Thursday 6 January 2011

Kitchen Chairs

I have recently done a makeover on this old kitchen chair. I bought it ages ago at a car boot for £2 and loved it because it had been so well used. Someone has used the seat to rest rest a piece of wood on whilst they sawed it and has sawn some of the chair by mistake (all adding to its character)!
Regular readers of my blog will know that I always seem to favour Farrow & Ball's French Gray when painting furniture but this time I tried 'Green Blue'. It wasn't really what I wanted, I had chosen 'Dux Blue' but my local Homebase has a limited selection so I had to opt for this shade. I wanted it to go with this cushion and my Ikea picture so, as you can see, it isn't quite right but I shall leave it as it is.

Other chairs I use in the kitchen are a pair of chairs I painted in James White and distressed. I also reupholstered the seats. These are my favourite as I particularly like the detail on the back.


This was my first attempt at painted furniture before I really knew what I was doing. I used ordinary white gloss!


This lovely old Windsor chair will never be painted! It was given to me when I was 10 years old by someone who paid 10/6d (about 52p) for it at an auction and I just love it.

14 comments:

  1. What a lovely selection of chairs you have, particularly love the Windsor chair but then I am biased as I originally come from High Wycombe where they used to make the Windsor chairs. We have two Windsors in the kitchen and I have my Great Grandfathers (Pops) Wycombe chair that he won, probably in the twenties, bowling for a pig!! The pig would be long gone by now but the chair is still with us. I love the history of these old pieces and all their dents and chips.
    Jo xx

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  2. We always used to call these "penny chairs" because of the shape of the seat.
    I really like the chair being slightly "off" colour, but then I'm not a very matching person- I think the way you have it really throws the colours of the fab cushion!
    xx

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  3. I have quite a collection of chairs I've bought over the years. The ones we use around our dining table are similar but not matching - they were only 10 quid for five - an absolute bargain!
    I must say that as much as I like the painted chairs I can see why you love the Windsor chair...it's that rich patina that makes it so special.

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  4. I absolutely agree with Ted and Bunny - I love that it is slightly off colour and doesn't match perfectly :-)

    Also love that despite it's paint job you can see the bumps and scrapes beneath - gorgeous!

    Jem xXx

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  5. Lovely chair - and a good paint job; it looks great!

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  6. It's amazing what a lick of paint will do isn't it? Love the colours you have chosen.
    Wishing you a very Happy New year!

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  7. You can't beat a beautiful Windsor!
    Homebas eand their selection of F&B is one of my big bug bears. Although I use Frech Gray it would be great to be able to get a wider range without having to plan weeks in advance! Moan over!

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  8. You are obviously on my wavelength....we have painted and distressed so much lately and always in Farrow and Ball......thanks so much for your comment. You are the only one, so far, to comment on the toilet roll thing !!!! Perhaps it's a British thing !!!!..... and, the sale at All Saints is the best way to buy anything, isn't it ? They can be a bit expensive but, you pay for the style I think. Have a great week. XXXX

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  9. I agree not to ever paint that lovely old Windsor chair. Happy New Year to you and yours Ruth. x

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  10. I have chair envy now! :0) good luck with the felting, I love doing it! I will look forward to hearing how you get on.

    Lou xxx

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  11. LOVE YOUR CHAIRS!
    AND WELL DONE FOR THE GREAT PAINT JOB, TOO!

    DEBBIE MOSS

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  12. I like the colour of the chair. I painted the woodwork in my sitting room with FB Dix Blue and it was an unusual colour and quite dark X

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  13. Just curious but when you use F&B do you sand, undercoat, then paint etc like your supposed to. Asking as I have just used Annie Sloan for the first time and am really disappointed thought it would be the best thing since sliced bread, no priming, sanding, etc but I have had to put on three coats of paint and the varnish under neath is coming through - not very attractive - I have also used almost a tin for a small china cabinet.

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  14. Love painted chairs, pretty colour you have chosen. Have you tried the Annie Sloan paints? I have recently bought some but not used it yet, apparently you don't have to do so much prep.....

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