Sooo, I've got the paint picked out for the half bath downstairs.
I just need to find my motivation to get started and pick up supplies.
Hunh. Sometimes I put off larger projects by doing smaller, easier ones.
You, too?
Well, here's a good example.
Most of us have a few of these hanging around the garage or basement.
Real beauties, I tell you what!
Did you know that's quite the easy fix?
Yep.
Spray paint to the rescue!
I had seen a picture on Pinterest that linked back to a Flickr feed.
So it wasn't even a DIY thing...it was a photo of a bunch of chairs at some cafe in Europe.
I thought to myself: Self, this is a great idea!
I had two like the one pictured above with the cushion.
I primered the cushion really well with the Rustoleum primer.
Let it dry for at least 24 hours...good to go!
The rest, I just wiped clean and started spraying.
I learned some things about spray paint.
It is NOT all created equal.
I never could find a LIGHT orange so I ended up with two pinks.
However, I tried three different kinds...wanna know my opinion?
Krylon was my favorite.
With the Valspar spray paint there was SOOOO much
over spray dust - the whole garage was coated...along with my feet!
The Rustoleum I used was okay...but still quite a bit of dust.
The Krylon covered well and had the least amount of over spray.
And there's my two cents worth. :)
Oh, and with two coats for each chair...I used one can per chair.
Here's a peek of them at the s'mores party
that I haven't gotten around to posting yet.
Yeah...I'm slow like that.
Whatever.
Teenagers and Twister.
What a combo!
Here they are leaning against the house on the deck.
This deck...but that's a story for another day.
See? It doesn't even have any perty flowers on it.
I really like the difference it made on the appearance of these chairs.
Now they're so much more fun!
What do you think?
Do you have any metal folding chairs sitting around that need a face lift?
©Kelly
Sharing here:
See this post featured at Chickabug!
Update:
I've had several questions about priming and sealing.
I did NOT prime the chairs themselves.
I only primed the vinyl cushions.
They've not had a lot of heavy use yet so
they are still holding up well. I will let you know if that changes.
I might suggest spraying them with a top sealer just to extend the paint life.
Paint gets scratched...especially on stuff like this.
But it should be an easy fix...just touch up with a few spritzes.
Colors:
Krylon: Rich Plum, Watermelon, Raspberry and Blue Ocean Breeze
Rustoleum: Warm Yellow
Valspar: Everglade Glen
they went from ho hum to happy!Looks great, oh my gosh, twister, do they still play that, wow, my children are all in their thirties and they played that as well, good times, thats some beautiful hair on those girls,
ReplyDeleteI love those chairs. You did a wonderful job on them. I haven't seen Twister played in years! What fun! xo Diana
ReplyDeleteI love this! Fun colors makes everything so cheerful! Great idea. May have to try that one of these days.
ReplyDeleteHi there!
ReplyDeleteI am featuring you tomorrow on my blog... I love your chairs!
Thank you so much for linking up to The 36th AVENUE.
pretty much brilliant. great job.
ReplyDeleteWow, So simple and SO cute! Hey, I am wondering, how are they holding up. I know these chairs are subject to a lot of bumping/scratching.
ReplyDeleteToo cute...I'm pinning them!!
ReplyDeleteDenise
Love your chairs! Can you tell us the names of the spray paint you used? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Christine. I also replied to you in email form but thought I'd answer here in case anyone else was curious.
DeleteThe purple, pinks and aqua were Krylon: Rich Plum, Watermelon, Raspberry and Blue Ocean Breeze.
The green was Valspar - I'm not positive but I think it was Everglade Glen
Yellow was Rustoleum - I'm also not sure about this one but probably Summer Squash.
If they are different than that, I will let you know!
Kelly
The green was right...but the yellow is "warm yellow"
DeleteThese chairs are gorgeous! I have a few laying around and this would be perfect for them. :)
ReplyDeleteThose are really beautiful, and I never thought I'd say that about metal chairs! Love those colors, so happy and pretty at the same time.
ReplyDeletewww.makinglemonadeblog.com
Very cute, would be so great for an outdoor wedding too, in different shades
ReplyDeleteAre your chairs staying painted or are they scratching up easily?
ReplyDeleteLove these and I want to do it to my black ones someday. PS I love your deck furniture.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. You've turned something so boring and utilitarian into something fun and still useful!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME idea!! Pinned it!
ReplyDeleteOh.. and shared on my FB page and Twitter:)
ReplyDeleteAnd what a great way to ensure that YOUR chairs make it back to you. I'm always lending mine out and never get them back!
ReplyDeleteHey Cutie!! LOVE this new look for your chairs!! LOVE it!!
ReplyDeleteJust pinned it and became your newest follower :)
Have a great Labor Day Weekend!!
Meegan
What Meegan Makes
i made a rainbow with chairs i spray painted, very easy way to make a impact outside.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I have a huge family and extra folding chairs are a must. Very creative. I'm your newest follower. Come check out my blog with you have a minute at http://sister-number-5.blogspot.com
ReplyDeletelove love love
ReplyDeletewould love it if you could share this on my linky party Serenity Saturday, that runs from sat-thurs @ www.serenityyou.com
Natasha xx
This is a really great idea. Did you coat with anything? Do you think the spray paint is going to chip with use? Found you via Serenity you.
ReplyDeleteRachel @ www.onceuponasewingmachine.com
Love, love, love! Do you know what type of Krylon spray paint you used? (Indoor/Outdoor, Dual paint plus primer, plastic)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! These look amazing. I love spray paint and I really really love the colors you used.
ReplyDeleteI would love it if you would share this at the Smart Solutions linky party. You can link up here:
http://theprudentpantryblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/prudent-projects-smart-solutions-week-9.html
Have a great day!
So super cute! They look a million times better!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have you add this to a collective link party I co-host, Eat Make Grow: http://www.hideousdreadfulstinky.com/2012/08/eat-make-grow-thursday-5.html
I host along with two other bloggers, so one link shows up on all three blogs, and we feature a couple of bloggers each week. We're always looking for great content like this! Hope to see you over there.
I have never cared for Valspar because I have had the same issue. I have never given any thought to spray painting mine.
ReplyDeleteThey look great! I could see these at an outdoor spring wedding, or a high school graduation, or baby shower...they add so much! Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeletehttp://the-finishing-touches.net
What cute chairs! I help clients plan parties, and I think this would be a great idea for a party. (Paint a chair(s) to match the party theme and have it included in the party decor!) Would you mind if I feature on my site? http://sweetpeapartydesigns.com
ReplyDeleteI recently primed and painted some small metal chairs. They looked wonderful, but they started chipping right away. What did I do wrong? I used a cheap primer, but finished with Krylon. I'm bummed that I need to do them over again, but I need some advice on how to get them to be more durable. If anyone has any ideas, please email me mypatzer@yahoo.com. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI only primed the vinyl cushions...and these haven't had heavy use just yet. But perhaps a top coat sealer?
Deletegreat idea and so much fun! For your overspray issues..there are stores that sell assoted types of sprayer that fit spray cans (I think they are sort of geared toward graffiti artists but they would be grest for this project!)
ReplyDeleteHi! I shared your cute chairs on Friday Finds today. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThey are so fruitiliciously cool! You make me want to run out and buy some! lol
ReplyDeleteHope you have many more fun and memorable moments with your funky chairs. :)
Oh, these gorgeous chairs are YOURS! Absolutely scrumptious... I love them, and thanks for the tips on the spray paint brands; I appreciate the info! :)
ReplyDeleteDid you have to spray any kind of sealer or coating after the paint?
ReplyDeleteLove these!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! Do you have to prime them first? And how are they holding up? Do they chip?
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteMiss Nelson
These look great! I'm going to pin this so I remember your two cents when I get to this project!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteKrylon...good know! These look amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI am so doing this! Thanks for the tip about Krylon too :)
ReplyDeleteI with plasure painting Krylon,but I live in Ukraine,don't have this brand in our contry:-(
ReplyDeleteKelly,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun folding chair transformation! Love how colorful ... and Krylon loves the praise you've given them!
Thanks so much for sharing at our spray paint link party!
:)
Linda
Such a pretty transformation - and what fun colors you chose. Thanks so much for sharing at our link party.
ReplyDeleteTake care, Laura
How is the paint holding up, now that some time has passed? I love spray paint but I find it tends to fleck off the metal. Plus my kids are really hard on things. Thoughts? (Thank you so much!) Mary
ReplyDeleteAs a professional painter I wouldn't recommend painting the cushions. I would think that paint would have a tendency to crack and flake off. I took my cushions off and re-covered them with some cute fabric. In regards to painting the metal.. first thing you need to do is clean it well, then lightly sand it, prime it and then paint it. That's what it takes for a paint job to last. Make sure you follow all the instructions written on the cans. Dry time and stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I'm going to get the kyrlon paint to fix my ugly chair, and I'll also be redoing my daughter's old Dora folded chair with the fabric on it. I'll be spraying that one a different color to match the new fabric I'll be putting on. Thanks for the inspiration and the information!
ReplyDeleteWonderful project and they definitely look a whole lot better!
ReplyDeleteI love the way they came out...and agree with one of the comments here - they went from ho hum to awesome! Great job.
This is great, but one problem I ran into is it was hard to coat the chair evenly so I ended up with a lot of drippy spots with too much spray paint. How did you avoid this issue?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Replying here also, in case someone else has the same problem:
DeleteHi there...
I had this problem a little on the backs...mainly because I was impatient. :) The backs are slightly slanted.
I was trying to put the paint on too heavy. It really does take nice even coats. I have other spray paint projects with bad drips because I get heavy handed.
I usuallly am able to cover it up with more paint...evenly applied. I suppose you could sand the drips a little before applying more paint.
I hope this helps.
Kelly
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHoly smokes! Those are too cute! Visiting you back and now following!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE IT!! Those are the most fun, super cute chairs. I need to go find me some chairs to spray paint...maybe I will talk my Mom in to it since she has a bunch of them. :) Did you have to do anything to protect the paint from scratching or chipping or are they good to go?
ReplyDeleteWow they look awesome! I just have one question...did you notice any problem with the hinges after they have been painted? Do they stick? I really want to try this! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFound this...
ReplyDeletehttp://thebeardedfamily.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-should-title-this-post-reason-10900.html?showComment=1336876996387
would be so cute to make a custom set with your chairs :)
I'm doing mine before our rummage sale next month!
I absolutely love this idea. I host a lot of parties and chairs have thrown of the theme sometimes. This is a perfect solution! I love this idea. Thank you so much! The chairs at the local thrift shop are $1!
ReplyDeleteI just made some of these for my craft booth at a farmer's market. They take a LOT of paint!! as you said, 1 can per chair! I had 20 chairs, so it looked like I was going to go tagging when I bought them.
ReplyDeleteI love those chairs - not just your average folding chair :)) Love the colors. I am putting it on my to do list. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited I found your blog. I was just getting ready to move my grandmother's metal table and chairs to my girls' playroom for scrapbooking. Awesome idea for creativity and color. I cannot wait to get started! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete