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This was an interesting project and one that I have been wanting to try for months. I have seen several posts on how to paint upholstery fabric instead of recovering with new fabric and I just had to try it for myself. I found this beautiful chair for $25. It had rust and gold textured velvet on it and the wood frame was still natural wood.
I had seen a post on painting fabric with Annie Sloan chalk paint so I followed the directions by cutting the paint with a ratio of 1/3 water and 2/3 chalk paint. I used three layers of paint spacing each layer of paint 24 hours apart. I also painted the frame of the chair Old White as well.
I went over the white frame of the chair with Paris Gray and then lightly sanded to reveal the Old White underneath.
The fabric took on a distinct appearance of white chenille and I do love that look, but it was as stiff as a board. I couldn't imagine sitting on the chair as stiff as it was. So on the fourth day, following the instructions I had found, I applied clear wax to the entire chair frame and fabric, but as you can see in the following photograph, the fabric cracked. I haven't even sat on the chair yet, but it is cracking pretty badly.
The chair does look great and after applying the wax, the stiffness dissipated and left a feel of vinyl. Interesting thought, a vinyl French chair. Probably the only one of its kind. Underneath the chair were two labels that not only date the chair but also share a little bit of its history.
I did like preserving these labels for posterity.
Here is the chair as I found it. Extremely dated and tired looking. I will continue to explore this fabric painting idea, but frankly I don't find it to be that economical. In addition to what I paid for the chair, my paint and wax total came to another $25. I now have $50 invested in this chair. I'm not sure I can recoup what I have now spent. An alternative to painting the fabric would have been to use drop cloth possibly stenciled with my French poem stencil. That probably would have run less than $10. I'll see how the chair looks after its had a little time to cure and I'll try to remember to give you an update. It may get the drop cloth treatment after all. If anyone out there has any suggestions, let me know. I thought about maybe using the textile medium, but I didn't think it was necessary based on the instructions I had read.
Thanks for visiting.
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Mondays Le Chateau des Fleurs The Graphics Fairy
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays Knick of Time Coastal Charm
Boogie Board Cottage A Stroll Thru Life
Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays Savvy Southern Style
Thursdays The Shabby Creek Cottage No Minimalist Here
Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday
Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays French Country Cottage My Romantic Home Miss Mustard Seed
Potpourri Friday Common Ground
The Charm of Home Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays Funky Junk Interiors
Sundays
I could call this the cabinet that almost wasn't, but I'm glad I persevered and finished painting and distressing her. I call it a her because she is definitely feminine. I found her at a yard sale about a year ago and she spoke volumes to me. I knew I had to reinvent her and I knew I would need my husband's help. While I think of myself as the furniture whisperer (because I listen), my husband doesn't hear the same thing that I do.
He took an instant disliking to this little piece and felt it was total junk. A couple of times I said fine, put it out on the curb. Needless to say there was some disagreement over her beauty.
I don't have a before before picture when she was still in her original wood finish, but I do have a photo of her with the base coat. I two-toned her with aqua and old white, then I added the appliques I purchased from Rita at Mammabellarte. I love these appliques and they really brought out the vintage in this piece. I also used a gel stain to age her even more, then finished her off with Deft Satin lacquer spray.
I added script with my new French Poem stencil from Royal Design Studios. I even put the script on the back of the piece. I got a little obsessive.
We misplaced the original hardware in the year she was with us, or maybe she never had any to begin with, so I used simple wooden knobs. I didn't want the hardware to compete with the gorgeous appliques. Since the cabinet was in such rough shape, I had no choice but to shabby her way back. I knew she wanted her years to show through anyway. I'm pretty sure she's been around for 80 to 90 years. It's so hard to find these fabulous vintage pieces I wanted to keep the feel of the cabinet in tact.
Here she is in the workshop waiting for her extreme makeover. I hope she's happy with her new looks. Thanks so much for visiting us and taking a peak.
As a postscript, I am not being compensated by either Rita or Royal Design Studios. I'm merely sharing my sources of materials should you wish to use their products to recreate something beautiful of your own.
I may be partying at...
Mondays Le Chateau des Fleurs
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Fridays French Country Cottage My Romantic Home Miss Mustard Seed
Common Ground
This past week my friend rented a beach house in the central coast of California in a charming little town called Cambria. She invited me up for a couple of the days so we could visit the nearby towns. There were lots of great antique malls to visit and some of the dealers there were very creative. I asked the shop owners if I could snap some photos to share and got permission. I wanted to remember the projects so I could recreate them myself with some of my found objects.
The above photo is a bird house with a spoon perch made from an old portable sewing cabinet.
Terrific mail box. I just happen to have a wooden one that is waiting to be reinvented.
How about these boxes? I have some pages from some old French periodicals. I am so going to give this one a try.
I pass these trays up all the time. Never again though. I'm sure this is a Maison de Stencil design.
What a great table. Another Maison de Stencil.
Chalkboard from an old cabinet door.
This is a Graphics Fairy French graphic. This gal put some major work into this fabulous drop leaf desk.
I'm sure this cross was patterned after our California flag. A bear with some metal stars. Terrific for a boy's room.
Wonderful collection of some old barnyard animals. I bet some of these are over a hundred years old.
This might be my favorite sign ever. If you are a dealer in a mall, you totally get this one.
Last but not least, here is the view from the balcony of the house my friend rented. This quaint little house on the beach is purportedly owned by a television actor although he was not there this particular weekend. I hope you liked the creativity displayed in these photos. I can't wait to try some of these projects for myself.
Thanks for taking a peak.
I may be partying at...
Fridays French Country Cottage My Romantic Home Miss Mustard Seed
Common Ground
I found three of these wall baskets at a yard sale a few weeks back and I wanted to try three different paint finishes on each of them. This is the first of the three. It started out as just a black frame with the basket filler in it. I added some small scale poultry wire all the way around.
Next I added one of my decorative wreaths with epoxy and clamps and clothespins to get it to adhere to the frame. Then I sprayed the whole thing with primer gray. I followed that with a coat of gesso that I quickly wiped back. The next step was to dry brush with Annie Sloan's Duck Egg Blue. I did go back and dry brush the wreath with some ivory, but now that I'm looking at the photos, I think I'll respray it with the gray and put it back to match the rest of the basket.
Here is how we started. Pretty ugly, huh? I like my version a lot better. I think this would be perfect with succulents and moss.
Here is the basket before painting and after the poultry wire was attached.
One last thing before I leave you today. I signed up for the Haven Conference and my husband surprised me with a fabulous Rhine River cruise and I have a conflict of dates. If anyone out there would like to purchase my ticket, let me know. My slot is now available. You can email me using the button on my sidebar or leave a comment and I'll get back to you.
Thanks for visiting.
I may be partying at...
Fridays French Country Cottage My Romantic Home Miss Mustard Seed
Common Ground
Last Saturday I went out to some local neighborhood sales and there wasn't much to be found. I did, however, find an old treadle sewing machine that was on it's last legs. It wasn't worth refinishing and really all I wanted was the drawers.
Then I looked at it a little closer. The seller was asking $20 for the whole thing. I thought the bottom metal was interesting and it had some nice detailed trim on it as well. I also figured in the shape it was in, I could easily take it apart. Here it is on the back of my truck bed. It took me about an hour to unscrew everything, and I only had to discard about four of the wood pieces.
Here is the net effect of my find. There were six drawers which I can sell for approximately $20 each. People like to purchase the drawers. The bottom metal part with the pedal will be turned into a coffee table or a bench. Not sure which, but I can price that at at least $90. I can sell the wheel for another $25, the carved pieces for probably $20 for all three of the pieces. I also have three pieces of wood for sign painting and the very top with the opening for the machine will become a chalkboard with some hooks and some decorative molding applied which I will price around $49. This makes this a fabulous interesting find.
A couple of months ago I found a stripped box spring with about 50 springs for $10. That was more challenging to dismantle, but I have sold at least 10 of the individual springs for $5 each. It did take a lot of elbow grease to dismantle that, but the end result was well worth it, and I still have plenty of springs left to sell. Next time you come across some interesting pieces like these, think about what the parts can yield. If you are a dealer like myself, people like the repurposed items. I love them too.
Thanks for visiting.
I may be partying at...
Fridays French Country Cottage My Romantic Home Miss Mustard Seed
Common Ground
Happy 4th of July. I went to Orchard Supply Hardware today to take advantage of their paint sale and they had this beautiful display of petunias. Isn't it pretty? I snapped a photo with my Droid.
Here is the view from our balcony. We are going to watch fireworks tonight and sip some of this wonderful champagne my daughter ordered especially for the occasion.
I tried three new recipes from Pinterest today and the only one I liked was this wonderful chess cake from Kevin and Amanda's blog. It is to die for, but a sweet tooth is definitely required. It has only five ingredients, the base ingredient being a cake mix. This is my kind of recipe. I paired mine with the fresh fruit and believe me I wanted more.
I hope you all had a safe and fun holiday. Thanks for your visits.
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