Still in Lockdown due to Covid19 - week 6 and I think if my family stand still for too long they may find me painting them too!
I love painting chairs, especially ones with carved detail, into which one can rub a bit of coloured or dark wax to create an aged effect. So what to do when a chair is pretty plain? There are so many different paint techniques that create a variety of effects and I love combining effects to create even more interest.
I have had these two little chairs hanging about for a few years now, they are both quite plain and do not really fit in with the rest of the chairs in my house, so I decide to make them a pair, by painting them in a similar style.
The one is wood, but has been really worn. I found this at an antiques fair for only a few pounds and really liked the shape of it. The other is actually a child's chair, which I picked cup from a charity shop. It's previous owner painted it a bright shiny blue, which I can just imagine would have been great in a child's bedroom.
I had a bit of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Burgundy and Country Grey amongst my leftover bits of paint. The one thing I really like about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is that one can mix and match any of the colours and they just seem to work together!
I painted both chairs with a base coat of Burgundy and left it to dry and then painted a coat of Country Grey. Unfortunately, the Burgundy stained the Country Grey pink. At first I felt a little frustrated, but sometimes these little mishaps can be turned into something different. I simply let the "pink Country Grey" dry and painted a "half a coat" of Country grey on top. A "half a coat" is my term for simply painting over the areas that I thought needed it, leaving a bit of the muddy pink and Burgundy still showing through.
Once this dried, I sanded down the edges to create an aged, distressed effect. It looked pretty nice and to be honest, I could simply have left it there, finishing with a coat of clear wax, but as I mentioned earlier, I like detail to my chairs. I dug out my box of stencils (yes, I do have quite a few, can't tell you how many exactly. It would not be wise to count them...:-))
Stencilling onto a project is so much fun and so easy to do. Simply choose your design and using masking tape, tape it in place. I used the Burgundy chalk paint and a stencil brush for these designs. Load your stencil brush with paint and then remove as much of it as you can on a paper plate. You want very little paint on the brush - in painting terms it is called a dry brush. Using a stippling technique or circular actions, paint over your stencil, taking care not to go over the edges. Once you are satisfied that you have covered the stencil gently remove it from your project and et Voilà!
I allowed the paint to dry completely and applied Annie Sloan Clear Wax with a soft cloth to protect it. As always the wax takes about 3 weeks to cure completely, although it will be dry to the touch in hours.
These two little chairs have now found a home in our study and my son has made himself comfy on one of them for his online lessons during lockdown.
Stay safe and happy painting!
René xx
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