Spray and Chalk Paint Folding Chair Makeover

Hi there! I’m popping in today to share my spray & chalk paint folding chair makeover with you. It’s a project I just completed for the Thrifty Under $50 Challenge I’m taking part in with a group of some of the most talented DIY bloggers out there! Events like this are great motivation to finish projects on your to-do list. I Having extra seating can be tricky, especially when you have a small house. I’m always striving for seating options that don’t take up a lot of space! Yeah… won’t be addressing the fact that I do not have a dining room table & chairs right now. If you are a regular reader, you know I’ve got plans for that. If you are new, I promise we are not total heathens.

Before I dive in, I wanted to give a big shout-out to Beth from Home Stories A to Z for organizing this event! You can see her gorgeous Thrifty under Fifty project [click here]. It’s a stunner of a transformation, and she’s sharing a really cool & informative video too! And if you are visiting from Julie Blanner, welcome! Weren’t here Craigslist tips great? I need to employ a few of those!

Just to be up-front, this may not be the best before & after makeover I’ve ever shared. We got hit with some crazy weather, and my first project got soaked in an out-of-the-blue rain storm… we’ve had power outages, I keep loosing my internet connection… and I had to do a take-two on project two, when I forgot a letter while I was hand-lettering. (I am famous for that!)

Not in a good famous way… more in a, “I swear I’m going to take up drinking” kind of way. But I improvised. Whew. And my sanity is still intact. Mostly.

I’d been keeping my eyes open for some folding chairs to help out with our seating situation and I lucked into these for just a few dollars. I needed the kind that were all metal so I could paint them. I didn’t want to mess with a fabric seat, ripped plastic, or having to do an upholstery project. These were perfect! If you’re not having much luck finding chairs like these, you could see if you could build them yourself. This is possible, especially by using a Maker Pipe for example. This sort of thing would make the building job much easier, it would allow you to connect the legs of the chairs with a structural pipe fitting. Building and decorating the chair would be the ultimate DIY project!

– I’ll let you in on a cheaty DIY character flaw. I hate painting chairs. Mainly, tiny chair details like rungs… I insist on using a sprayer or spray paint. And I don’t like dragging my sprayer out for small projects. So, spray paint it is! My favorite is the Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Paint & Primer in one.

Prep & Painting:

• Two metal folding chairs. Goodwill. $5.00 each
• I used a de-glosser/cleaner to remove the sticker price residue
• Scrubbed with hot soapy water
• Let dry completely
• Main body was painted with Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Paint & Primer in Granite, Satin finish – $3.75
• Chair back was painted with Maison Blanche Vintage Furniture Paint in Magnolia (on hand)
• Hand lettering was done with Maison Blanche Vintage Furniture Paint in Confederate Grey (on hand)
• Craft style paint brushes were used for chair back paint application and lettering
• Hair dryer. Dual purpose: to speed up chalk paint drying/give crackle effect

How I did it:

After building my coverage, slow and steady, with a few coats of spray paint (and letting that dry). I decided to hand letter some text on the seat backs. Which was going great, until the whole… forgot a letter part.

My fix for that boo-boo included painting the seat backs in white. I wasn’t going for perfect at all, in fact I wanted a very imperfect look.

For the first coat of white, I applied my paint quickly and lightly. I let that dry, then applied a second heavier layer. This is where the hair dryer came in. The fabulous thing about chalk paint, is that you can “express dry it”. You can apply the heat very evenly, over time…or, you can blast it. When you do that, the heavier areas of paint will get a great crackled texture.

I was going for a really casual, old-sign kind of feel.

About that sign… no, the irony was not lost on me.

I’m really satisfied with the final result. Even though it wasn’t how I thought I was going to finish them. I actually like it a lot more! The extra layer of interest with the white back and the grey writing adds extra depth.

So all-in-all… a happy accident!

Just like how the ridge on the cute little aqua tray I picked up nestles perfectly on my metal stool. I got that stool for a dollar. It’s one of my favorite treasures!

I swear, the junkier & cheaper it is… the more I like it!! I scrubbed it clean… but I kind of dig all the dings and rusty spots. Gives it character. So no paint makeover for this little cutie. At least, not yet.

Just like the chairs, it doesn’t take up much room.

Beside being a stool to sit on, it’s a super-handy, versatile side table and acts as place to set down drinks when we’ve got company. I can use it to set flower pots on out on the deck… it’s just full of possibilities.

Thanks bunches for joining me today! I hope if you need a few extra places for your guests to sit, that my folding chair makeover may have given you an idea or two. And that if you come up against a hurdle while DIYing, that you push through and see what you can come up with! You might like it even more.

Please make sure to visit all my tour-mates. Everyone’s projects were ridiculously awesome.

MONDAY

Home Stories A to Z Design Dining Diapers Finding Silver Pennies Anderson + Grant

TUESDAY

French Country Cottage Refresh Restyle Just a Girl Finding Home Farms

WEDNESDAY

Bless’er House Beneath My Heart Love Grows Wild Ella Claire

THURSDAY

Southern Hospitality Life On Virginia Street Four Generations One Roof Nest of Posies City Farmhouse

FRIDAY

In My Own Style Sand & Sisal Julie Blanner Fox Cottage Hollow (moi’)

Whole Home Paint Palette [click here]

$28 Planked Wall Project Tutorial [click here]

Let’s Fake It Together [click here]

Cottage Kitchen For Spring [click here]

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