Operation Secord: 25%

[sabotabby]

Are you guys sick of my furniture posts yet?



So, kitchen chairs! Not that easy to find, believe it or not. The problems are:
• They have to match, and finding four matching chairs is hard!
• They have to be kind of small.
• If you have a cat that sheds on everything, they can't have any fabric on them.
• They should look cool—you have to see them all the time.

I found some ideal chairs, reasonably priced, and if you're going to guess that the only problem with them was that they weren't teal—WRONG! The only problem with them is that I don't like the finish and it doesn't match my new place:



I'm actually painting them off-white, which will a) match the kitchen, and b) make them look smaller, as they're dining room chairs that are not going in a dining room.

I am exceptionally happy with how the first one came out.



I sanded it down a bit and primed it with the same 1-2-3 primer that I used for Project Teal.



Believe it or not, I'm shit at matching whites and telling the difference between a warm white and a cool white. I decided to say "fuck it" and go with a white that I liked. It's called Secord, if you really want to know.



Then I took the same burnt umber I've been using for everything else and did a wash over it.

If you're trying this at home: It's easier than it looks, just very fiddly. The watered-down paint wants to go into those details and wants to come off the other surfaces. The problem is that it also wants to drip all over the place. But I really like how it brings out the pattern, far more than the original finish did.





I debated sanding it to further distress it, but then I decided that this might not be the most comfortable thing in a chair. Plus it looked great, in my not-remotely-humble opinion, so no need to mess with it further.

If you're wondering what I'm up to in the next little while, the answer is doing the same thing three more times.



Bonus camwhoreage of me looking dumpy in my painting clothes and matching my bookshelves.

Comments

[outcastspice.livejournal.com]

beautiful chair!!

[sabotabby]

I completely love it. It came out exactly as I was picturing it. I almost went with black because I found an awesome tutorial where they did the same kind of chairs in black, but I think I made the right call here.

[outcastspice.livejournal.com]

you definitely made the right choice! black chairs are Cool, but white chairs are much nicer to sit in, and nicer in a kitchen, and keep your house looking bright, clean and happy :)

[akisawana.livejournal.com]

That is awesome looking!
But I question whoever said kitchen chairs must match.

[sabotabby]

In a larger kitchen, not remotely. In my kitchen, which will also be the dining room, and which, to put it euphemistically, is on the cozy side, it would look incredibly cluttered to have chairs that didn't match.

[akisawana.livejournal.com]

Ah, yeah. My experience with interior decorating is entirely via The Sims, where I have an unlimited budget and also don't have to live with it.

[sabotabby]

Hahaha. I decorate using Illustrator and Photoshop for the most part, so it's fun to actually play house IRL.

[radiumhead.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you look goooooood

[sabotabby]

No makeup: Check
Wearing same clothes for four days: Check
Said clothes have been used to paint and sand in: Check
Messy hair, WTF?: Check

HAWT!

[lienne.livejournal.com]

unironic agreement

[warlordkittens.livejournal.com]

oh pretteh

[sabotabby]

I am pleased.

I will be more pleased when I am no longer painting and I can just enjoy the furniture as furniture, I must say.

[radiumhead.livejournal.com]

Im not as fussy. I just see a cute chick with blue hair!

[sabotabby]

...I see a chick who needs an intimate evening with some Manic Panic. This is the best dye job ever in terms of not fading, but it's still fading.

[firinel.livejournal.com]

no way, it's just distressed. to match the bookshelves!

[monster-grrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I have some teal or turquoise manic panic I can give you if/when you need some more. Just let me know.

[sabotabby]

Sweet! I mean, I have some too. I'm just lazy about it.

[smhwpf.livejournal.com]

Very neat! (Normally I would get bored quite quickly of furniture posts, but yours are fun. Like seeing how the FoS is coming together).

I didn't even know there were such things as warm and cool whites.

DIY!Tabby is cute.

[sabotabby]

I spend altogether too much time reading furniture tutorials. Go me.

[bitter-crimson.livejournal.com]

That's really neat how you did that with the wash to bring out the details!

[sabotabby]

It's a nice effect. It makes my hands look like shit after though.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Awesome chair. I think your hair matches your bookshelves!

[sabotabby]

It does. Total coincidence, but it amuses me greatly.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I choose to believe it was completely planned. You are just that awesome. :)

[franklanguage.livejournal.com]

I'm just like, why do they have to match?

[sabotabby]

It's a small space.

[firinel.livejournal.com]

you did a really brilliant job, the chairs look 10x better than they did before!

[sabotabby]

I know! Alas, chair singular at the moment. Three more to go, and then a desk.

[monster-grrrl.livejournal.com]

You are awesome and that photo is incredibly adorable.

I did not like the chairs at all, but they are so nice painted. Kudos!

[sabotabby]

Yeah, I hate that particular wood finish. But the underlying structure was awesome.

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

As a serious furniture fan: love it! The white is great and makes them look like a million. When I first saw them in the original wooding (laquered?) I couldn´t help thinking "...uh" but this post shows how one must never judge a thing by first impressions. Also, your hair matches that bookshelf fabulously, if I may say so. Now that we are at it; interiors and exteriors being one of my dearest hobbies (not necessarily showing inside my present home at the time) I dare recommend you this fantastic site: http://awesome-places.livejournal.com/ in case you need more inspiration!

[sabotabby]

OH MAN DECOR/ARCHITECTURE PORN

[elsewhereangel.livejournal.com]

You are never dumpy.

And I have chair envy now.

[eyelid.livejournal.com]

way better in white than the original.

[pofflewomp.livejournal.com]

I think it is lovely!