Distressed Chairs DIY

Well hello there little Tucker Bear!  This is my favorite Tucker picture thus far! 

A little blue bird that I have been tinkering with the last week.  I have been super busy but am trying to find some time to work on my art and not just my "projects".  

SO! What projects you may ask?  Well, with the ending of the option period on our new house, I have decided I must figure out how to furnish and decorate a space that is almost double the size of our current home.  Of course, I will not get to all the extra rooms, but I do have a lot of furniture left over from apartment life and so does my brother!  We both left all these goodies at my parents house, so I went outside to my dad's workshop and started shopping! I found a great round table and 4 ladder back chairs in a lovely....cough hideously outdated....yellow pine!  I decided to go ahead and re-do this set in a distressed gray.  I went shopping and found a lovely ikat pattern on a shower curtain for $9.99 at the old bed bath and beyond.  I think it was returned, but who cares!! It is cheaper than buying fabric at the fabric store!

Here is my mini DIY: Chairs only (table to come)

1st:  

Remove the seats and toss those beauties to the side.  Mine were in great condition other than the ugly fabric, so no repairs were needed.  

2nd:  

Take a before photo, because you know you'll want to remember all your hard work when you are finished :)  Also, go ahead and SAND an entire chair! you can do them all at the same time, or sand one and move on.  I like to complete the entire process on one and then move on to the next, but that's because I usually need some motivation to finish the set! 

3rd:

Lay out some cardboard and find a breezy spot (if you can).  Texas was rather still the day I worked on these and so I ended up with gray hair and spray paint boogers. Don't laugh...you know what I'm talking about!!  Then, spray away!  I recommend only one kind of spray paint.  It is my most trusted and favorite kind.  I spray one coat and I am done! 

That's right...Rust-oleum ultra cover 2X.  It is amazing!  Also...I did in fact use the gray primer on this project.  I liked the matte finish and well, each can was like 20 cents cheaper.  PLUS it is the right color of gray that I was looking for.  Bonus!  (Got it at home depot, but wal mart carries it too)

4th:

Let that completely dry!   Then, go over the edges with that sand paper again.  You want to sorta scruff up the edges that would get regular wear and tear.  This will make it look a little more naturally beat up ....err distressed and also will help when you do actually get some little dents and scratches from use in the real world.    

5th: 

Then I used some old stain I found in the garage. It is a dark brown mahogany color. Make sure have a wet/damp cloth and a cloth for the stain. After applying some stain to your cloth, rub it along the edges you sanded to darken the color.  When you decide to add stain in random areas about, make sure to use that damp cloth QUICKLY to wipe off the stain or smear it around.  That stuff dries fast!

This sort of made 3 tones of color: the original yellow pine, a light mahogany glaze, and the gray paint!

6th:

Spray with a clear coat of some kind!  Or you could brush it on if you're feeling like that is necessary.  I don't mind if I get more scratches along the way, so I didn't stress out too much on the clear coat.  Also, in all likelyhood, next year I will repaint this a new color!

I used a basic matte clear coat Rust-oleum ultra cover 2x.  

7th:

It was hot so I went inside and finished covering the seats.  Cut the shower curtain into the size I need.  (Score! I have enough left over to cover 2 pillows, too!) Then I just used the staple gun to fit the fabric around my seat cushions and screwed them back onto the chair base!  I love them! I can't wait to stain the table top and finally get it to the new abode!!  

So far this project has taken me about 7 hours...but that includes frequent breather breaks from the spray paint and the 100* texas heat!  Totally a do-able weekend warrior project :)  

I will post soon on the finished set with table included!

Hope everyone has a splendid evening!