Red Chair Flip {Love My DIY Home)

Oh, Susanna, don’t you cry for me…

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Susanna, a Royal Settee

Another estate sale - another opportunity to save an old piece of unwanted furniture.

This time it was for my granddaughters. I could see my little two-year-old grand daughters sitting in this little chair holding the teddy bear that used to belong to their moms the second I found Susanna.

Here she is "before" at the estate sale
  • Before I took her home
  • Before she changed
  • Before she became mine

Susanna, "BEFORE"

 
 
 
Tired, worn and hoping to serve again...

These outdated and worn out pieces of furniture can have another 100 years if we bring the back to life. Most pass them by. Most don't even see them. The estate buyers typically look for the big antiquey pieces that make a statement. Little Susanna just sat there as everyone walked right by, unseen.

It was the same for Paige. She sat there in the same house, but downstairs hidden amongst the big pieces of furniture. But now? Wow.

We just need to think outside the box.
Most would think, "strip, sand, restain, restore.

Not me.

I think, "Sand, paint, stencil, wax, guild." New life means change. Better than before. More fun. More fitting.

Materials
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My main living area, the living room and kitchen are accented in red. Hence, the red grand child's chair named Susanna. From now on, I'll be telling my grandsons Isaac and Hudson, "Go get Susanna for Madison." This is has become a royal chair for a royal princess.

 
When sweet little Avlynn comes to visit, she will get the princess chair, because she is our other 2 year old princess. And it will be their throne for the next 10 or 12 years at Grammie's house.
 
 
 
The guilding wax was the finishing touch.

It took it from average to aristocratic. The stenciling tied it into the kitchen theme along with the red that tied it into our decor.

 
 
 
Susanna is a statement piece.

Not because she's so beatiful, though she is. Not because she's going to be a princess's perch, though she is. But because she is a perfect example of an easy project that can inspire any newbie furniture painter. The smallest things can make the biggest statement. Sometimes "small" can become "big" in the eyes of the artist. This is the case with Susanna.

How I made Susanna live again...
1. Cleaned using (afflinks) Krud Kutter and Scotts rags in a box.
2. Lightly sand with a (afflink) sanding sponge of a grit between 150 and 320. Just grab what you have and take off her shine. You want a good surface to receive the paint.
3. Dust off with a clean damp rag.
4. Paint on two coats of (afflinks) Chalk Paint* Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan, in Primer Red and let dry (lightly sand the first coat before painting the second).
      A huge "thank you" goes out to Annie Sloan for providing this chalk paint and the rest of the materials I needed. It's beautiful stuff!

5. (afflink) Stencil and lightly distress the stencilled area - taking off just a little bit of the wording.

 
6. Apply a light coat of (afflinks) clear wax with a nice round waxing brush, in a circular motion and cover every spot with the wax. Less is more.
7. Wipe off excess and buff after it's dry with a clean t'shirt or other lint-free rag.

8. Apply (afflink) Gilding Wax in dark silver on the parts you want to accent. I used my finger but you can use a rag or brush if you prefer. It was super easy! 

 
 
 
 
I chose the dark silver so it would go with my distressed stenciling. There are other colors to choose from besides the (afflink) dark silver: Bright Gold, Warm Gold, Bright Silver, and Copper.
 
 
 
Red Chair Flip {Love My DIY Home)
 
 
A note to all you newbies:

Grab something small and easy like Susanna and just go at it. Don't be afraid to experiment and don't think your pieces have to look like everyone elses. Seriously. You have your own style. Find it. Enjoy your art. You will learn new techniques along the way and get more confident.

Happy painting!
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* Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy anything after clicking on one of the affiliate links, I receive a small commission of the sale. The cost to you is the same, and I only link to items that I think would benefit my readers. Your support of this blog is greatly appreciated. This was also a sponsored post. Annie Sloan graciously supplied the products to redesign this chair in exchange for an honest review.
 

11 thoughts on “Oh, Susanna, don’t you cry for me…”

  4. I love this chair – it is beautiful.  I bought 2 gorgeous old chairs at Goodwill and I can't wait to paint them with Annie Sloan chalk paint. Also, I'm going to buy some of the dark silver was.  I like that a lot to.  Thanks for sharing.  I look forward to more of your posts.

    Reply

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