Wednesday, September 28, 2011

First published DIY??

SO We have had this tiny kitchen table (fitting only 4) since we first got married. I know everyone lived in a "tiny" apartment at some point in their lives and we are NO different! This table is beautiful and given to us as a wedding gift from my wonderful Aunt...but the problem is #1 I LOVE to entertain #2 We live in a much larger house now and #3 We have a minimal budget!....

So in comes a A FREE TABLE, 4 extra free chairs and some elbow grease!

The free table was given to us by a friend who was moving and didn't want it anymore. #1 problem with this.. it was totally the wrong finish and didnt come with any chairs.. SO my creative mind starts turning....

My wonderful grandfather pitched in and redid the table. New coating on the top and some fresh paint and we end up with this ::::


I loved how the table turned out... To some this may look acceptable.. but to me there are a few things going on that I didn't like 

1. there are chairs that dont match in the least.. now this is workable and I could deal but Why not have some fun purposefully making them not match. 

2. This is very dull for a kitchen table. One day I will have a dining room with fancy stuff but for now we are realists.. I have a 2 yr old, an open concept house and I love color.. thus lets have some serious fun!

So I decided I will not paint the darker chairs because I will one day use the other smaller table again (possibly) and I dont want to damage them.. 


So painting the "pine" chairs it is..


So to start off I took some inspiration from these bamboo place mats I got for a buck at Walmart... I know a buck.. CANT BEAT THAT!



So in comes the shopping and elbow grease! I decided to pull the green, blue and orange out.. and since my husband could probably faint at the idea of having a pink chair (I mean come on... only a crazy person would decorate with pink.. haha jk) I will just do a bright red. 

So I decided today to venture out and at least do the green to give it a try.

So supplies ??? 

I decided to go with a more lime green (the muted green was just a  little dull for what I was going for).. the brighter green brought up the vibrancy in the placemats!
I also decided since I didnt want to do a thousand coats I better grab some primer too!
Gloves are a MUST!!!! Let me tell you if you spray paint without them be prepared to have funky colored hands for weeks on end!
And a mask.. just cause I HATE the "high" feeling of inhaling toxic fumes.. might be for some people but not this lady! Oh and I am a little attached to my brain cells.. 


Grab the chair.. set up in a well ventilated area.. and in my case cover the ground and give a clean sturdy area to spray... my husband hates when I kill the grass with spray paint...I mean really.. who wants grass??? I was just thinking of him... less to mow right?  yea we fight over the weirdest things!

Oh and wipe down the chair of any grease, dust or grime... or caked on mac -n - cheese, chocolate, dog slobber, child slobber.. oh the list can go on and on


put on your silly looking mask and glasses!! SAFETY FIRST


Spray the primer first!


It doesn't need to be a super thick coat.. just enough to stick and give a base to the main color!


The spray away at the chair.. nice even strokes... I did two coats here and it turned out GREAT! 



So what do you think??

I will post again when I finish the other chairs! Always a work in progress in this house!~