Early one morning just after moving into my new home I was walking to Balmoral Beach and happened across an antique bedroom chair thrown out for hard rubbish collection. It was in a bad state of repair but had potential, so I swooped it up and took it home with me. For the last two years it sat in my attic, waiting for me to get inspired to resurrect it. The process was quite gradual.
Not long after rescuing the chair, I was in Freedom Furniture at Balgowlah and found a single curtain in a sale bin. In coastal colours which match my decor, I decided it would be perfect to re-upholster the seat of the chair. Some months later I visited Lincraft at Belrose and purchased wadding and filling for the seat. And later again I bought nail-heads at Ewen's Hardware in Mosman to trim the fabric. Finally, just two months ago, I found Annie Sloan white chalk paint at Cote Maison in Waterloo. Finally, I had all the elements I needed to repair the chair.
First, I experimented with the chalk paint, which I haven't used before. As well as the pure white chalk paint for the chair, I bought pale blue and pale grey paint which I mixed together to paint a pine milking stool Dad had made about 20 years ago. Two coats later, this is how it came out.
With that behind me, I tackled the chair. I forgot to take a "before" shot, but this is what it looked like after the first coat of paint.
Today was a slow, rainy Sunday - perfect for an indoor project, so finally I completed it. Everything about it was a first for me - chalk paint, re-upholstering and doing nailhead trim. So I'm happy that it's come out exactly as I had pictured it in my mind two years ago when I pulled it out of the rubbish.
Not long after rescuing the chair, I was in Freedom Furniture at Balgowlah and found a single curtain in a sale bin. In coastal colours which match my decor, I decided it would be perfect to re-upholster the seat of the chair. Some months later I visited Lincraft at Belrose and purchased wadding and filling for the seat. And later again I bought nail-heads at Ewen's Hardware in Mosman to trim the fabric. Finally, just two months ago, I found Annie Sloan white chalk paint at Cote Maison in Waterloo. Finally, I had all the elements I needed to repair the chair.
First, I experimented with the chalk paint, which I haven't used before. As well as the pure white chalk paint for the chair, I bought pale blue and pale grey paint which I mixed together to paint a pine milking stool Dad had made about 20 years ago. Two coats later, this is how it came out.
With that behind me, I tackled the chair. I forgot to take a "before" shot, but this is what it looked like after the first coat of paint.
Today was a slow, rainy Sunday - perfect for an indoor project, so finally I completed it. Everything about it was a first for me - chalk paint, re-upholstering and doing nailhead trim. So I'm happy that it's come out exactly as I had pictured it in my mind two years ago when I pulled it out of the rubbish.
