Do It Yourself McMurray

I want to show you a simple spray painting project that has a huge impact. Seriously, for all you DIY weekend warriors, this project should take you just a few short hours from start to finish. First, choose a piece of wood furniture that needs some TLC. I chose a wooden chair with a padded seat that I thrifted for three dollars! Yay for thrift shops! Here in #YMM there are great options at both thrift stores and Kijiji. My $3 chair was ugly alright, but underneath the dirty stained early 90s fabric, I saw it was a gem. I loved the great lines and interesting detail – it was just in need of a modern refresh.

To complete my chair makeover, I needed sandpaper, a soft cloth, two cans of spray paint, about ¾ yard of fabric, cotton batting, scissors, and a staple gun. Also, because of the fumes, it’s best to do this DIY project in a well-ventilated space.

I started by removing the seat from the chair, which was simple enough to do with a screwdriver. I noticed the chair wasn’t in the best shape, but it was only $3 and it was sturdy enough. I guess I could have taken the time to sort out how I could reinforce it, but seriously, that’s not my style. I have a quick and dirty DIY decorating personality.

Next I sanded the chair down with a medium grit sandpaper. Sanding the wood is integral to ensuring the paint sticks to the surface, so don’t skip this step in your haste to finish. I may or may not know that from experience…ahem! Also, make sure to use a soft cloth to clean off all the dust left behind by the sanding process. You want to make certain there’s no grit that will disrupt the smooth finish of the spray paint.

Now it’s painting time! I gave the chair base a few good coats of high gloss white spray paint. I usually wait about 10 minutes between coats of paint. Here’s a tip for good even spray paint coverage – less is more. Spray light even coats of paint and avoid the urge to spray thick layers of paint in the hopes of reducing the number of coats needed to get the coverage you want or you end up with a drippy mess. Again, I may or may not know that from experience…

Now a word about paint finishes. There are a few options to choose from. A satin finish is nice and easy enough to clean, but I prefer the smooth texture and the shiny look of a high gloss lacquer. A matte finish is lovely too, but be wary that it may be hard to clean without damaging the paint job!

While the chair was drying, I removed the old fabric off the seat. Be sure to save the old material because you’ll need it as a template! Next, I laid out the old fabric on top of the new material to (roughly!) cut out the pattern. I added some new padding to the seat, and stapled it like I was wrapping a present. And voila! In a few short minutes, it’s mission accomplished.

I let the chair thoroughly dry for a few hours before I secured the seat back onto the chair base. You may want to even let it dry overnight to ensure that your freshly painted chair doesn’t smudge.

See what a difference a few cans of spray paint can make? The chair went from dreary and dated to modern and fabulous in just a few simple steps.

So do you think you can tackle a project like my amazing chair makeover? I’m here to help with any of DIY related questions – tweet me @mummymaggie or check out my blog at www.mummy-maggie.blogspot.ca for more ideas on how you can Do It Yourself, McMurray!