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DIY: Transform an Old Wooden Chair (Part 1)

March 21, 2014 By A Spoonful of Sugar - 6 Comments

(Sponsored by White Knight Paints)

A couple of weeks ago we had the bulk rubbish collection in our neighbourhood. Generally people seem to get rid of green waste, old white goods, outdated televisions, and broken bits and pieces. Every so often you can discover a real gem waiting for a bit of love and a transformation. We hit the jackpot when we discovered an old wooden chair in the colonial/country style that was in vogue in the 1990’s. It is structurally sound and has a few scratches and splashes of paint on it.  We are going to give it a new lease of life by spray painting the wooden chair.

We found plenty of inspiration for painted furniture on Pinterest. There are so many colourful painted chairs. It is great how you can take someone’s trash and turn it into treasure – it really is recycling at its best! The hardest part was deciding what colour to paint the chair. After much deliberation we have settled on a vivid red. It will look fantastic as a prop in our photos.

Painted Chair Collage Source:   (Clockwise from top left ) Chatelaine,  House to Home, HGTV, Skonahem, Sew Much Ado, In My Own Style.

To find an old chair, keep an eye out when your suburb is having its bulk rubbish collection. Otherwise you could look on Gumtree or in Op Shops for wooden furniture. You may even have something around the house that it is need of a makeover.

Chair 1

To get started, we enlisted the help of the Man of the House. We love a volunteer and DIY projects are even quicker and easier when you delegate. We used a fine grade sandpaper and lightly sanded all over. This removed the shine from the chair and the paint spots.

Chair 2

Next  we gave the chair a good clean with a damp cloth to remove the dirt, dust and contaminants. Finally we used White Knight Rust Guard All Purpose Primer.  What we love about this primer is that it is a one step primer and undercoat application. It comes in a spray can so was super easy to apply.

Chair 3

All this preparation was done in around an hour.

The final stage will be painting the chair. Check out our red chair on DIY: Transform a Wooden Chair (Part 2)

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY, Our Home Tagged With: spray paint

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Comments

  1. Vanessa says

    March 21, 2014 at 9:56 am

    I love this. Thanks for sharing. I love re-purposed furniture. I have a large family and family gatherings often result in borrowed chairs. What a great way to make a functional item an aesthetically pleasing piece around the house (not just around the dining table). I’m looking forward to seeing your new chair.
    HappyNess

    Reply
    • A Spoonful of Sugar says

      March 22, 2014 at 11:30 am

      Colourful furniture is so much fun. For the price of some spray paint, you can turn an old chair into a useful statement piece.

      Reply
  2. Lisa McGriff says

    March 22, 2014 at 4:35 am

    I inherited a dining room table and 6 chairs that are very similar to your chair except they are so dark they are almost black. I can’t wait to see what you do! I need some I-N-S-P-I-R-A-T-I-O-N!

    Reply
    • A Spoonful of Sugar says

      March 22, 2014 at 11:26 am

      An entire dining table setting would be fantastic to revamp! Our chair was pretty dark but the white primer/undercoat took care of that. We did use a whole can of primer on the chair. We will be showing our finished chair soon.

      Reply
  3. A Spoonful of Sugar says

    March 22, 2014 at 11:28 am

    Thanks Marina – it was a fun DIY project. I think the red chair willb e useful as a prop in so many of our photos. May have to do a whole dining setting next time.

    Reply
  4. A Spoonful of Sugar says

    March 23, 2014 at 7:11 am

    Thanks Marysabel.

    Reply

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A tiny sewing moment for today — threading the cor A tiny sewing moment for today — threading the cord through the Pocketful of Sunshine Bag using a bodkin. It’s such a simple step, but it gives the sweetest finish to this little drawstring bag. I’ve been loving making these in the Tilda Songbird range lately… the colours, the tiny motifs, the soft palette — everything works beautifully together.If you’d like to sew your own, comment SUNSHINE and I’ll send the pattern link straight to you. You’ll also find it in our pattern store and Etsy shop — links are in our profile.Shown in the gorgeous Tilda Songbird collection with thanks to @tilda_australia#ilovetilda #tildasongbird #beginnersewist #sewingtips #drawstringbag
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