Experimenting with Green Chairs

In my quest for dining room chairs I love, I am experimenting with green finishes.  I found a green paint that I find very appealing.  I had several chairs in my attic waiting a new finish.  I am using those to experiment with. 

Back in the summer my sister-in-law and I came across two vintage chairs just waiting for a makeover at the bargain price of 2 dollars each!  They are sturdy and well made. 

 

First I painted them with several coats of Behr Premium Plus Ultra Paint and Primer in One, custom mixed to match Martha Stewarts MSL106 - Rhododendron Leaf. I have really been liking this paint.  It has ceramic in it.  I've only needed two coats for everything I've done so far.  Plus, it seems really tough.

At this point, the green is pretty, but it's a little boring.

I did some distress sanding, then mixed up a glaze.  I didn't waste a lot of time fretting over my glaze.  First I mixed a brown I liked by using a bit of medium brown craft paint I had on hand and adding black to make it a darker brown.

Then I added the glaze mix.  I had a ratio of about 2 parts glaze to one part paint.  Even so, I had less time to play with it than I would have liked.  I would also rather have a glaze mix in a container that was easier to pour. 

Glazing is OK, but I think I like using Howards Citrus Wax in mahogany better for adding a little age and character.  (I'll show that technique in a post coming soon about an end table I just finished.)  I also might try the dry brushing technique used by Miss Mustard.  I talked about that and linked to it in my last post.

The photo below shows the two chairs in two stages.  On the left the chair has been sanded, but not glazed.  On the right, it's finished.  My glazing was fairly subtle.  I wiped a whole lot off.  It's not all that easy to see a difference, but it definitely looks more aged after the glazing.  These chairs didn't have a lot of nooks and crannies for glaze to accentuate.  The dry brushing technique probably would have been more appropriate.  Unfortunately, I came across that idea after I had already glazed.

On a funny note, after my husband saw the distressed and glazed chairs, he said they looked like chairs that needed to be painted.  He was trying to push my buttons.  I swear, that man lives to aggravate me!  And clearly, he doesn't recognize that he is in the presence of an amazing artist!

Here's a closeup. Again the one on the right is glazed.  The one on the left is not.  The closeup shows how the glaze got into the imperfections just enough to add age and character. 

I moved the chairs to the dining room to live with the color for a bit.  (Sorry, no photos)  I like the color and I like what the color adds to the room.  These two chairs are not the style I'm looking for.  

What kind of chairs am I looking for?  I want chairs with tall backs and solid seats.  They need to be heavy and sturdy.  And they must be comfortable.  I know I'll find MY CHAIRS one of these days.  I have a feeling it won't be long.

Inspired By...

This will be a bit of a mixed bag post.  A little of this and a little of that.  Hopefully, at least a little will be worthwhile! :-D

To start off with, this week I did a post for Rockin' B showing some of the benches we have in the store.  There's really an assortment of styles there.  We have several dealers who have wonderful carpentry skills and they can turn any bed into a cute bench.  One of those dealers did something a little different for his latest makeover.  He turned a set of 3 chairs into a bench.  Now, if I come across a great deal on a set of three chairs (where the fourth is damaged or missing), I'll snap them up and let Jim work his magic. 

It really turned out great and it sold within days.  I wish I had moved those pillows before taking the photo.

I have another interesting thing to show you from the store, but first, I want to make something clear.  I'm not using my blog to promote the store.  Most of the people who read my blog don't live anywhere near this area.  I really like doing a blog for the store, (you can click here if you want to see it) but I also really enjoy having my personal blog free from advertising or promoting.  This blog is just for things I find interesting.  Since I spend a good bit of time at the store, there's bound to be all kinds of things from there that I find interesting.  Believe me!

On with the story - We had three vintage/retro Formica tables sell last week.  ALL to the same person.  He scooped them up and is probably going to sell them in Atlanta for much more.  That's OK by us.  Anyway, since we now had no Formica tables in stock, the next week one of the dealers brought in this beauty.  It has a pattern on the top.  I have been waiting to find my perfect red Formica table for my loft.  I've envisioned solid red all along, but this little gem has me reconsidering.  And it's only $159!  Take a look -

Here's a closer look -

And closer, still - 

Now, you see my dilemma.  It's in such good shape, too.   Mmmmmm.  Nice.

Next, I'm going to show you the green I chose for my chairs... MY Green.  I hesitate to show it because it's not finished.  I still need to distress and do a finish, but I don't know when I'll get that done... This week?  Next?  Who knows?  At least, I'll know that when I do, the paint will be completely cured.  Meanwhile, just imagine it with a few more steps to tone it down. It appears a little lighter and brighter in the photo than in real life.  I've very pleased with it.

I found some wonderful inspiration from bloggers who joined my party last week.  This first one is from Forever Decorating.  I recently featured her creative and amazing upholstered stools.  And now, as you can see, she also paints.  This post shows some of the rocking chairs she has personalized for different children. They are all really cute.

Here's an interesting post from Single Life with Kids about starting a Mother-Daughter Book Club.  Even though I read all the time as a kid, there are a number of great books I missed.  I don't know how, but I did.  I've read some of them as an adult (they were wonderful) and I plan on reading others as the opportunity presents itself.  This summer (or was it last spring?) I came across a large set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books.    I read them all and was very sorry to get to the end of the last one.  

Oh, dear. I'm running out of time. 

Check out this wonderful garland at Jill Ruth and Company.  It's looks like it would be very relaxing to do.  It looks especially great hanging in a window with a winter wonderland view!  I'd like one in my kitchen window.

Smitten with Green

At some point in the last few years I have become smitten with green.  Most of my life, my favorite color was blue. I still like blue, especially in clothing, but for decorating, I'm keen on green.  

I've been wanting to find a nice shade of green for painting furniture.  I'd sort of been keeping my eyes open for pretty greens.  Now, I've decided to get serious about it.  My kitchen counter has now been taken over by Project Green.

He [She] had that curious love of green, 

which in individuals is always 

the sign of a subtle artistic temperament, 

and in nations is said to denote a laxity, 

if not a decadence of morals. 

~ Oscar Wilde ~ 

The main thing I want to paint green are my dining room chairs.  I don't have MY dining room chairs yet. I have two sets of chairs I don't like in my attic. They will be sold.  First they need some fixin' up. One set of them are going to be part of my green experiment.  I'll paint them green and use them for a bit to see how I like that color. If that color isn't My color, then I'll paint chair set number 2 a different shade of green.  Then when I find MY chairs ( I know they are out there somewhere - maybe at the next auction I go to) surely I will know which way to go.  Who knows, I might even decide that green won't work after all and I'll go in a completely different direction.

I had been considering green for our chairs and then I came across Erin's dining room chairs.  She shows before and after's and by looking at those photos, you can see what a difference the green chairs made.

Erin's green is perfect for her room, but I think I need a different shade of green.  Greens are very tricky. I found that when I picked out the color for the exterior of my house.  I'm certain that whole experience took years off my life. 


Karen's hutch that I blogged about yesterday is another wonderful green that I'm drawn to, but again, it's not MY green.  

So - where is MY green?  Is it one of these?

Or maybe one of these?

Or one of these?

Greens can be so peaceful... or lively... or retro and fun... OR the wrong green can be totally jarring and horrible and remind you of bad childhood experiences with vegetables.  I want a happy green, a soothing green, a lively green.  You see, that's my problem.  I want a green that is everything good. If there was such a green, everyone would use it. 

Green is the prime color of the world, 

and that from which its loveliness arises.

  ~ Pedro Calderon de la Barca ~

Here's a white kitchen with just a few touches of green.  Mmmm.  Nice.  But I don't think I can be that restrained.  I like other colors too much.

Greens can be very energetic, especially the citrus-y greens.  This is pretty and fun, but it's not MY green.

I came very close to having retro green countertops in my kitchen because of the photo below.  The kitchen is in the beach house of the owners of the t-shirt company - Fresh Produce. 

Tina from Cherry Hill Cottage has a kitchen island with a shade of green that may be pretty close to what I'm thinking of.

Sometimes an unexpected green surprises everyone at how perfect it turns out to be.  This room from Country Living (I think - it's a pretty old scan) would be much less interesting without those painted floors.  And would you just look!  Those chairs don't go at all - it's such a different green.  But the whole room works and makes you want to choose colors that clash!  Maybe I don't need to worry so much about which green I choose.  I just need to find a green I like and use it with attitude!

 Here's another example of several greens being used together that are not in the same color family.  If they were closer on the color wheel, it wouldn't be as interesting.  Oh yes.  I am definitely not as worried about my color choice now.

Now I can just find a green I can enjoy.  Meanwhile, enjoy these other Green photos from my files.  These are very old - before the days when I kept up with where I got them from.  If anyone knows the source, I would love to give credit.

Hmmm - This may be the green I'm looking for!!!

Or maybe I need to layer on several greens using dry brushing and/or sanding to allow each to show.  Looking at a number of greens together is rather pleasing. That may be the best idea for me! 

Be sure to check out the latest RE- Party!

We RE-do, RE-decorate, RE-organize, RE-pair,  RE-upholster,  
RE-member, RE-finish, RE-purpose, and of course, we love to RE-lax!   

This party celebrates ALL the RE-'s in our lives!  

I'm linking this post with  -

• Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
• Show and Share Day at Just a Girl ~ party not up yet   
• Remodelaholic's Anonymous Meeting at Remodelaholic
• Favorite Things Friday at A Few of My Favorite Things
• Vintage Inspiration Fridays at Common Ground
• Fab Friday at Frugal and Fabulous Design
• Home and Family Fridays at Home is Where My Story Begins
• It's a HodgePodge Friday at It's a HodgePodge Life
• I'm Lovin' It Fridays at Tidy Mom 
• Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
• Inspiration Friday at  Southern in My Heart
• Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors
• Favorite Things Saturday at Bargain Hunting with Laurie