Paint Washing Our New Dining Room Chairs
Hey friends! Today I am excited to share our new dining room chairs with you and a fun technique I used on them – paint washing!
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I did some decorating with you guys over on YouTube in my dining room recently, and I told you guys that I was still looking for the perfect dining room chairs for my table.
I tried out my grandpa’s wingback chair, as well as a thrifted chair with similar lines. I knew I loved the style immediately, but I still pictured something a bit more primitive and simple.
The different chairs along with the bench felt too busy for me, and I really wanted chairs that made the table the star of the dining room.
If you’re new here, my husband built our dining table this past Christmas using beams from an old barn, as well as reclaimed maple that I scored on Facebook marketplace. He did such an amazing job, and the table truly looks like an antique.
Well…after three months of looking at thrift shops, antique stores, and Facebook marketplace, I finally found the perfect chairs to compliment my table!
I scored six beautiful antique Windsor style chairs for $100 on Facebook marketplace, and I love them! They have so much character, yet they are simple enough not to distract from our beautiful table.
The only issue was that their color was a bit off. At some point someone had covered these chairs in some sort of poly finish, and it gave the chairs an orangey/red tint.
I still wanted to see the character of the wood, so I didn’t want to paint the chairs and hide all of the neat imperfections. But I wanted the chairs to be darker somehow without having to sand or strip them.
Paint Washing Step One – Prepping the Chairs
I found out that our local hardware store had a product called Krud Kutter Gloss Off, so I decided to give it a try. I poured the Krud Kutter onto a clean rag and scrubbed the chairs the best I could. While it didn’t completely remove the shine, I think it did a decent job of prepping the chairs for paint.
Paint Washing Step Two – Creating the Paint Wash
Next, I took some black chalkboard paint (chalk or latex paint would probably work, too) and watered it down a bit.
You might be wondering why I used chalkboard paint for this project. The answer is simple – it’s all I had haha! I thought a small can of black latex paint in my basement, but turns out I was wrong. I really wanted to work on these chairs, so being the impatient DIYer that I am, I decided to give the chalkboard paint a try.
I let it dry and did a scratch test, and the paint held up well. I learned something about it though, that I will share later in this post.
You can watch the YouTube video linked above to get an idea of how my paint looked after adding water.
Basically, you want the paint thin enough so that you can still see wood when you brush it on, yet thick enough so that it doesn’t completely run off the chair.
I dipped my brush in paint, then added a teaspoon or so of water and swirled it around in my dish. After working with the mixture, you really start to get a feel for how thick you’d like your paint to be.
Paint Washing Step Three – Brush on Your Wash
I then used a paint brush and applied the watered down paint onto the wood, brushing in the same direction the best that I could.
I started by doing the inside of the bottom portion of the chairs, then the outside bottom, then worked my way up towards the top. Now that I’m typing this, it probably would have been smarter to work from the top down to the bottom, haha! But hey, this method seemed to work for me. Each chair took about twenty to thirty minutes to complete.
Sometimes, after a chair dried completely, I would go back and touch up areas that needed more paint.
Be sure to look for drippy areas, and once the paint has dried a little, go over those areas again with your brush to smooth out the drip marks.
About half way through the project, I loved the way these chairs were looking!
They are imperfect, for sure. But I sort of love how the paint wash makes them look even older and full of character!
Paint Washing Step Four – Sealing the Paint
It’s very important to seal paint that you’ve watered down. I discovered after finishing my chairs that my paint easily came off with water. I’m not sure why this happened, especially since chalk board paint is meant to be wiped with water whenever you erase chalk.
Maybe my chairs were just too glossy and needed to be prepped better. Either way, I wanted to be sure that they were protected.
I decided to use a clear wax that Jolie Paint sent me a few years ago when I sealed my piano. I simply brushed it on with a paint brush they sent over, and then decided to leave it. Their directions say to buff the wax for more of a sheen, but I was happy with the matte finish the wax gave the chairs.
Here are some shots I took with my iPhone – I was too excited to pull out my large camera. Forgive me! My buffet is a bit of mess in the background but I couldn’t wait to show you guys.
What do you guys think?! I love the way these new chairs look with my table! Again, be sure to watch the video linked above for a better look at this process, especially if you’re a visual person like myself.
I really love the way these chairs compliment the table so much more. I truly feel like the table is the star now, rather than competing with everything else going on around it.
I also love the fact that you can still see all the imperfections and character in the chairs. The black paint wash on them looks like an antique stain, and I love that!
I am still trying to decide if I should look for a rug for this space. I think it might help to ground the area and really make the table pop even more. What do you guys think? What type of rug do you picture in this space?
I’d love to hear in the comments below!
Once again, patience pays off, doesn’t it?! Sometimes it’s tempting to buy brand new, but if you’re patient, you never know what treasures you might find for your home!
Thanks for stopping by friends!
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Love the chairs. You did a good job. I like that you are unafraid of trying something. If it’s not quite what you wanted, you adjust and try again. I would say definitely the area needs a rug under the table. A patterned one to mask spots.
Thank you so much Mary!
Yes I love the chairs. They go so well with the table and the pendant light
Looks beautiful I love things that are different and unique. GOD bless
Oh my gosh! Those are just what you wanted! Yea!! Love the finish. Isn’t Krud Kutters the best!
I think a rug would pull everything together. Maybe muted colors so your accessories still pop?
Maybe a narrow buffet along the shelving wall? Could you use the storage? I like the hutch where you have it!
Just my thoughts. You always do a awesome job!
I’m a Grammy & my youngest will be 13 soon so I love hearing the kids & the baby music. No apology necessary!
Congrats on your great find!
Thank you so much Jan, and thank you for all of these ideas as well!
Awesome find! I found a similar chair in MO for $10, two winter’s ago. It’s one of my favorites! Love the way your chairs turned out and that table your hubby built is lovely and rustic. Great job!
Love the chairs Andrea! And yes I love how you are unafraid to take a risk and give something a try. Creating a home is a process maybe even a journey. And your sweet smile reminds us that there is always a joy in that journey!
Thank you Kelly, you are too kind!
They are absolutely perfect, I think a rug would look lovely and as you said it would separate the wood of the floor from the table but do consider an indoor/outdoor rug as these can be power washed. It’s hard to keep a home pristine when you have children or pets and life is too short to be constantly stressed about spills.
That is a great idea, thank you Stephanie!
The chairs look beautiful! I purchased a indoor/outdoor rug for my dining room. It looks like jute but without the care. I can scrub it with soap and water or hose it down on a warm day outside. It’s the best decision I ever made carpet wise with children in the house.
What color is your trim?
The color is Stingray by Benjamin Moore. 🙂
These are lovely. Can I ask what you did with your old chairs, which I absolutely loved!
Love your blog, Andrea. It makes me happy!!!
Definitely needs a rug with a pattern. Something with a mixture of the colors of the chairs and the table to draw it all together and ground it.
The chairs are lovely. Chairs can be so much work with all of those spindles, but always worth it in the end. You did a great job!
Thank you so much Cindy!
I love the chairs with this new uniform color. They look fantastic. I just love how you just jump in and try things, and they turn out so nice.
I also love your shelves on that long wall, I think the hutch would get lost in that wide space…. and the hutch looks nice where you have it.
The frame is nice between the shelves, I don’t think it would be too high put up above the wainscoting.
I just love your cozy home.
Thank you so much Denise, you are so sweet!
You have a beautiful home and family, Andrea. I always enjoy seeing your projects.
Thank you so much Jill!
Hi Andrea! I absolutely love the chairs! I wanted to say thank you for introducing us to new products as well. I didn’t even know about the “krud kutter” product. Your home is lovely! And your smile always brightens my day! The shelves and hutch look fabulous just where they are..
Cindy
Your dining room with those new ( old😉) chairs are perfect. You have a keen eye for decorating and pulling everything together beautifully. I’m new to your blog and video channel. I’m so thankful to have found you ( providential, no doubt). Your sweet family makes me smile. From what I’ve observed, you’re a gifted momma using your gifts for the LORD! God bless you and your family.
Thank you so much Michelle, this was a very sweet and encouraging comment to me this morning!
Love the chairs!!! I was do surprised that found them so quickly! Your area has so many nice Antique and Thrift stores. Not so many in my area and I so love antiques and thrift ed items. You dud a nice job on them….actually on your whole house. Can hardly wait for the next “adventure”! 😀. God Bless
Thank you so much Jayne, I was so excited to find them!
I absolutely love your dining room. Chairs look great. I’m going to be doing the same with mine I found similar to yours. Did you stain your table and hutch. If so what did you use.
Both are a raw wood finish actually, my husband built me our table from reclaimed wood and I loved it as is – as far as the hutch, here are more details about it: https://www.pineandprospecthome.com/stripping-furniture-with-oven-cleaner-my-experience/
Thank you.
Do you happen to know the history on this style chair? Like how old they are? I just scored chairs just like these on marketplace as well and wondering how old they might be. I’m not sure how wide of a seat yours has but ours are only 16in across. Thanks for the inspiration on purchasing them!
How exciting! To be honest I am not sure how old they are, I haven’t really researched them, but I hope your chair makeover turns out beautifully!
This is my first time here. Does anyone have a link to the post where she shows the dining room table construction? I tried searching for “dining room table,” but I got something like 18 pages of results … tia.
Hello! I have not shared a post on that, I am so sorry! I hope to eventually create one, but I do have an Instagram story highlight with all the details! I hope this helps!