Old Chairs Get a Fresh New Look

Update: I ended up re-recovering these chairs with a subtler fabric and wrote a tutorial on how to do it here.

What do you do when you have four tired looking chairs with bubbling paint and outdated fabric?

1) Repaint 'em

2) Recover 'em

3) Stencil 'em

Easy, right? Welllll, even though I worked my little butt off I was only able to get two of the chairs done this weekend. I started sanding them on Saturday morning and just found and bought the fabric for them at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. I stapled the fabric on lickety split when I got home so I could feel like I got something accomplished this weekend.

Here is the before and after picture:

My mom bought this set for me at a yard sale when Alex and I were about to move into our first and only apartment. It fit perfectly in the teeny, tiny dining room. When we moved into our house we brought the table and chairs with us and just plunked them into the breakfast room.

Since the breakfast room is getting a makeover, I thought that the table and chair set could use one, too.

First, I sanded the chairs all over with an electric sander and some fine grit sandpaper (just to rough 'em up a wee bit).

Next, I primed them with Fresh Start Primer.

I painted two coats of Benjamin Moore's Cabinet Coat Paint in Cloud White. Since the set is a mix of real wood and the cheap-o wood (hey, it was free) I decided not to distress it and leave it looking crisp and clean looking. 

After the paint dried I used my trusty craft knife and cut a stencil for each chair. I painted the stencil with acrylic craft paint in a medium grey. I did distress the number a bit since my stencil job wasn't the greatest. 

I removed the staples from the original chair, took the old fabric off, and then just re-stapled the new fabric on. I found it at Fabricland. The subtle green really goes with the green on the walls.

And that's it!

Since the table is already done, I can't wait to finish chair #3 and chair #4. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures once everything is set up.

What do you think? Worth all the trouble for a not-too-drastic change?

P.S. Let me know if you would like me to do a step-by-step on how to recover the chair or how I made/painted the stencil. I could take a bunch of pictures when I do the rest next weekend. :)

Check out some other great projects:

Weekend Wrap-Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello, Sunday Showcase Party @ Under The Table and Dreaming, Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle, Before and After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick, Whassup Wednesday @ Elements Interiors, Power of Paint Party @ Domestically Speaking, Good Life Wednesdays @ A Beach Cottage, Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed