DIY Distressed Shabby Chic Chair Upcycled From Restaurant

My sister in law was looking for some new chairs and found these great ones at a resell shop. They had previously been used in a restaurant and needed a face lift to suit her needs. She really likes a shabby chic style and wanted them to have a distressed look.

For this project I needed the following:

sand paper

turquois paint

brush

rags

409 or other general cleaner

As always, safety first. Wear hearing protection, safety goggles, dust mask and heavy gloves for rough or sharp items.

Our goal for this project is to clean up the chairs and give them a distressed look with blue turquoise paint. I plan to dry brush the paint to give the chairs a weathered look.

I started by washing the chairs down with some 409. 409 has a mild degreaser and will help remove the restaurant grime. I squirted them down liberally and wiped the chairs with rags. Once dry, I sanded the chairs lightly all over to roughen the surface to accept the new paint. At this point I also sanded any rough areas and tightened any loose screws. The chairs were wiped off again to remove the sanding dust.

A pretty turquoise paint was chosen for the project. If you haven’t tried this before, I always poke holes with a hammer and nail along the groove of the paint can. This allows paint to drain back into the can and helps reduce mess and waste. Once the paint was stirred, I tested dry brushing on a piece of card board. The goal is to leave brush marks, not let the surface get too wet. You can always add more paint if needed. Once satisfied, I started painting the chair. I did the seat first, then I would work one side at a time, trying to do all surfaces the same direction as the grain would go. I did the back rest last as this was where I would handle the chair to angle it while painting. It’s very satisfying to paint this style. There is really no wrong way.

The chairs turned out great. We may take it up a notch and weather them with sanding to the wood grain for more character. If that happens I will certainly update this project.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Thanks for viewing!