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Never underestimate the power of thrift store shopping with girl friends.
I probably would have talked myself out of it, on my own. My husband would have called it a piece of junk.
But with friends – they are always excited by the thoughts of someone else spending money. 😉 Am I right?
So, I caved to peer pressure – and bought a really ugly chair for $15.00.
Because we all saw the potential within.
Because that is what real friends do.
Thanks to some very special paint (details below), my trusty sewing machine, and my never ending stash of bleached drop cloth –
This chair never looked so good.
She still hides some ugly within.
But don’t we all?
However, the closer you look – the lovelier she becomes.
It is really the roughness around the edges, that make her beautiful.
I started by sanding the piece lightly, to give the surface some grip. Then spray painted the wicker back with white spray paint.
I had a small sample package of Miss Mustard Seed Shutter Gray Milk Paint, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough to cover the chair frame. So I first applied this Rust-oleum Chalk Paint, in Linen – one coat. This mostly covered the stained wood, leaving the nice chalky finish.
Then I mixed my Shutter Gray milk paint and brushed it over the chalk paint. It went on so smoothly with that chalk paint under it, and covered very well. I only need the one coat of milk paint, so I had plenty to spare. The milk paint didn’t chip or peel and bonded without a bonding agent.
After it was dry, I ran some sand paper lightly over the surface – which revealed some of the white underneath and some of the wood. I was head over heels with the look!
I made the pleated drop cloth cover (how to bleach drop cloth HERE), with some twill tape ties – and called it a day.
And now our Master Bedroom makeover is just about there – and I can’t wait to show you the rest . . .
So stay tuned! By the way – what do YOU think of the chair? Would you have snagged it up in all it’s brown glory for $15.00? I’d love to know!
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Hi,
I have a similar chair but now is covered in oil paint. Should I chalk it over it or how to get rid of the paint from the cane?
Thanks Cami 😊
It only proves that amazing makeovers on a budget are more than real!
Could you tell us how you made the chair covers, especially how you went around the legs.
It’s lovely! I just picked up a 6 chair set like this for free today, and they are going to get a makeover much like yours. Thanks for the inspiration & I love your style!
I was hoping for a tutorial on how to make the seat covers.
Did you repair the canning too? It looks damaged in the before but not the after. I have a chair that needs this! Thanks!
I love how the chair turned out. I plan on making a slipcover for a couple of chairs like yours, however I am having trouble with the back and how to make the curves. I hope mine turn out half as nice as yours.
Absolutely! Terrific buy and what you did to it is amazing! Love it.
Beautiful! I love it! Funny today I painted two chairs like yours but without the arms. I have old white and Louis blue by Annie Sloan and debated which one to use. I ended up using old white but after seeing yours I’m going to give them a top coat of Louis blue.. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh this is gorgeous! love it 🙂
You know what, I have seen chairs like these many times at the local thrift shop, and I allways walked on by. But I promise you, the next time I wont!!
The chair looks amazing! Shutter Grey is my favourit amongst MMS. It is actually a very good idea to give the furnitures a layer of chalkpaint (I use homemade) before you use milk paint. It sticks better (In my case, it has never flaked off when doing so…) + you dont have to spend alot of expencive milkpaint:)
Great job!
SCORE!!!!
Love love the seat covers! How did you make them? Been wanting to sew some kind of cover for my ugly kitchen chairs and this look is adorable
Love the seat cover. How did you make it? Have been wanting to make covers for my kitchen chairs
Would have paid twice that for the chair. Beautiful job. Love the colors and the chair cover.
Your seat cover is amazing. The welting, the pleats, just everything about this is perfect. Real sewing talent!!
I appreciate your words of seeing potential. It hit the spot this morning. Right for me. Thanks.
Definitely would have bought the chair. You have to have vision!
I would have bought it too – but only if she had a sister! I’ve got severals single chairs and I’m on the hunt for two chairs that match right now. You did a lovely job with the make-over!
Oh yes, I would have! She had the potential there and you brought it out. I love how it turned out! Very pretty!