Making An Old Chair Look New.....And Then Old Again

Distressed furniture is a funny thing, isn't it? We take the time to make something worn look new, and then we sand and scuff until it looks worn again.  The irony is not lost on me; however, I do still love the look of distressed furniture. This post will show how I made an ugly high chair perfect for our home :)

This was my first project using chalk paint. I've read about it on manymanymany blogs, but I had never personally tried using it. With no sanding required, it sounded like the perfect paint for me. If you choose to buy the professional premixed quarts of paint they can be very pricey. I will never, never, never budget $30 for a QUART of paint. It just won't happen, folks. Thankfully, I have seen many DIY options online, and I decided to try one. 

I'll spare you all my amateur knowledge and just direct you to the pros:

In My Own Style

Cottage Instincts

Picked And Painted

I decided to use the Plaster Of  Paris method and I bought Glidden Satin Interior Paint in Antique White.  You can purchase Glidden at Home Depot. I'm normally a Lowes girl, but I've read in a few different places where people had a problem with Valspar paint. 

I eyeballed the ingredients, mixing approx 1/3 cup Plaster Of Paris with a couple tablespoons of water. You want this mixture to be nice and mixed before you add the paint. Next, I poured some paint (as much as I thought I would need for this one project) into a plastic container and slowly added the Plaster of Paris mixture. Now you just mix and mix and mix some more. You can't really tell a huge difference in the consistency of the paint until it dries (at least I couldn't).

This is the chair before I started:

The lady I bought it from had three boys that had used it, so I knew it could take a beating; however, the color was a little too orange for me. 

 I took the paint out to the garage, and without sanding or priming (Oh, happy day!), I started painting. I painted after Roman went to bed, so I apologize for the dark pictures in the garage. Here is the chair after one coat:

 I was skeptical, but the paint went on smoothly and when it dried it felt chalky.

After two coats:

 

Third and last coat: 

 I chose to distress this piece before I applied the wax. I used a 220grit sandpaper and went crazy :). The chalky finish makes it a breeze to distress.

After the distressing,  I applied Johnson Paste Wax to the chair with an old t-shirt. We already had this wax on hand, so I didn't need to purchase that for this project.

After a few coats of wax, I am letting the chair cure for a few weeks before use.

Here is the finished piece:

 I love it! I will definitely use this technique again. It was SOOOOO easy and quick.

Upfront costs were higher for this project, but I still have a lot of pre-mixed paint and Plaster Of Paris that I can use again in the future.
Breakdown of my cost:
Paint: $11
Plaster: $7
Brush: $8
Wax: 0
T-shirt rags: 0
Sandpaper:0
TOTAL:  $26

Happy hump day, Everyone!