Ugly Chairs Glammed Up :: Guest Post

Date
Jan, 02, 2015

Hey Brepurposed readers!

It’s Michelle from over at Dandelion Patina-transformations for the timeless & trendy home. Dandelion Patina is a home and garden blog specializing in DIY projects, upcycling, home decorating, and crafts for kids.

ugly chairs glammed up

Got an ugly chair? or two?

Craigslist and garage sales are full of those mismatched and unloved dining chairs. It always amazes me how a bit of paint and some creative juice can turn crappy into happy. These chairs were part of a dining set that I paid a whopping $40. What was part of the set you ask? A large dining table with chunky legs (swoon) and six chairs! The entire set was made of solid walnut. The set was well loved and honestly needed a whole lot more love to make it functional again. I sold 4 of the chairs to another party for $40, making all my money back. I kept the two best chairs, which needed minimal gluing of the joints and a few screws tightened. The dining table was separated to create nightstands in our master bedroom.

wooden dining chair before

Here is how to turn that crappy into happy.

1. Remove the seats from the chairs. Use a screwdriver to untighten the screws and the seat should pull off easily. My seats were leather and in rather good shape. The leather was wiped clean and then a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint was applied and used as a primer. Once dry, DecoArt Metallics in Champagne Gold was used as the top coat. The finish was distressed.

painted leather dining seat

2. Glam up the frames. Wipe the chairs clean. Lightly sand if there is a high gloss finish. In this case, the wood was very worn, so no sanding was needed. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint was used in Provence. Two coats were applied. The finish was lightly distressed. Poly protector was applied.

Provence wooden chairs

3. Add the unexpected. These chairs had some great carved detailing from top to bottom. To bring attention to the detailing on the chair backs, I added an embellishment. You can find these in the bead section of your craft store. The chairs will only be used decoratively flanking my buffet. If these were being used daily, a stencil could be added instead of the metal embellishment.

provence painted chairs with embellishment

4. Bring it all together. Place your seats back onto the frames. Fasten the seats back down with the screws. Place in your desired location.

Provence vignette

provence painted chairs

Provence painted chairs

How is that for happy?

I hope you enjoyed this post on how simple it is to turn that ugly garage sale find into a glammed up beauty! Please follow Dandelion Patina on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter!


How gorgeous are those chairs?! A huge thanks to Michelle for helping me out while I’m away! Be sure to check her blog out for more awesome inspiration!

brepurposed

16 Comments

  1. Reply

    Erica

    January 8, 2015

    Great transformation! I also love how you were able to sell the other chairs and then utilize the table for nightstands – so clever!

    • Reply

      Michelle Lepak-Dandelion Patina

      January 19, 2015

      Thank you Erica!

  2. Reply

    Missi Hopson

    January 4, 2015

    Hi Michelle,
    I got hooked on a few blogs from the “Holiday Home Tour” that Karen’s Up on the Hill turned me on to. Karen is a childhood friend & we reconnected a few years back on FB…you have to love technology when you can find old friends 🙂
    I just loved your blog & you have so many great ideas. I’ve done so MANY projects since subscribing to all these wonderful blogs…all you gal’s are so talented. I love buying old & revamping…I’ve been doing it for years because as you know furniture and furnishings are so expensive and I love the charm of DIY because it’s totally unique and something that you can call your own.
    I love what you did to the chairs. And I’m hooked on AS paint…it’s a wonderful medium that you can work with so easily compared to other chalk paints that I have tried and actually detest, lol !! I noticed your table and I just did over an old desk in AS Antibes Green w/a Graphite underneath so I didn’t have to do to much sanding. I used a polyurethane satin finish on it & it came out beautiful. But I’m getting off track. My question is it has the same feet as your white table in the picture. But I’m missing the front right. They were so blackened that I put a metallic silver finish on them and on the pulls as well. I reluctantly bought a brand new large “garden district lantern” from “Decor Steals” <—found that link on your page (just love that site…some great steals) to put in front of the leg that's missing. I couldn't find a maker's mark on the table so my question is: do you know who makes that furniture ?? I've been looking in all our thrift stores up here (I'm in CT) and can't seem to find a foot.
    So that's my story…sorry it was so long I do tend to run on and on. But you gal's have got my head spinning with so many idea's for projects…my kitchen is my workshop at the moment…I live in an apartment. Thank the powers that be that I live alone and don't cook much, lol !! I'm working on some old shelving that I have that's dark wood (floating shelves) that are all worn/chipped and scraped. Doing them in a mixture of AS cream & pure white.
    I'm going to stop NOW or I'll run on and on about another project. I have 5 going on right now !

    Sincerely,
    Missi

    • Reply

      Michelle Lepak-Dandelion Patina

      January 19, 2015

      Missi,
      The table is a Duncan Phyfe style. I did a Google search for ‘duncan phyfe brass toe caps’ and quite a few listings came up. If you have more questions please email me at michellelepak@dandelionpatina.com, I would be glad to try and help you. Take care, Michelle

  3. Reply

    Marie@The Interior Frugalista

    January 3, 2015

    What a difference a can of Provence made on these chairs. Love the metal bead detail too. I love the idea of finding unmatched chairs online and unify them with some paint and upholstery.

    • Reply

      Michelle Lepak-Dandelion Patina

      January 19, 2015

      Thank you Marie! I love how they turned out!

  4. Reply

    Amy | Canary Street Crafts

    January 3, 2015

    So pretty! Love the color you chose and the embellishment.

    • Reply

      Michelle Lepak-Dandelion Patina

      January 19, 2015

      Thank you so much!

  5. Reply

    Havok

    January 2, 2015

    These are so pretty! And the color of them is so welcoming!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      January 14, 2015

      Aren’t they gorgeous?!

    • Reply

      Michelle Lepak-Dandelion Patina

      January 19, 2015

      Thank you so much!

  6. Reply

    Michelle Lepak-Dandelion Patina

    January 2, 2015

    Thanks for having me Bre! Enjoy your time! It is -2 here this morning! Ugh.

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      January 14, 2015

      So thankful for your help, Michelle! I’m not ready to be back in this cold!

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Meet Bre

Hi, I’m Bre! Follow along as we renovate our current home and share modern DIY ideas.
 

Currently Loving