mackenzi farquer of the wonderful long island city store site sent in these fantastic before and after chairs. when she was opening her shop she found this set of old restaurant chairs that had great shape but were in “sad” condition. so mackenzi stripped them and painted them in oil paint for durability (“in just the faintest pink i could find”) and then used some repro depot fabrics she ordered for the seats. the result? gorgeous. and i’ll have to say these chairs were quite the find. the only leftover restaurant chairs i see in my neighborhood look like this. thanks, mackenzi!
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Love the use of the yellow with the peaches and pale pinks. I think that’s a great modern mix.
I would love to know more about how she did this! I don’t know much about oil paint outside of freshman year – how hard was it to paint the back without getting any goopy almost-filled holes? My parents had two of these chairs in their house for years and years, and I hear they’re still sitting in the basement… almost identical, except theirs have arms.
I’ve seen these gorgeous chairs in person at SITE, my neighborhood fabulous design boutique. That Mackenzi has a great eye!
Oh, I love these so much! How happy!
The chairs were super easy to paint actually! I had never used oil paint, but I wanted to make sure that when the chairs went home with someone else, they were totally perfect and would stand up to whatever was thrown at them. Oil is much more durable than water based, just ventilate and have the appropriate cleaners on hand. You just have to start with really, really well sanded chairs that are totally free of dust (a tack cloth is a must have). The oil paint was easy to apply and did not need primer- I used a foam brush (the cheap-o ones from art supply stores!!) so there were no streaks as the oil paint can set up quickly. The back was easy to do with the wide foam brushes, and for the little carving bits I just used the tapered edges the foam brushes have- was too perfect. For the back I would do a little of one side, and then check the other side to make sure that there were no drips, and repeat.
I love Site! It’s my favorite shop in the neighborhood. So many cute things.
mackenzi, I love your vision! I have the same chairs. I am hoping to redo mine as well. What did you use to strip the paint off? How long did it take and was it hard?
Thanks for the help. Keep up the awesome work.
The chairs are wonderful! and the table between them is great too. Such a transformation – so fresh and colorful!
totaly agree with sylvia!!! I´m in LOVE with the whole scene!!
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