Happy New Year!

We, I am happy to report that we are now construction-free! |read more about our new home adventures here| A few more touches are needed here and there (in this round of projects, of course), but we are LOVING having a WHOLE house to live in, and a beautiful one, at that! Though… we are partial :)

While I am continuing to get things squared away just-so,  I wanted to share another fun piece of our renovation |I previously shared our diy staircase refresh| – our practically free dining room set and accent chairs!

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DIY Chalk Paint Furniture Refresh

So, some of you know, my husband has a nose for deals. Particularly those that are really, really cheap. And, usually, not exactly the kind of stuff you want hanging around your home… (sweaty used equipment for sports we don’t play, anyone?). But, lately, he’s struck MAJOR gold. First, with this incredible lot of furniture just before the move from an estate sale  – All for $59.00. I REPEAT, $59.00.

Best day of his life, so far, I’m pretty sure.

And then, with a table and six chairs that one of the neighbors along our new street were taking to the curb! FREE. His favorite word. Now, this stuff needed love. And paint. And fabric. But, we made it happen (again, with more than little help from my mama). And, I LOVE how they turned out:

|This is the picture the Husband sent me from the basement of the estate sale – looks promising, right? But, the results proved he was right!

|And, here is the picture he texted me of his free treasure… that fabric! Yuck! But again, it turns out this was a great find, and I can’t say anything the next time he brings home two used tennis rackets or sweaty goalie gloves for middle schoolers…. you know, for someday.

I knew I didn’t want to invest a ton of time into these projects, and certainly not a lot of money. So, I started looking into chalk paint. A total craze that has taken the diy world by storm the last few years, I walked into a local shop and asked a few questions and looked at samples. After 5 mins, I was sure it was right for my projects: Lots of colors to choose from. No prep. Two coats of paint. Two coats of wax. Done.

The products stretch very far, and with two cans of Annie Sloan chalk paint in French Linen, two cans of Clear Wax, and a wax brush in-hand, I left the shop with all I needed to transform eight chairs and a table for just over $100 (and I have enough for another small project left over!)

We quickly wiped down the pieces, and dove right in! The first coat didn’t seem to cover amazingly well, but the second coat was like magic! The ultra-matte paint looked beautiful, and was so easy to use. It dries in 15 min, and covers a multitude of sins. After drying, we used the clear wax – there is also a dark wax available to give a more antiqued look – and brushed it on with the round wax brush. A quick coat, applied in small sections, and wiped off immediately, is all it takes to give the piece a clean, durable finish. After drying for 24hrs, we repeated. And then, let it cure (while the construction in the kitchen was completed ;) 

Note: We did the MOST BASIC level of chalk painting, but the techniques are endless! Layering, gilding, distressing, you name it! Also, we did learn that is it possible to put on too much wax, especially on large surfaces like the table top. But, using more wax to “activate” the old, you can wipe off excess so you don’t get finger prints or shiny areas. 

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Between coats, we reupholstered the seats for the chairs. We chose two fabrics – a grey and white spotted for the dining room (which we reversed, because we liked the back side better!), and a white linen with silver metallic accents for the living room chairs.(This added about $100 to our project costs, bringing our total to $200 from start to finish – we used coupons at JoAnne’s and Hobby Lobby!).

The foam on the dining room chairs was in decent shape, so after removing the old fabric, we only needed to measure, cut and staple the new fabric over the seats (there are some great tutorials with hints and tips on youtube!). The accent chairs needed a little foam added to the underside to give some extra support, so with some tucking and stuffing, they ended up much more firm. After that, it was just the same procedure as the dining room – staple, pull tight, and carefully tuck those corners.

And so, with a little elbow grease, and no major tools or special talent needed, we went from yuck, to this!:

|Serene and monochromatic is what we were going for…

…makes me relax just to look at it|

This was a fun, easy and rewarding project – I highly recommend trying it on a “junktique” piece of your own! Also, in case you were wondering, here is what our dining room looked like “before”…

…”peachy”, right? We’re just getting started.