The Painted Chair

 

 

 

 

Today I am sharing with you the once Mustard Yellow chair that my mom had in her garage. 

 

When I decided to make the Sawhorse desk I had no idea what chair I would be pairing with it.  I didn't want an "office" chair.  I wanted something that would look like it went with the desk.  Like they were a package deal. 

 

Whenever I get stuck, or am unsure of what direction to go with something, I always talk it out with my Mom!  (I get my creativity from her.)  When I told her I was looking for a chair, she said she had one that would work.  Sure enough, in her garage, she had this beautiful Mustard Yellow chair.  (She did warn me that it wasn't the most beautiful thing, but it had the potential to be something great.)  As you can see from the "before" that was truly the case.  Lucky for me I can see past the layers of paint and see what it could be.

 

Now I had a decision to make..... to paint or not to paint?  After thinking it over for a while I decided I didn't want to paint over all the great detail of this chair.  All it would do is cover it up and the character of the chair would be lost.  So I decided to strip the it down to the bare wood.  I had never done this before, so it was a new adventure for me.  But I am always up for an adventure.

 

So off I went.  I picked up some paint stripper and a few other tools at the hardware store.  I decided to go with a gel instead of a liquid.  I needed it to stay put and not just run down the chair.

 

 

(Make sure you read and follow the directions.)

 

After applying the stripper and waiting, and waiting and more waiting.  I got to work.  It was exciting to see the layers of paint scraping off and the detail of the chair emerging.  Wow!  To think someone covered this up.

 

 

It took two applications of the stripper in some areas and I still couldn't get all the paint off.  I don't think it had anything to do with the stripper I used, I think it was due to the of the shape and hard to reach areas.

 

Then came the sanding.  This was a little difficult on the spindles and the hard to reach places.  It became somewhat frustrating.  After airing my frustration to my mom, she suggested using the Dremel.  Why didn't I think of that?  It was Amazing!!!  So easy and so much faster.  (From here on out I will be putting that little tool to work.)

 

After all the paint was removed and the sanding completed, it was time for the stain.  I used the same Minwax Dark Walnut as I used on the desk and VOILA!! 

 

 

I love it!!  She is a beauty!

 

 

 

Cost of this project:  about $5.00 (the cost of the stripper, with a bunch left over for future projects)

 

 

What do you use when stripping paint off furniture?  Share your story!

 

 



Sawhorse Pallet Desk

 

Sawhorse Pallet Desk



 

 

I am so excited to share with you my Sawhorse and Pallet Wood Desk.  

 

My inspiration for this desk came from the "Pallet Wood Desk" made by Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors.  It was love at first sight and I knew I needed one of my own. 

 

So all summer I looked and looked and looked for a pair of wooden sawhorses.  Every garage and estate sale I went to, I would cross my fingers in hopes of finding a pair.  NO LUCK!!!  The frustration set in and I gave up.  I thought that I would never have the desk I wanted. 

Then one day, on my way home from work.....  the freeway was a mess, so I decided to take a different route.  As I was driving down the road, I saw a man putting these sawhorses out by the curb.  I slowed down in hopes he was getting rid of them.  Then I saw the FREE sign.  Trying to control my excitement, I pulled over and threw them in the back of my car.  (They are not as great as hers but they work.)

 

Now that I had found these simple sawhorses, it was time to pick a color.  This was not an easy process for me.  I have to say, I am a little scared of the bright colors.  I have always stayed on the safe side and stuck with neutrals.  That was until I saw this craft room desk made by Kelsey over at Poofy Cheeks.  Donna at Funky Junk Interiors shared it one day.  I fell in love with the colors she chose and knew that was exactly what I wanted.  I looked through my Sherwin-Williams paint chips and chose the color. I ended using Raindrop which I thought was close to what she used. And slapped on the paint.

 

Then it was time to figure out how to make the desk top.  Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of this process.  (Sorry!)  With a little help from "Jones" we built a frame and hooked it to the painted sawhorses.  Then I picked through my stock pile of pallets for the pieces I wanted to use.  After laying it all out, and making the necessary cuts, I put the top together.

It was important to me that it not look like one uniform piece.  I wanted the pieces to be staggered like a wood floor would be. 

 

I sanded, and sanded, and sanded and yep more sanding, until there was no chance that this desk would give me any splinters. 

 Then it was time to stain it.  As you can see from the picture, I used Minwax Dark Walnut. 

 

It went from this:

 

 

To this:

 

I love the way the stain brought out the detail in the wood and I am so happy with the whole thing.

 

 

I am still working on the other details of my work space and cannot wait to share them with you.   

 

I now have a space to look for new ideas, hunt for great pieces 

and share all of my transformed "Unfinished Finds" with you. 

 

What has inspired you?  What does your work space look like?