How to Paint a Chair

ByChristine @ theDIYdreamer.com

How to Paint a Chair ~ Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post on how to reupholster a chair seat, my aunt gave me an old chair that really needed some work. The chair had so much potential but was left unloved for years.  We decided to give it a fresh new look, perfect to go in Gabrielle’s Purple room (someday).

how to paint

Before I start the tutorial, I thought I would talk about Gabrielle’s Purple bedroom. She’s been asking us to redo her bedroom for over a year. I honestly don’t blame her, she’s almost 8 and her bedroom still has some of the decor from her baby room. It’s bright orange and has jungle themed curtains. The entire room needs some attention, including new windows and some of the walls need to be fixed. Lots of work ahead. However, we have told her that we will not start renovating her bedroom until she can keep it clean and organized. Seriously, her room is a disaster! She can’t seem to keep it clean!

Even though we haven’t started her bedroom, we have been keeping furniture for her new room. Last summer we found a cute work desk on the side of the road. We picked it up right away and we can’t wait to give it an update. We even have accessories to decorate the bedroom. Have you done this before.. save pieces for a future renovation?

How to Paint a Chair

Supplies:
– Wooden Chair
– Sand paper
– Palm Sander
– Dremel Tool (optional)
– Paint Brush
– Paint Primer
– Paint (I used Behr Premium Plus Interior/Exterior Hi-Gloss Enamel. Color: Grape Jamboree)

Instructions:
Step 1: Sand the chair using a palm sander and a Dremel tool, enough so that the paint will stick.  (We had to sand it down to bare wood because of all the different layers of gunk on it.)
How to Sand a Chair

Step 2: Apply a coat or two of Paint Primer. We used an All-in-One Primer-Sealer, Undercoater and Stain Killer. As you can see in the photo, Emanuelle wanted to help out too. A great way to have your children join in on the painting, is to take out a small brush for them to use. They are painting and yet not causing any damage to your project.
How to Paint a Chair

Step 3: Apply one coat of paint on the chair. Step 4: Wait 24 hours for the paint to completely dry and give it a light sanding before applying a second coat. The light sanding between the paint coats is very important, otherwise your high-gloss paint won’t stick very well. (We applied three coats of paint)
How to Paint

Now that the chair is painted with a new fresh color, reupholster the chair seat to give it a drastic new look.
How to Paint a Chair - theDIYdreamer.com

Not too bad right? Gabrielle has completely fallen head over heels with her new purple chair! Now to see if it’s enough to get her to keep her room clean so that we can give her a new bedroom!

Hope you are having a FABULOUS day!

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P.S. I’ll be linking to these Parties.

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41 Comments

  3. It’s perfect Christine :) I really enjoyed of your ideas ,At first I think ,it ‘s so very hard after that your explanation was very clear.Thank you very much :)

  6. I loved the fabric on the last post and now a great tutorial on the purple paint job. It is a bold choice, but every little girl has a purple stage to go through!

  8. I sure wish I’d have read your “use a small paintbrush” advice last night. Ramsay “helped” us paint the bathroom, and you can imagine how that went. I’ve been doing the same thing for Emmy’s room….gathering supplies. Unfortunately, like Gabrielle, both of my girls are unable to keep their rooms clean. With Ramsay, we’re lucky if we don’t find food….seriously, it’s bad. Thanks for sharing!

  9. Very cute! I’ve always wanted to try a whimsical chair makeover like that, but have never been brave enough (I’ve always reupholstered back in the same color that was already there). I may just have to give this a try this summer! Can’t wait to see your creative ideas as part of your Collective Bias work!

  10. I love this SO much! I recently acquired a second-hand table and chairs that I am planning to paint and re-upholster and your post makes me want to do something bold and bright instead of playing it safe with black. Now to convince the hubby….

    Thanks for sharing!

    (By the way, I am your newest follower! Please come see my blog and follow me, too!)

  16. Hi, your purple chair looks great. I have a question for you on how were you able to sand the legs of the chair down so much? I always have a hard time with spiral legs or any spiral things. The picture looks like you were able to get them down pretty good. Also I have a hard time painting them, I also end up with uneven painting on the round parts. Do you have any suggestions for me? I appreciate any advise you can offer.
    Thank you
    Debbie

  20. Ok, so I just saw this post about repainting the chair. Perfect! You thought of everything. I’m going to Pin these so I can work on them in the next month. :)

  25. What seems simple to some does not for others so you were very good to give your tutorial. The new chair color looks great as does the thicker recovered seat.

  37. The transformation of this old chair is unbelievable!!!!The paint and the seat fabric look great!–Is the seat fabric specifically for upholstering?–makes me want to go out to Salvation Army right now to see if they have an old chair.:)

  40. Love the changes you made in the chair. I have a question though, I have a table that I am wanting to sand and paint but some of the nooks and crannies are hard to get into. Do you have any advice? I have an electric sander but it doesn’t fit onto the shelf bc the space isn’t big enough. Any advice would be appreciated!

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