a little arsenal of ASCP, which I ordered from Perfectly Imperfect Chalk Paint Shop. Prior to this dresser transformation appearing on Centsational Girl, I thought ASCP was only for distressed furniture looks. Turns out that is just the most popular use, but it is great for any furniture project and does not have to be distressed.
To create my dipped office chair, I chose Provence…a beautiful turquoise blue. I decided to leave the chair base in the original wood finish and paint from the seat up. The ASCP paint went on so easily without priming or sanding…perfect for all the spindles on this chair. I was a bit unsure after the first coat (shown below), because the coverage was not solid. This would have been a good stopping point if I wanted to distress the chair. Instead, I did a second coat to even out the color and get full coverage.
The ASCP dries to a matte, velvet- like finish. Most of the brush strokes even out when the paint dries. The flat finish was great for disguising dents and scratches on this old chair. I liked the matte finish, but since this would be my office chair I wanted to make sure the finish was super durable.
I used AS soft wax to wax the chair. I applied a thin layer of wax, waited 24 hours, applied another thin layer of wax, then waited overnight before buffing the wax. It only takes a tiny amount of wax and you have to be sure to work it in, then rub off any excess wax. I waited to buff until after both coats of wax were applied. To buff I used a white t-shirt cloth and rubbed the chair in small circular motions. The trickiest part was buffing all the spindles, where I used small circular motions with two fingers wrapped in the cloth.
The finished chair has a soft luster from the wax and is smooth to the touch. For good measure and to bring it back to life, I waxed and buffed the wood base as well. I love the dark wood and turquoise together.
This chair will be right at home in my new studio. Imagine this curvy lady pulled up to a zebra wood desktop floating on trestle legs. I don’t have to imagine it, because I am sitting there right now. As soon as I get the rest of the room in shape, I will share the desk and more studio projects. Even in a half-done, doesn’t-have-flooring-yet state, the studio is fast becoming my favorite place in the house.
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I LOVE how this chair turned out! I’ve been playing with DIY chalk paint and it’s so easy to paint with. I painted a desk chair too, but was concerned about sitting on a wax finish, so I used wipe on poly. How is the wax finish on the chair?
Sarah
This looks great! I love the combo of paint + wood. Two cheers for yard sale finds! :)
I’m so glad you mentioned using the chalk paint for furniture that is not going to be distressed. I thought for sure that it was only for that type of painting. I’ve been wanting to try it since it sticks to anything (a definite plus).
Cute chair! Your work has definitely inspired me to go from hng no decorations to stepping out of the box and try new things when it comes to decorating. I still have a ways to go in my new apt, but thank you, thank you, thank you!
Your chair came out lovely, the color is just perfect. Can’t wait until the weather cools so I can paint.
Oh my goodness! I love how it turned out! I have the same Annie Sloan paint sitting here that I have been itching to use, and now I am even more giddy excited to give it a whirl. Looks so GOOD!
Can’t wait to see more!
xo,
Jen
I love it! Fantastic! Thank you for sharing. Visiting from Domestically Speaking. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-pretty-monday-week-15.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Wow, looks great! Someday I’ll invest in some ASCP too, this is a great motivator!
Just stumbled on this great post and wanted to say thanks. I started painting a desk with a nearly identical teal of a DIY chalk paint, but stopped as I got nervous the first coat didn’t cover and I didn’t want to distress it. This post will walk me through completion now. Thanks!
The chair looks fab! I have been itching to redo my bedroom furniture in white but hubby talked me out of it do to the long process. Then I stumbled upon the chalk paint method. I am dieing to get started now that the prep work is gone. However, do you know if chalk paint will last as long as latex?
Sandra,
Thanks! I am still new to chalk paint, but from all my research I expect it to hold up just as well or better. If you wax it, you can rewax it every few years to keep a nice finish. You can also put a polycrylic top coat over the chalk paint, but it is definitely not necessary. They even recommend the chalk paint for doors, walls, and cabinets because it is so durable and can cling (no priming or sanding) to pretty much anything.
What color of paint did you use for this chair? I don’t see anything that bright on the website and it is the perfect color!
Kelly, It is Provence. It is not actually a very bright color, but my basement gets tons of natural light. For comparison, I used the exact same color on this dresser: http://www.tealandlime.com/2013/05/tri-color-dresser-makeover/