There are many names for that paint job we all love so much:  Hand Rubbed, Distressed Off-White, Vintage French, Rubbed Cream,  Antique White, Shabby Chic.  You know, that French Antique paint treatment we all pay beaucoup bucks for.  Well, as Billy said, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  Over the weekend, I developed a truly inexpensive way to distress without all of the stress !

Supplies:

1. Tea light candle
2. Rustoleum ‘American Accents’ Spray Paint in Heirloom White
3. Fine sandpaper
4. Baby wipes
5. Minwax Wipe-On Polyurethane
6. 1 yard silk blend damask from scrap bin
7. Nail head trim kit (leftover from previous project) with rubber head hammer
8. Foam filler (optional)
9. Staple gun, stapler and hot glue gun.

I found this ratty rattan chair at the local thrift store, paid the merchant $8 cash, and walked out.  My husband laughed at me when he saw the stained peach velvet cushion and hole punched through the back of the chair.  “What can you do with that piece of (bleep)?”   He didn’t notice the great legs, and doubted my vision.  Has he learned nothing from this blog?  :-) 

Before:

Day One:

Step One: Remove seat and give the wood on the entire piece a light sanding with fine sandpaper.  Wipe down with baby wipes. 

Step Two:  Did you know that you can use candle wax when antiquing furniture to prevent the paint from adhering to the edges?  Rub your piece with a tea light candle on all of the edges where you want the wood to be exposed.  Gently remove leftover wax ‘crumbs’ with baby wipes, but be careful not to rub off candle wax on the edges.  A feather duster might work too. 

Step Three:  Apply a coat of spray paint (in well ventilated area) to one section of your piece, then wipe the edges with a baby wipe where you want the paint removed.  Work section by section because spray paint dries quickly. 

For tight spaces where your fingers won’t fit, wrap a small nail with a baby wipe, to remove paint from smaller crevices.  Repeat with a second coat of spray paint for areas that didn’t get coverage with your first coat.  Let dry 24 hours. 

Step Four:   If your chair is really old, as mine is, you may find it necessary to reinforce the seat with medium foam, trimmed to fit.

Iron fabric so that it is wrinkle free.  Center fabric, and recover chair cushion with your fabric of choice and staple gun.  See previous post for more tips on recovering a seat cushion. 

Day Two:

Apply a thin coat of Minwax Wipe-On Polyurethane to chair for protection.  I really love this product because it goes on so easy.  I wiped on the polyurethane with a pad in about 90 seconds.  Much easier than a brush !  This application also enhances the wood tone underneath the white paint.  I also used this product on my other salvaged dresser project. 

Let chair dry for 6 to 8 hours.  In my case, I had to do something to disguise the hole in the rattan, so I fashioned a rear cushion in four steps:

1. Create cardboard skeleton of back of chair.
2. Staple foam trimmed to fit to cardboard.
3. Staple gun fabric to foam/cardboard.
4. Stitch “cushion” to rear of chair, then solidify with hot glue application for staying power.

To disguise the hole from the front, I trimmed the silk blend fabric to fit, then folded under the edges, and fastened to the chair with my nail head trim kit.  [See previous post on a fabric covered headboard with nail head trim for more information on this kit and its application.]  

Refasten chair cushion to seat bottom, then attach nail heads to seat cushion with nail head trim kit.  You can really see the paint treatment up close in this next photo. 

So now this tres jolie chair sits in my traditional living room, next to the piano.  It’s so funny to me that one of the chicest pieces in my house originally cost $8 at the thrift store. 

Cost:  $8 Chair, $3 Spray Paint, $2 fine sandpaper, $7 foam filler, $5 scrap of silk blend fabric.  I had leftover polyurethane and a nail head trim kit from previous projects.

Total cost to me = $25  (add another $20 for polyurethane and nail head trim kit).

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For Google: how to distress paint, distress furniture, how to antique paint, DIY distress paint, DIY antique paint

Tags: distressed paint, spray paint, thrift store find, upholster

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at and is filed under DIY, Drab to Fab, Spray Paint: My BFF. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.