Monday, September 14, 2015

DIY Upcycled Chairs | Shabby Chic Inspired ♥

This was a project I had been wanting to do for quite some time now, having been inspired by the lovely Emily on her wonderful blog The Nest and her gorgeous chair makeover. I was so eager to get going on this project, my only problem being that I had no furniture to upcycle... or so I thought. My parents house is full of old furniture and bits and bobs to makeover and give a fresh lease of life to, not least these two old chairs that once sat at the kitchen table. They were scratched to high Heaven, had drips of green paint on them and were long forgotten, hiding in the cellar amongst the cobwebs.

I firstly washed them down, I also used some disinfectant to given them a thorough clean. As I was using a chalk based paint for the blue chair and a spray paint for the pink I didn't have to sand the chairs down - yay for being able to get straight to painting, which was oddly very therapeutic for me! I have to admit before I go on that I have never painted anything before, except for the fence in the garden so it was quite a new experience for me and one which was my mother was so surprised to see me doing, she in fact said - "I thought I'd never see the day" in response to me painting my chairs and being so enthusiastic about it.

The paints I used were Valspar Spray Paint in Rose Sugar Satin (pink) and Rust-Oleum Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Duck Egg (blue). I hand-painted the blue chair which did take some time as the ribs on the legs and back took some going over to cover them completely, the pink chair was done in half an hour though as the spray painting was so quick and easier, I also love the finish the Valspar Spray Paint gave, it was so smooth and looked perfect.

For the pink chair I used some angel and flower designed stickers and paper that I had for years, having been sent them by a woman in The Netherlands. Anyone who knows me knows that I love pink, angels and flowers so this chair really is a tribute to all I love. On the blue I used an old floral print envelope, unfolded it and cut it into a diamond shape. I also used some strips of the same pattern to decorate the top of the chair. I stuck all these pieces onto the chairs using a mixture of water and PVA glue..

When the chairs were completely dry - I gave myself two days for this project, I painted them with clear varnish, making sure to give a couple of coats on top of the added designs to keep them in place. I absolutely love how the chairs turned out and as you can see from the above picture the change was huge!

I love the new shabby chic look they have and think they really are rather pretty. The pink one now sits in my bedroom, covered in floral print cushions and the blue one sits in the flat next to my parents house and is perfect for the cottage vibe it has.

I really hope you liked this post and my chairs and that you may be inspired to upcycle something yourself. I know I just can't wait to get going on my new project and you can be sure that I'll feature it here on the blog once it's finished.

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11 comments

  1. Beautiful job Fi! I love both chairs but the blue one is my favorite. Love the colors you chose. It's great to upcycle & give new life to something! x

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  2. Where did you get the spray paint Fiona? I use chalk paint loads but the spray paint would be great for items with awkward bits! Love the upcycle I'm a big fan of up cycling myself!

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  3. These chairs look amazing, you did such a good job. I especially love the blue one x

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  4. I love your baby blue chair especially and shabby chic is so on trend!
    http://www.fadedspring.co.uk

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  5. Love the blue one =]

    emyii90.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. Wow!!! These chairs look fantastic! I would love to do something like this but I am not artsy in the slightest and would have no idea where to start. Maybe I need to do some research and get some inspiration for a project like this. I am thinking a toy box for my little.

    Azaria
    Being Mrs Lynch

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  7. Wow you've done a really lovely job on these! We have just inherited an old fashioned side board from my husbands nan's house, so will be repainting it to fit in better with our house. I never thought of using a spray paint, so will have to look into the colours available :) xx

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  8. These look fantastic! I have always been intrigued by up-cycling. I actually considered up-cycling an old cot I had and painting it a white with some subtle details but I have never gotten around to it! Maybe now I will. x

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  9. They look amazing , you have done such a fantastic job for your first time painting and up-cycling. I have a few things that I would love to up-cycle as we have pine bedroom furniture which i hate the look of but don't want to throw away as it was expensive I may have to try and jazz them up a bit xx

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  10. I am a huge fan of up cycling, I get that from my mum. I absolutely love the chairs and I think they would be perfect for my bedroom makeover.

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  11. Clever you! The chairs look fab - I love the colours of them. I have actually just had my first go at upcycling - I can see it being a bit addictive! Kaz x

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