Monday, May 9, 2011

Wooden chairs become cottage outdoor treasure!

I have been dreaming of a garden room. I see them in magazines and I just think to have a room that was decorated in cottage florals and streaming sunshine would be a dream. Well, the reality is that I live in a home that doesn't have one of those so when I started planning our outdoor space, I decided to morph some cottage onto our deck and here is what happened. I picked up these clunky wooden chairs on craigslist for $40 for the pair. They had be re-done in this drapery fabric that I wasn't crazy about but I had a vision.
I loved the flair of the arms and they were really sturdy. I painted them in an ecru by Americana paints and then antiqued them in raw umber and lightly distressed the wood. I went to our local fabric outlet and found some sample suares of discontinued floral fabric and some red and cream colored ticking fabric in the remnant box. Total cost for fabric on both chairs $12. I am not a seamstress so everything I do is hand sewn adding to the vintage look. Here is how they turned out.

Here is how I made the transformation. Two coats of Americana Ecru then let dry. Sand to desired distress with 3X sandpaper and then antique with watered down raw umber. I brushed on then wiped off but you can dry brush or use a towel. Let dry then polycrylic with satin for better wear and tear.
The picture below is my front porch. I wanted a touch of the blue I have fallen in love with this season to be outside as well so I took a couple of old planters I had and dry brushed a robin's egg blue on them then did a dry brush and blend while the blue was still wet with an army green I picked up at home depot. I think they turned out great! Threw some old stems together by weaving them onto eachother to make the wreath. Super fun and easy. All reused and recycled. My favorite thing in the world! Happy Thrifting XOXO the thrift addict.

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