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Sep 16, 2013

chippy green chair



My dining room has been pretty empty besides my table and hutch. It needs filled with love. When I created a new kitchen shelf for a wall in my kitchen, I had to move my beloved old shutter from the kitchen into the dining room. 



And he's been lonely every since.

But I found him a new friend.


Just kidding.

Jack doesn't mind keeping things company but he doesn't stick around very long either.

So I was thinking along the lines of a furniture type friend. Like an old chair, perhaps.



I love old chairs. 

They're functional, decorative and full of history.

I found this one at a local antique store for $12. $12 seems to be my magical number lately for bigger purchases. I don't like to spend more than $20 on an item so $12 is just perfect. It's just a little over half of what I like to spend. 

So I sat this chair in the dining room corner for a while and even though it was hanging out and becoming friends with my shutter, it just seemed so dark and lonely.

I didn't like it.

And I didn't want to put it anywhere else.

I decided to give him a make over. 



Now he's bright and cheery. 

And I love all the chippiness.


The best thing about an old chair is that you can accessorize. Mostly so no one sits in it.


I pulled a creamer can from my gray enamelware collection off my hutch and gave him a new home on top of a faded mustard kitchen towel. In attempt to hide the electrical outlet, I draped a keeping cloth over the back of the chair. It didn't work. But that's okay. 


I love the textures of the cloth and the chippy chair. It's like they were meant for each other.


So after soaking in all the chippy goodness, you're probably wondering how I made this chair so chippy.

Well, I will share a quick tutorial with you. But I will warn you, it happened on accident. An accident welcomed with opened arms.

Originally, I wanted to do just a slight weathered crackle all over the chair. Like so:

Graphic from www.consumerreports.org
But that didn't happen.



I started off by rubbing the chair down with a tack cloth and applying Valspar Weathered Crackle Glaze all over the chair with a sponge brush. I worked in a small section at a time to make sure I covered the chair completely. The original paint on the chair is a shiny black. I have no idea what kind of paint it was. 

Once the glaze dried, I waited an hour and spray painted the entire chair with Valspar Leafy Rise in satin.


And no crackle. 

I waited a day for it to completely dry.

No crackle.

I waited two days since it was kind of humid.

No crackle.

After giving up all hopes of crackling, I decided to sand the chair edges and prepare it for an antique glaze. However, once I started sanding, some of the paint would really chip off! At first it caused me to freak out but the more I did it, the more I loved the chips coming off. I just kept sanding and chipping away! No need for an antique glaze, now. 



I am assuming the crackle glaze underneath was keeping the paint from sticking. I honestly have no clue why my chair didn't crackle all the way. My mom thinks I may have used the wrong kind of paint with my top coat. It also could have been the type of paint underneath the chair. I thought the black made a perfect base coat so I didn't think to apply a new base coat.



 The directions did mention to use a brush on paint but did not state it was mandatory so I didn't think anything of it.

1. Apply a base coat of Valspar paint according to label instructions. Allow to dry 4 hours or 
overnight before applying Weathered Crackle. 
2. Using a premium quality short nap roller of nylon brush, apply an even coat of Weathered Crackle 
to the surface. Uneven application will cause unwanted variation in the cracking pattern. 
3. Let Crackle Glaze dry 1-4 hours before applying top coat. Waiting longer than 4 hours may 
require re-application. 
4. Using a premium quality roller or brush, apply a flat latex paint in the color of your choice. Do not overwork this coat. One application in a single direction works best. 
5. Clean hands, brushes and tools with warm, soapy water.

Ah, yes, mom was right. You're suppose to use latex paint.

So there is the answer to my problem since spray paint is oil based.

No worries, though as the chair still turned out great! I love the before and after pictures.


I am still going to give that crackle glaze another shot. With latex paint next time. There's always room for more projects!

Have you ever had a project that didn't turn out quite the way you wanted it to but your "oops" resulted in a better outcome? I want to hear about it!

3 comments:

  1. This chippy chair is super adorable!! We had a similar chair to this when I was growing up. Although back then things were just chippy from being used! Lol!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jocelyn! My husband's grandma doesn't understand why I am obsessed with the old junk in her basement. She has an old chippy rocking chair similar to this color that she wants me to refinish and use but I told her it's fine just the way it is! She thinks I am nuts :)

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  2. As a mother, ergonomics of a gaming chair is the first thing that I consider in a chair along with firmness,speakers and adjustibility. I think it will be a perfect chair for gamers

    ReplyDelete

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