My girlfriend Wilma wanted me to paint her dining room chairs after seeing pictures of furniture that I had stained and/or painted in the past two years. I went over to her condo and it was gorgeous! Tuscan country style with glam (silver and gold paint and embellishments). She had beautiful bombe chests and tables, curved sofa, chairs and a bench. The fireplace had a huge ornate mantel with glass and gold accents and the tile around the fireplace was a beautiful blue tile with a lovely gold patina. Then we walked into her dining room and I saw why she wanted me to paint her chairs. They were made by the Amish back in the 1990's and they were oak. The huge dining room table is in a very dark stain and it made the chairs seem so out of place. I could see why Wilma wanted them changed. I never attempted to change something like this before but I had ideas.
First, I washed the chairs down with TSP and I had to repair 3 of the 6 chairs with bondo and wood filler. I used sander/deglosser and more wood filler for the deep gouges on the chairs. I painted the chairs in two coats of Sherwin Williams 6121 Whole Wheat homemade chalk paint. I chose the color because her entire condo was in the Tuscan country glam theme and I needed a strong neutral color to hold its own for what I planned on. After painting, I used two coats of General Finishes Arm R Seal in satin. The chairs looked plain and I knew they would. I took out General Finishes Van Dyke glaze and General Finishes Burnt Umber. I applied the Van Dyke glaze first in a swirl pattern on the top back of the chair and on the chair seat. After it dried, I then I did the same (overlapping) with the Burnt Umber. After that dried, I used General Finishes Pearl Effects in Burnished Pearl (gold) and did overlapping swirl pattern again. I finished all of them with two coats of General Finishes Arm R Seal in satin.
The chairs came out beautifully and Wilma is very happy with the results. (Now she wants me to do her dining room table...)
