Longtemps vivre le libre

This Silver Chair once resided in a woman's house who sadly, smoked three packs of cigarettes a day, for at least 30 years, as long as she lived in the house, with the windows shut!  My neighbor gave them to me, when said aunt passed away.  I dilligently cleaned with almost a gallon of TSP (not joking), and then the process began.  Painted the frame in a lovely Antique White, then glazed with a mix of Glaze and Coffee Bean colorant.  The Upholstery got a makeover with Paint!  Yes, you can spray paint Leather, just go really, really slowly.  As in, ONE LIGHT COAT at a time, and build up to about 20 coats.  Wipe off the remaining paint that has not been absorbed, and voila, you have a fantastic new chair, no chips, no runs, it is Silver for good now.  Don't you love it?

This little chair is generating a buzz!  Here are some answers to a lot of the questions I am receiving.  If you still don't find your answer here, feel free to email me.  I am happy to respond.

1) Did you paint the frame or leather first?
I thoroughly cleaned the whole thing with TSP, taped off all the leather first, that probably took the longest, as the chair has lovely curves. Painted the piece "Modern Masters" White, with a Coffee Bean Glaze. Then pulled tape. Waited for the paint to cure, then taped off the frame. Then, the Silver Spray began, one very light coat at at a time. It was worth it, the end result is so beautiful. It makes me happy every time I walk in that room.

2) How has the chair held up?
The chair is a "side chair" next my piano in my front room.  It gets very little daily use, but we do entertain, and it does get put into service.  So far, so good.  It looks fantastic.  I did take it out once and "dusted" it with a couple more coats of Silver.  Didn't bother taping off for this as it was just a quick touch up. 


3) Does the Silver rub off?  No.  It is completely bonded with the chair.  I would not recommend putting the chair into service until it has cured for at least 48 hours after you do this process.  I would however, recommend wiping it with a soft cloth thoroughly before using because there will be some paint that was not absorbed. 
Hope that helps! Thank you for stopping by!




More Free to Me! A friend was storing these chairs in my workshop while she went through a bit of a "life challenge"....Fast forward 5 years, chairs still in my space and she decided to give them up. There were originally purchase at a Garage Sale for $5. Sorry, the before pics somehow dissapeared....Imagine Orange Velvet Upholstery, 1970's Orange/Red Faux Wood stain, and you have it! I painted the chairs in Sherwin Williams "Soar". Which is the perfect shade of French Blue. I used White Duck Fabric that I had on hand. Used RITS dye in Tan and just a quick dunk turned bright white into the pefect shade of "old". Added some Black braid trim, some pillows and I have two beautiful "Free" to me chairs.


The Black Table with the chairs used to serve in Blue as my Bed side table. It got a makeover with Basic Black from Modern Masters paint, which is my favorite "go to" paint for basic black and white, zero VOC and very hardwearing.


If you are interested in ordering the paint, you can check out the Modern Masters website:
http://shop.modernmasters.com/
or order from my dealer:
http://www.artisticaccentwalls.com/

The dresser behind the table was also a "Free to Me". It was an old dresser, given to me by friends who were moving to a teeny tiny Apt. in Manhattan. It lost a few drawers, gained a book shelf and got the "Redoux" treatment. It now holds art supplies for my kids, games for the grown ups and some of my most treasured scriptures and books about my faith.

Hope this inspires you to not turn your nose up at the "free" stuff in life!