I''m not one for crafts, but look what I did!

[LaurenThePartier]

So, as the title says, I''m not really one for crafts and projects around the home. I''ll frame a pic here and there, but that''s about where my creativity ends.

So, my husband has these awful chairs from his Great-Grandparents, but we''ve kept them covered under a white chair cover because they''re . . . well, they''re ugly.

So, I started the manual process of sanding, painting and upholstering this weekend. I got one done, but tell me what you think!

Before - the backs.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

The fronts!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

After . . .

 

[LaurenThePartier]

And another after . . .

 

[iheartscience]

Nice work! They''re way cuter now!

 

[strmrdr]

you did a great job but I love the before better.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Thanks, Thing2of2!

Karl, thanks, but they absolutely did not go with my house before - they were covered by a white linen chair cover, as my house is full of dark woods. Oak just doesn''t work with my style.

 

[Circe]

Very nicely done! That looks quite professional, and it matches your decor beautifully.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 9/29/2008 8:15:41 PM
Author: Circe
Very nicely done! That looks quite professional, and it matches your decor beautifully.

Thanks, Circe - the hope is that eventually I''ll find dining room chairs that I love, and these will move up to the master bedroom, where our duvet is brown satin-ey damask!

 

[joflier]

Holy cow Lauren!!!! Those look awesome!

So could you come and reupholster my old rocking chair?

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Beautiful, Lauren!!!

I thought they were pretty before, but they look even better now!!!

 

[OUpearlgirl]

They look great!! I love the fabric you chose.

 

[radiantquest]

you did a really great job, im impressed. before you know it you will be doing all kinds of creative stuff

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 9/29/2008 7:51:35 PM
Author: strmrdr
you did a great job but I love the before better.

+1.

i''m just more of a wood person.

movie zombie

ps will admit that oak isn''t working for me either.

 

[PrincessDijon]

Lauren!

Awesome job!

I adore your area rug as well...I have the same colors in my living room and dining room!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

You did a great job Lauren. I love them!!!!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

They look great, fabulous job!
I think that my sister has that same rug!

 

[kittybean]

I think they look awesome! Love the brown damask upholstering. I don''t think they were bad before, but this gives a whole new look, and it looks great.

 

[somethingshiny]

Lauren~ Great job!

I don''t know if you want opinions, but I''m going to give you mine...
I can''t tell if it''s just the photo or if there is some unevenness in the paint. If it''s uneven, sand between coats for a cleaner finish. Also, for wood that isn''t in bad shape to begin with, you usually don''t need to sand. You can use a deglosser instead. It gives the new finish something to adhere to and saves you lots of time!

Refinishing furniture is addictive. You''ll start thinking about how you can change every piece you meet!!

 

[asscherisme]

Great job! I''m impressed.

 

[Diva0413]

Very nice!!! They match your table a lot better now!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Thanks so much for your comments/tips, everyone! This was pretty much the first time painting furniture for me, and the chair was in awful shape before - wood splintering pretty much everywhere - the before pics give them much more credit than they deserve. The colour of the wood looks darker in the photo, and you can''t see any of the major imperfections.

The problem is that the paint has kind of magnified the areas where the splintering happened. I''ve tried sanding between coats, but that''s not helping. Hopefully the other chair will not be as difficult to cover the damage.

 

[somethingshiny]

Lauren~ Since you''re painting the furniture, you can stave off splintering by brushing on some wood glue first. Then you can sand down where it''s uneven before painting. It would be worth a try for old splintery wood. Sometimes with that condition, you''d sand for days without seeing any improvement. There is also a wood filler available and easy to use to fill in any exceedingly bad imperfections. It can also be sanded.

Good luck on the next chair!

btw-I really like your fabric!

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 9/30/2008 11:45:27 AM
Author: somethingshiny
Lauren~ Since you''re painting the furniture, you can stave off splintering by brushing on some wood glue first. Then you can sand down where it''s uneven before painting. It would be worth a try for old splintery wood. Sometimes with that condition, you''d sand for days without seeing any improvement. There is also a wood filler available and easy to use to fill in any exceedingly bad imperfections. It can also be sanded.

Good luck on the next chair!

btw-I really like your fabric!

i sense that you have learned much and i would love to have you share! care to start a thread over in the Family & Home forum on wood finishing tips?

movie zombie

 

[Tacori E-ring]

very nice Lauren!

 

[somethingshiny]

MZ~ I did start a thread on FHH. I didn''t list tips, I''ll wait to see if anyone has any questions.

lauren~ I hope I didn''t come off as anything less than supportive and excited for you.

 

[robbie3982]

Very nice! You''ve got me wondering if there''s anything I can do for my dining room table and chairs now...

 

[Tuckins1]

Nice work!

 

[zoebartlett]

They look great Lauren!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 9/30/2008 11:45:27 AM
Author: somethingshiny
Lauren~ Since you''re painting the furniture, you can stave off splintering by brushing on some wood glue first. Then you can sand down where it''s uneven before painting. It would be worth a try for old splintery wood. Sometimes with that condition, you''d sand for days without seeing any improvement. There is also a wood filler available and easy to use to fill in any exceedingly bad imperfections. It can also be sanded.

Good luck on the next chair!

btw-I really like your fabric!

That''s fantastic, SS! I still have the other one to do, and possibly 2 more living in someone''s attic in my husband''s family.

I appreciate all of your tips, and will try the wood glue/wood filler on the second one. Thank you!!!!