The French Treatment
What a gloomy week we have had in the Pacific Northwest. It is soggy around here. Hope your spring is a little sunnier. I am dying to get outside and plant some peas but it's just too cold to play in the dirt. So instead I decided to pull out the staple puller and redo a chair.
I purchased this sweet chair a few weeks ago with the intention of refinishing it to sell. She just screams give me the French Treatment, doesn't she? How could I refuse.
As you can see the cane back of the chair was damaged. I decided to remove it and replace it with fabric and double cord welting.
I also added piping to the seat cushion. It definitely would have taken a lot less time if I had skipped that step but I wanted to give it a custom look. The fabric is drop cloth.
For the paint I used a gray homemade chalk paint for the base coat. There are several recipes out there but I used non sanded tile grout mixed with latex paint. I think this recipe leaves a nice flat chalky appearance but it doesn't sand as beautifully as ASCP. For the top I used a coat of ASCP in old white not worrying to much about full coverage.
I sanded heavily to reveal the wood and gray paint. Then finished with wax.
I love her wheels. Y
ou can't have a french chair without a french pillow though now can you?
For the pillow graphic I searched the
for inspiration and found Paris and the crown in different places and decided to put them together. I used the wax paper method to transfer the image. Go
for a post on several different methods of transferring images. Basically just print out your design on wax paper and burnish it onto the fabric with a credit card. It didn't come out as dark as I wanted so I touched it up with a sharpie.
I know it's not for everyone but I love the french look with the use of multiple colors and heavy distressing.
I hope she finds a good home.