Chalk Painted Chair

This is the very first time I have used chalk paint.  There I admit it.  Frankly, I need to do a many more projects working with chalk paint before I can give you an honest opinion about it.  I finally found a great place to get pieces to refurbish so I am super excited to get at it.

 

Sorry, this photo is so bad, I didn’t check the picture in the camera until I had the chair refinished so I was not able to retake it.

This chair has beautiful lines so it’s not getting any embellishments or stencilling that would draw away from those gorgeous curves.  It is filthy and chipped but pretty new, it still has a modern computer skew label stuck to the back of it.

The paint directions said to just wash the surface and then paint.  Ummm.. not trusting the product that much yet.  I began by washing everything and then giving it all a light sanding with 220 sandpaper.

I bought a flat brush specified for chalk paint and gave all the surfaces three light coats, letting it dry completely between coats.  Following the directions on the can, I didn’t sand it between coats like I  do with regular paint.

I did some highlights in grey and then very carefully distressed it to bring out the white.

Then I applied a layer of Miss Mustard Seed Wax using a specially designed brush.  I am not sure about the chalk paint yet but I absolutely love the Miss Mustard Seed Wax.

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Upholstery

The reupholstering was pretty straight forward to complete, you will need material, a garbage bag, scissors, staple gun and a sewing machine.

Make a Pattern

The fabric was much too dirty to put on the new cloth.  So I made a pattern by placing the filthy material on a plastic garbage bag. With a sharpie pen, I drew an inch out from the outside of the cloth.
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I then pinned the clean pattern to the material and cut it out.

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The material edge will be covered by the chair bottom so you can skip this step if you like.  I chose to seal all the cut edges with a zig zag stitch to prevent material fraying. It only took five minutes and I had the machine out to cover the weld cord so why not.

Cover the Weld Cord

By removing literally a hundred staples I was able to detach and reuse the plastic weld cord from the chair.  To make a new cover measure the original one and cut enough material to recover it.  I had to cut three strips of material to cover the length of the weld cord.  Cut the strips at least two inches wide so that you have room to staple the fabric to the underside of the chair.

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So that the material forms one long piece I attach the material together by placing the material at 90 degrees and then sewing on the diagonal.
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Once it is sewn, iron flat and cut off the extra material.  Repeat with the other lengths of material until you have one solid piece long enough to cover your weld cord.   Making it one solid length of tubing with diagonal seams makes the seams blend in.

I was not able to use my usual method for covering the weld cord.  My weld cord was too stiff to use.

Usually I fold the material in half around the cord and then using a zipper foot make the tube covering.  The weld cord was too hard and would not allow me to get close enough to the cord.

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I redid it by pulling out the weld cord and sewing a 3/8 inch tube the entire length of the material.  Once sewn I reinserted the hard plastic weld cord back into the fabric.

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Chair Seat

We were now ready to reupholster the chair seat.  As the foam was dirty and preformed by the manufacturer I did not want to risk washing it.  Instead, spray it with alcohol or another fabric disinfectant to freshen.

Hubs requested I add a little extra cushioning to the seat, so I cut a simple square of chair foam and put it on the seat frame. covering it with the refreshed chair form and stapled it back into place.

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Once the chair cushion pad is put together place it top up.  Place the fabric on top making sure the fabric is centered and straight.  This is especially important if your material has a pattern.

All your doing is pulling the material tight and square and then using a staple gun attaching the material to the underside so that the staples don’t show.

Start with the front of the chair, place three staples; one in the middle and one on each end (near the corner).  Check that the material is still square and tight.  Now repeat by stapling the material at the back of the chair pad with three staples.   Again check that the material is straight and tight.

Once done repeat for the sides, checking as you work that the material is staying square and straight.  Finally, complete the corners.

Once you have all the four sides stapled in place, go ahead and pull the material tight and add more staples to secure it.    For pride make it as neat and symmetrical as possible,  but it will be covered and not seen so don’t panic about it.

Attaching the Upholstered Weld Cord

Now you want to place the weld cord back where it was.  It is much easier to do this with two people.  Start at the front middle,  place your cord where it was before and have your partner staple about every inch or so as you work along.  Take your time and check your placement you want as level as possible.

Finishing the Underside

The underside of the chair had been finished with black material that I could have reused. It was really dirty, so I used the chair bottom as a pattern to remake a new chair bottom, ironed the sides in nicely and stapled it neatly along the very edge.  If you feel you need to remake the bottom, muslin, sheeting, drop cloth or another inexpensive plain white material you have is fine.

Hubs reattached the chair to the frame and you see none of the stapling.  It fits in where the wood is and everything is tight and covered.  I will let you know how the paint lasts.

Enjoy your week,

 

 

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