The easy way to upcycle a wooden chair
Upcycling pieces of furniture is a brilliant way to inject new love into old items in your home – and means you'll have something totally unique, as well as saving you cash.
Upcycling makes a brilliant craft project for a weekend afternoon – you'll be amazed at the transformations you can make if you have just a few key materials. You don't need to be a crafting expert – there are so many great upcycling ideas for beginners, too.
Here, learn how to upcycle a wooden chair using chalk paint with this step-by-step upcycling guide from craft expert Lisa Comfort – she'll talk you through exactly what to do to beautifully repaint your furniture, with fantastic results even if you're on a tight budget.
Every month, I head to my local furniture and bric-a-brac market, the Sunbury Antiques Market. It opens at 6.30am and, believe me, you have to get there early to bag the best items! Remember to haggle and you’ll get some great bargains.
One of my favourite buys is a beautiful mirror from Rajasthan, India; it takes pride of place in my kitchen and cost me just £100. This wooden spindle chair was a great find, too.
At first glance, there’s nothing special about it – a kitchen chair we’ve all seen a million times before, but I had an idea. I paid £35 for it, took it home and got to work. Here’s what I did…
What you need to paint a wooden chair
Wooden chair
Sandpaper: fine, medium/coarse
Chalk Paint decorative paint and Clear Wax by Annie Sloan
Newspaper
Brushes
Hairdryer
Cloth
How to paint a wooden chair
1 Lightly sand the surface of the chair to remove any rough edges. One of the great things about the paint I like to use, Chalk Paint decorative paint by Annie Sloan, is that you don’t need to do a lot to prep your furniture before you use it.
2 Protect work area with newspaper and begin painting the chair. Be generous with the paint but remember a little goes a long way, and you can always add another layer. There is no need to use primer. Don’t worry too much about brush strokes, you can sand them after to smooth them, if you want, or you can keep them textured to add to the effect.
3 Dry with a hairdryer or leave to dry naturally. Then paint a second coat and let dry. If you want to reduce the brush stroke texture, lightly sand with a fine sand paper once dry.
4 Now take a piece of medium-to-coarse sandpaper and start sanding the edges of the chair. Focus on the top corners of the back, the front edges of the seat and parts of the legs. The idea is to sand off the paint where the chair would have worn naturally.
TIP: At the distressing stage, I often find less is more – to sand a bit, then step back and have a look.
5 Finally, wax the whole chair with the Clear Wax using a brush or cloth. This seals the paint and stops it from transferring. It also prevents the chair from becoming damaged by scratches and marks. Then wipe off the excess wax.
Have you upcycled pieces of furniture for your home? Share them with us by tagging us in your pictures on Instagram!
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