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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Zebra-riffic!!

I hope that everyone has had a great weekend! We've been super busy this weekend getting a lot of projects done. While Kevan has been working on laying the countertops and backsplash in our kitchen, I have been a spray painting SOB.

One of the many projects that I worked on this weekend was a pair of thrift store chairs that I picked up for my Office Decorating Project. I wanted something more interested for people to sit on when they came to my office instead of those cheezy metal office chairs.

I found these last weekend for $2.99 each and knew that they would be absolutely perfect.


















Tip: If you have a stubborn pricetag that just won't come off, use vinegar to remove the adhesive. I use white vinegar any time that I'm removing stickers (or wallpaper).

After I removed the price tags, I turned the chairs over to take off the seat. They're attached with one screw in each corner as seen in the picture below.

















 
















Then I applied a layer of spray paint primer to help the paint stick.

 
 I let that dry for about an hour and then it was time for the good stuff. 
I decided that I wanted to go wild... and I've been dying to do a metallic piece after seeing the pictures that are all over the blogosphere of people doing them. I went with metallic spray paint in Chrome. 

  

Then it was time to add some fabric. To keep with the wild look of the chair, I wanted a dramatic black and white fabric. I was looking for something with black, white and pink stripes, but fell in love with the fabric below. I started by laying out the fabric on top of the seat and tucking it under to get the layout that I wanted. Then, once I knew that it was good, I pulled the fabric out and cut it using the seat itself as a template. It's important to leave enough extra fabric when you cut so that you can staple gun your fabric to your seat.


 I like to staple the the edge of the fabric first so that I have room to pull the fabric tight as needed. I'll usually do one staple in two opposite sides first and then work my way around. If there is any loose fabric spots, that's where it comes in handy to have a little room you can pull the fabric tight as needed. 

I could have left it as it was, but wanted a little more pop... 

Bring on the fringe

 Adding the fringe was so easy, and really takes it up a notch. To put it on, I flipped my seat back over and used my staple gun to attach it to the edges making sure that the edging would be hidden once it was flipped over. 
And now, the moment you've been waiting for... Here are my Wild Chairs!


 

I love the entire chair, but have to admit that I'm completely shocked at how amazing the metallic spraypaint came out! Here's a closeup showing just how gorgeous it is: 

Here it is again the way that I found it:
 
 I'd say that this project deserves the tag of Shabby to Chic, wouldn't you?? I am now wondering whether these chairs will stay in my office or whether I'll be trying to see them on craigslist because they are just too cool.  

Total for BOTH Chairs: $22
Chairs: $6
Spray Paint: $4
Primer: $3
Fabric: $6
Trim: $3


I'm sharing this with:

Thrift Decor Chick - Before and After Party
Domestically Speaking - The Power of Paint Party
The DIY Showoff - DIY Project Parade







13 comments:

Tara Valgoi said...

These look great Lindsay! I love the fringe - it makes the chairs have a much more "finished" look.

Desiree said...

I LOVE them!!! They turned out so cute-wild, feminine, and chic...Good job!

Liz said...

shiny~ and fantastic!

Low Tide High Style said...

Those turned out beautifully! I love the fabric, the trim, and of course the metallic spray paint! Very cool!

Kat :)

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

What a great transformation! Great job on these. I love the zebra fabric combined with the metallic paint. Which brand did you use??? I will be painting a frame in my daughters room & would like it to come out as good as yours.

Anonymous said...

WOW - that is probably one of the most dramatic transformations I have ever seen - what a change!!! They look great!

Lost In Tarnation said...

Thanks everyone! They look awesome in my office. The guys that I work with have been giving me some strange looks though, they're not sure what to make of them. But they make me smile, and when work is rough that's all you need to get through the day :)

Pam - I used Rust-Oleum Metallic from Home Depot. It was just over $3 a can. I used the cheap home depot primer also. This paint takes a lot of time to dry so resist the urge to touch. And I tried to put a spray-paint sealer over them and it didn't go over very well which lead to me covering it back up with paint. I used the Chrome spray paint. I can't wait to use it again!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden said...

Wow! You took a traditional chair and really glammed it up! I love it! I'm hosting a party and would love to have you come over and link this up.

http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/2010/03/make-it-yours-day.html

Kari said...

These chairs are fabulous! I just bought a chair to redo today. Now I'm really inspired. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Chairs look great! Do you think you could send me how you did your black dresser? I know you're going to post step-by-step of your coffee table, but I need to get a piece done ASAP!

Lost In Tarnation said...

Sorry I couldn't get back to you yesterday, we've got the plague running through our house and we're heading out the door right now.

But here is the breakdown on the dresser:

1. sand out any imprefections. I have a new skilsaw sander that I might propose marriage to. You might need to use some wood putty to fill any holes or deep scratches. Make sure that the one that you get is paintable. If you use that, after it's dry lightly sand it down for a smooth finish. Then I like to use liquid sandpaper so that I don't have to sand the entire piece. Follow the directions for that. You can get it at walmart. It's a lifesaver.
2. Priming- You'll want to use an oil based primer and if you're painting a dark color, get tinted primer to make your life easier. If your primer coat isn't completely smooth, run a piece of sandpaper lightly over it with your hand. You can roll this on.
3. Painting- For the smoothest finish, use latex paint. (Latex over oil is ok, but oil paint is not okay over latex primter)A great trick that my sister taught me is to roll on the paint with a roller, and then go back over it with a paintbrush so that you don't get those funky bubbles left my a roller. You'll need to do two coats most likely.
4. Finishing - Make sure that you wait 24 hours for the paint to dry so that you don't mess up your hard work. Then if it's going to be a piece getting a lot of heavy traffic, you'll want to put a sealer on it. I love sealers with high gloss. I use Polyeurithayne (no clue how to spell that one :) ) and not Polycryllic because Kevan says it's stronger. You can use a foam brush or a paint brush. I like to put at least two coats on the piece making sure that it's completely dry.

Alright, Kevan's honking the car right now, so I've got to run. Can't wait to see how your piece turns out!! Be sure to send me pictures.

Jennifer said...

Thank you so much! I don't know if I will get it done in the time I had hoped, but I will send pictures when I do!

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking said...

How fun and funky! Love the modern twist with the silver paint. Thanks for sharing it at the POPP.

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