Changing the look of your home décor and accessories doesn’t mean you have to go broke doing it. Acrylic paint is a versatile, unique medium that is simple to work with and easy to clean up. Stenciling or free hand designs added to chairs, lamps, borders around doors, pillows, windows etc. give a customized, personal feel to your home that reflects your true style. In this article, you will learn how to turn a second hand worn out chair into a functional piece of art work that is custom designed to complement your home accessories.
You will need the following:
Paint stripper Electric Sander Medium grit sand paper Poly urethane top coat Acrylic paint; colors of choice Gloves Safety goggles Two inch wide natural hair bristled brush Artists brushes in various sizes
Before you begin this project, choose an area with adequate lighting and ventilation. If you are working inside you may want to place a drop cloth over any furnishings that could get dust all over them while sanding. Wear gloves and safety goggles while stripping and sanding the furniture’s.
Remove the upholstered seat from the chair and set to the side. If the seat can be removed in one piece that is even better. If the chair is covered in paint, you may want to strip off the old paint, for this project you’ll want to the natural wood to be the backdrop for the design. Strip off any old paint and finish so that the raw wood is exposed. Lightly sand the surface of the wood. When you are using an electric sander, be careful to not bear down as this will sand away the wood and change the construction of the chair. After sanding chair take a clean paint brush or shop cloth and brush away all the dust and debris from the furniture’s.
Now the fun begins
When planning your design, you may choose a flower motif or abstract to match your home décor. For the chair in this project, the outer trim is painted a bright red, as well as the tips of the legs and a band of red around the posts the arm rests were jointed to, followed by metallic gold. On the back rest of the chair a sun was painted by blending red and orange and metallic gold acrylic. Once the design is painted, cover the entire chair with a polyurethane finish.
For the seat, the choice is yours to either re-upholster it or paint a matching design on the seat. To recover the seat you will need a flat head screwdriver to get the old staples out of the seat, add some extra padding if desired you may use poly fiber fill or batting. Lay out fabric and measure least 2 inches out from the edge of the board. Fold fabric over an edge and use a staple gun to secure the corner, continue this about every 4 inches around the entire area of the seat.