Blue Chairs

I recently updated an antique chair that I inherited from my grandmother.  Many years ago I tried something similar with this same chair and painted it glossy black.  What a mess.  Every little drip and uneven spot was magnified by the glossiness and it looked terrible!  So, the first thing I had to do was to sand off the uneven spots.

Click any image for a larger viewchair-before
Next, I spray painted it with a  happy turquoise color.  (Spray paint is definitely the way to go with this sort of thing.)

turquoise-paint

Although I loved this color, it was too bright for my decorating scheme.  So, I went over it with an antiquing glaze.  (This turned out to be more challenging than I anticipated.  The results are uneven, but I’m happy with them, nevertheless.)

chair-finished-in-sun

These two outdoor photos make the color look a little closer to green, but it’s really a blue-green.

chair-detail

Selecting a cushion fabric was challenging.  There were many that looked good with the chair, but they often clashed with the quilt hanging above it.  But, I’m happy with this tan and white print.

chair-in-place

What do you think?  I kinda love it.

Now, I have a new project:  the high chair used by my mother-in-law and her siblings, c. 1930.  Isn’t it cool?

high-chair

For this one, I think I want it to look well used, so I may actually sand some of the paint off.  Still pondering.

Doesn’t it look good in front of  the quilt by Elizabeth Barton?

Ellen Lindner

2 Comments

  1. Doreen says:

    Hi, I have that same high chair. It was used by my Mom’s brother when he was a child. Then the tray and foot rest were removed and my Grandma used it for many , many years. I’ll bet it has 6 or more layers of different colors of paint on it. I have it in my studio.

  2. Aren’t these old high chairs great, Doreen? Especially when they have a family history.