Therapy

Interior design is therapy for me. After losing my son Jonathan, stillborn, in August, I needed something I could do to help me cope with his sudden loss. I became addicted to interior design blogs, mostly ones that took old and ugly furniture and made them beautiful with a little elbow grease and a fresh coat of paint. One of my favorite blogs is Mustard Seed Creations. Don't you love the name? Her blog is awesome. She is hosting a Furniture Feature Friday and I decided to join in.

My first project in the house was to redo our formal dining room. I love this room because it can handle my big farm house table. This table was one of the first things I bought when we moved into our new house 3 years ago. It's also one of my steals. I purchased it for $300. I just love it.

I used to have 8 leather chair around the table, but I decided it just wasn't my style, so I posted them on Craig's List and in a few days they were gone. I wonder if the guy who started Craig's List is really named Craig? I don't care what his name is, I heart him. Anywho, I decided to look on Craig's List for some chairs I could re purpose and I found these:


I loved the lines of these chairs and the detail on the front and back of the chairs, but that's where my love stopped. The fabric was stained and not my taste. I also knew I wanted them to be black. Some people will probably cringe when they find out that I spray painted the chairs, but I loved how they turned out. After I lightly sanded each of the chairs, it was time for the paint. FYI, I recommend wearing a glove when you do this unless you want black nails.
I chose Rust-oleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover in Semi-Gloss. I only had to do one coat. Yes, one coat. It covered beautifully. All I needed to do next was to recover the seats. I needed just a little over a yard of fabric to recover all 4 chairs. Easy peasy! I think I may take a little sandpaper and distress them a bit. What do ya think? To sand or not to sand. That is the question.

Here's the breakdown of the cost: 4 chairs: $100, fabric: $20.00 and 4 cans of spray paint: $14. For $134 dollars, I got a whole new set of dining room chairs. The best part, I had fun doing it. Here's a sneak peak of my dining room. I am looking for the perfect bench to go on the front side of the table. This beauty is my next project. I got an even killer deal on this chair and her 3 sisters. These are gorgeous Italian chairs in perfect condition. Once again, I found them on Craig's List. I got 2 arm chairs and 2 side chairs for....drumroll please....$125. I mean really? The poor guy told me he had gotten 8 of these chairs custom made and shipped from Italy. Each chair was well over $300 a piece. He bought them for an office that he was leasing out and then he sold the building and didn't need them anymore and so they became mine.

Now here's where I need your help. The blue fabric obviously has to go. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Where I am stuck is do I leave the chair as is and just change the fabric or do I paint the wood and caning black? I'm sure a few of you just shouted at your computer screen "What is that girl thinking. Is she crazy to paint that chair?" I just might be.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I could use the help. I have to figure it out quickly because I am hosting Thanksgiving in just 2 weeks. Yikes. No stress.