Hello. The summer house is very useful for working under cover when it is showery. Plenty of light coming in through the plastic roof. I am painting the second chair.
This is the before photo, I have had these chairs for nigh on 30 odd years, possibly longer, they are older than that. My friends grandparents died and she had to clear their house out, so they could be about 40 or 50 years old. I painted one of them a few weeks ago.
And here is the second one. Isn't it lovely. The paint is Crown flat matt emulsion in 125ml pots which I got from
Hull Scrapstore. It has had two coats.
Here are some photo's of the two of them together. I can't decide which one I like best. The fabric also came from Hull Scrapstore.
That seat looks like it has a smear of red paint on it, it hasn't. It's in the fabric.
Don't they look fab together, I am well chuffed. I did think I might sell them, too nice to give away, but I like them so much I will keep them. If you have any old chairs like this it is ever so easy to cover the seats. They just lift out. I had to cut away the corners of the brown leather because to leave them intact would make the seat too big to go back in. I took some of the tacks out as well and reused them to fasten down the new fabric covers.
I am quite enjoying this painting old furniture lark. I hate the upcycling label people put on it, I would rather use the term tarting it up. What is the opposite of upcycling anyway? Downcycling? Does that mean trash something? Confused. Next is a small coffee table which my neighbour threw out.
The sewing projects are coming along slowly, I do a bit of stitching every day, it's nice to see them take shape. Nothing to show yet, you'll have to be patient.
Back to it, there are a couple of hours of good light left so I'll say bye for now. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip
Love your blog, interesting, informative and great fun!
ReplyDeletegreetings from Sweden
Emulsion on wood? I"ve heard of that vaguely before. The chairs look lush. Natalie
ReplyDeleteThey look very smart.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous colours and what a good idea to have gone for different ones too !
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite is the blue one.
ReplyDeleteYep me too, the blue one is my favourite. Lovely and cheerful both of them, well done!
DeleteBrilliant job Ilona looks fab, may I ask has this Shed of the year programme been on yet? x
ReplyDeleteHi. No, not yet. it will start at the end of the month. Waiting for the confirmation email with the dates. It will run for four weeks.
DeleteWell done Ilona they look fab. I would have done the same.
ReplyDeleteThey look fabulous. I don't like the term upcycling either. I thought it meant using something and turning it into something else, for example you turning your old shirts into a quilt. Anyway I just say you are painting the chairs, lol. And, they look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLike them both very much, but if I had to choose, would go for the red one. The fabric and the red paint seem to be an exceptional fit. As usual, nice job. Ranee (MN) USA
ReplyDeletethey are both lovely but blue is my favourite colour, you are very clever and creative
ReplyDeletethey are both lovely but blue is my favourite, you are very clever and creative
ReplyDeletegreat job Ilona...really love the red one...it's so cheerful...makes me want to redo one of my old chairs...
ReplyDeleteThe chairs look lovely. Interested in the scrapstore idea is it a charity?
ReplyDeleteHi. Yes, Scrapstore is a charity. Google it to see if there is one in your area.
DeleteBeautiful x
ReplyDeleteLove the matt finish. I used emulsion on a table and put a matt varnish on it to make more hardy.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful - so colourful! My dad used to recover chair seats all the time and later he took an upholstery course so he could do more complicated work - it's wonderful to be able to choose your own colours & prints.
ReplyDeleteI love both of them.
ReplyDeleteI think 'refurbish' is the term for making something old look fresh and new and 'upcycle' is taking something and creating something totally new out of it, like old window into chalk boards or picture frames. I probably use both terms wrong, but that's just what folks in my Minnesota part of the US use for terms.
ReplyDeleteI like the blue chair. Another great project.
ReplyDeleteI think the buzz word upcycling has been hijacked from it's original meaning of turning an item of rubbish into something new and completely different, to now mean anything old being tarted up. Gumtree have an upcycling section, people are posting pics of old furniture just right for upcycling, and items which have already gone through the treatment.
ReplyDeletePeople have been "upcycling" for years but the painted effect was less colourful then. I for one would much rather have 2nd hand good quality furniture than new any day. Love the blue one best but the red is also lovely. I remember as a child my parents had some chairs just like those just shows how well made they are but I have no idea what happened to them though. Rae x
ReplyDeleteNice 'tarting up' job done!
ReplyDelete