Saturday, October 3, 2009

Whitney's Little Black Chair

You just can't go wrong with black.  It is the perfect color for almost anything... including chairs.  I have found that one of my favorite pieces of furniture is a dining chair.  They make perfect accent chairs... they have great lines, they are a great size and they are really easy and cheap to find.  Can't beat that! My latest revamp... an old dining chair given to me by my father-in-law.  I fell in love immediately... the lines, caning and legs... woohoo!!! It obviously just needed a bit of a makeover.  This is what I did...


I started by removing the cushion and taking the chair to the garage to paint.  I used Rustoleum American Accents spray paint in Canyon Black.  I only used about a half of a can on this chair and if you are considering painting your chairs I would ONLY use this brand... It's the best!


While that was drying I started working on my cushion... I wanted something a bit less tailored and also decided to add a little burlap... why not??


This is my stencil brush and my Americana Ebony acrylic paint I used to do the stenciling.  I knew this would be an accent chair that won't get much use so I used the acrylic.  If you will be using your chairs more often you will need to find a washable fabric paint to do your stenciling.


I cut out my stencils with my Cricut and positioned them on a 10" square piece of burlap to get an idea of how it would look...


I used my stenciling brush to put the paint on... remember... up and down, not like a normal paint brush!

While this was drying I got to work on the rest of the cushion...



I will give a few details on the sewing but I know many of you don't even own a machine so I will skip the tutorial:)  If you do want some extra tips, just leave me a comment.  I started by making my cording.  I decided the rest of my cushion would be made of a drop cloth.  I purchased a $5 drop cloth from Lowe's for this project.  It is a perfect weight for this project and many others.  I cut a strip of the fabric and sewed it around some jute twine to make my cording.



After making my cording, I went back to my now dried burlap.  I cut a piece of drop cloth the shape of the cushion and layed it next to my burlap.  I used just a bit of spray adhesive to stick the burlap to the drop cloth.



This is what it looked like....


I used my machine to put a straight stitch around the burlap about 1/2 inch short of the edge.  I wanted it to look like a patch so I frayed up the edge of the burlap just a bit.



Here I have put the cushion cover together... skipping all of my sewing steps that don't interest many of you:)

I distressed the edges of my chair just a bit and then just pulled the cover over the cushion.  Isn't she cute??  I think this will be my chair for my work space up in my loft but for now I just took some random shots for you.  What do you think??  For those of you hesitating to paint your chairs... STOP:)  Just go for it!  You will look at the outcome and smile every time!!
















REMEMBER GUYS!!!!!

Don't forget to get your posts ready for our party on Thursday.  You can see all the details HERE!!
Grab our button below to get the word out!!!!













I will be posting this at Between Naps on the Porch, Twice Remembered, Southern Hospitality and The Shades of Pink! I will also be posting this at Reinvented!
I will also be posting this at Reinvented for Trash to Treasure!  I will also be posting this at The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday!  I will also be posting this at The Inspired Room and Hooked on Houses!

50 comments:

Soda Springs Idaho Home For Sale said...

First of all, I love your blog!! The chair looks so great, did you have to sand it down before you spray painted it?

Lisa@Pickles and Cheese said...

That little skirt on your cushion cover takes it over the top! This looks so fantanstic. Great job, I love it!

cindy said...

That's perfection, right there. So I have a sewing question....does your cover just go over the cushion, as in there's no zipper or anything right? What's it do in the back where the seat back hits the seat itself?

Jessica said...

I just found your blog and would love to talk about painting furniture. Can you email me so I can ask you my questions? Thanks!

jessicaburk@gmail.com

Cherish @ My Cup of Tea said...

Oh goodness, I wish I could sew. Thank you for showing me a distressed 2 pieces of black furniture this weekend. And he's TOTALLY skeptical. I showed him this and he was like, "ohhhhhh..." Yeah!! Thank you tons. Please check out my blog, www.cherishscupoftea.blogspot.com. I will posting photos either tomorrow or Sunday. I might post two separate ones, if I do, one will be tonight or tomorrow morning.

Miss Mustard Seed said...

My dining set has almost those exact chairs. I, too, love the caning and the lines, but there is something about them that say, "I'm a 1970's French Provincial Reproduction." I'm planning to paint them white and make skirted slipcovers almost exactly like yours. It's great to see a happy ending for your chair. Good work!

Miss Mustard Seed said...

By the way, which Cricut cartridge did you use?

~ Regan said...

WOW!!! That looks great! I am still finishing a chair project... Hopefully it will be done before your party!

Sarah said...

Another black chair transformation. You two girls just keep on amazing me. Thanks for sharing yet another great project. I always impressed with what you two do. ~ Sarah

Pine Tree Home said...

WOW! I love it. I think you've given me the needed push to tackle a chair that's been waiting for a makeover.

Jennie said...

I love that skirted slipcover. That's EXACTLY what I want to do for my dining room chairs. I'm basic on the sewing machine, so I'd need a pattern or a tutorial. Anyone know where to find one?

Joyce @ The Craft Barn said...

Wow! First I would like to thank you for visiting my little old blog and your kind comments. Now I would like to say, "wow"! Again. The ruffle just MAKES it - looks great!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE it! It doesn't even look like the same chair. It's perfect! Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving the nice comment. Yes, I think I do smile every time I look at my "new" armoire. I just love the way it turned out!! :)

Team Skousen said...

I love the distressing and the little skirting at the bottom! Super cute!

Jennifer Juniper said...

I'm (slowly) working on a slip cover for a chair of mine, and I really love the little box pleat detail. Storing that away for future use... :)

Samantha2818 said...

Oh my gosh - I've just stumbled across your blog and love this chair. Rustoleum paints have only just arrived in the UK and I've been dying to try them out on something. Your chair if fabulous - well done!

Rachel~Wildflower Photography Studio and Wildflower Creative said...

WAY cute! Absolutely love it!

Smiles,
rachel

Autum said...

Perfection! The black spray paint, the burlap, the stencil... I love every last bit of it. I stenciled numbers on the backs of our kitchen chairs and our (crude) little dinner time joke is to tease whoever gets the chair with 2 on it. We say "tee-hee, you're sitting in number 2" in our best second-grader voices. I love your #2 chair ; )

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

I love this chair! Fantastic transformation. I would definitely use a chair like this as my desk chair. Love the little skirt you put on.

susan said...

Love the ruffle! I really love the "w/o the hubby" button :) That is the only way I make things :)--unless, of course, he pays to have it done. Then, I guess, it is "with the hubby" :) Great job!

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Great redo! You and your Sister are so talented.

nannykim said...

Very cute--love the little skirt! Now did you really have to give it a worn looK when kids do the job in minutes! Ha!

my met blog is the spindle cottage blog ;-)

Dresser Girl said...

I LOVE IT!!

Unknown said...

Great chair makeover. Love the little skirt on the cover. You have a great blog.
Sandy

g.suzie said...

Okay, more great ideas from you two! Everyone needs 'a little black chair' don't you think?

Roeshel said...

Beautiful makeover! I love it! ;)
Have a great week. Your party sounds like a lot of fun!
Roeshel

Anonymous said...

Do you ever get that feeling of deja Vu that you already commented somewhere? LOL Oh well. I really like the way this chair turned out.

Julie said...

cute cute cute...love it
xoxo
Julie

~ ~ Ahrisha ~ ~ said...

Pretty little chair. I love your stencils but don't have the machine. Any ideas of where to get stencils like that? I have checked google for help but can't seem to find any I like. Yours look great.

Beeutiful by Design said...

The chair is adorable, miles from where it started! Great post.

ImagineCozy said...

So cute, the burlap with the distressed black is perfect.
-Angela

Phyllis @Around the House said...

Very cute chair makeover, I love the number you put on there. I also ;think the leg distressing is done very well, thats not that easy to do perfectly the way you have done. Always love the dropcloth idea, so creative...I am a new follower, come for a visit..

Infarrantly Creative said...

I love the little ruffles so frilly and cute.

Barbara Jean said...

I'm hearing you mention a 'cricket' to cut stencils.
can you tell me about what that is??

thanks

barbara jean

niartist said...

WOW! Love the finish, and that darling cushion cover is just spectacular! Great job!

Aprons Gone Wild said...

Very sweet makeover. Congrats!

Christina said...

Oh my! This is a fabulous makeover. Love the little skirt and the black paint. So fun and such a dramatic difference.

Alyson and Ford said...

Great makeover; you're brave. Would never have spray painted wooden chairs!
Alyzabeth's Mommy for One Year!

Unknown said...

Wow! You two and your fabulous ideas! I love the stencil and the burlap accent is perfect. Thanks for linking up!

Nice and Easy Antiques said...

Looks fabulous! We love burlap!!!..so many possibilities!

Angie said...

Ok you 2 might be my new heros!! Found your blog thru Room to Inspire (love her blog too) So far all i've seen are the "Boo" jars and this chair. LOVE IT!!

Heartfire At Home said...

She is indeed very cute!!! Gorgeous!

Linda. :)

Unknown said...

Honestly this is the kind of project I always want to do and never think I can... it was wonderful!

honeysuckle said...

Your chair turned out great! Did you use the Jasmine cartridge for the number? and did you cut it on vinyl? Love the burlap addition too.

Pat B. said...

I LOVE this idea & I LOVE this blog, too!! I just found you tonight & will be spending tons of time looking over all of your posts.

I would love to have more details on the sewing & also on the Cricut cart that you used.

Thank you so much for the info. & for the GREAT blog!!!

Jennifer said...

Leave it to a little boy to ask 'why did they put # 2 where your seat goes?' Hahhahaaaa!

You do beautiful work. Love your blog!

Jennifer said...

Leave it to a little boy to ask 'why did they put # 2 where your seat goes?' Hahhahaaaa!

You do beautiful work. Love your blog!

Carly said...

I would love a tutoral on this project! Love your site and think you are amazing!!!

shayla said...

Okay, LOVE the skirt...I do need more details. How wide is the width of your 'drop' and also the little box pleat? It looks just perfect. Did you just make a pattern of the seat top with a paper bag or something to get the shape just right? LOVE the idea of using jute for the welting. would you email me if you have time? toushay73 at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I lurrvv this. I want to try this with my dining room chairs. Do you have any more pointers? Thanks!

Yanira in Orlando, FL
yanytrddlv@aol.com

 
Designed by Deluxe Designs