Cute Kids Chalkboard Table & Chairs
May 4, 2010
My little boy has the teensy tiniest bedroom in our house and it doesn’t fit much more than a bed, his dresser and an armoire. Nevertheless I’ve been wanting to find him a little play table for under the window for the longest time, but I wanted to spend very little since he will outgrow it in a few short years.
I happened upon a little coffee table a few weeks ago, and some funky little chairs (at where else, a thrift store) and decided we could give them a little makeover so they would work in his room. I paid $25 for all three pieces.
Here’s the not-so-attractive set before (ew, yuck)
And here’s what a little paint, new foam and fabric turned them into:
Here’s the simple steps in their transformation.
I stripped down the chairs as fast as possible and ceremoniously burned the fabric. Heh heh. No, I removed the fabric and tossed it out, yuck yuck yucky. Then I painted the legs white and added some foam to the chairs.
Next, I sewed some simple slipcovers with this blue and white tweed for the upper and lower portions of the chairs. I found this fabric at a second hand store that had a collection of vintage handwoven tweed fabrics. I paid $6 dollars for three yards of it.
Then I attached the slipcovers with a staple gun to the underside of the wood frames of these chairs.
Chair 1
Chair 2
Here’s the step by step on the chalkboard table
I sanded the old coffee table by hand, then primed it with oil based primer – Zinsser in the brown can. I gave the top two coats of primer.
Then I smoothed my primed tabletop down with my sander to get rid of obvious brush strokes. I also added a second coat of dark primer, knowing I’d be adding the deeper tint chalkboard paint on top. Dark primer works better with medium to dark colored paints to help your paint stay true to its color.
Then I added two coats of this ‘Deep Ocean’ paint to the top (available here).
Voila, a chalkboard table for my four year old boy !
He can play tic-tac-toe with his sister, doodle some dinosaurs, or he can just write “You rock Mom” which would probably look more like “u ruc” but I know what he really means . . .
. . .or he can draw racetracks, construction zones, and airports, you know, the important things in life when you’re four. The chalk washes off with a damp rag.
In a couple of years I’ll find him a sensible desk.
Meanwhile, I’ll leave him to his imagination.
Tags: chalkboard paint, chalkboard table
This makes me want to toss her little plain table and offer her up something better! Maybe after our big move I’ll work on that. :)
Get out! That fabulous gray was simply dark primer? Who’d of thought? Nice work.
Ah, to be a kid again – that chalkboard table would be so fun!
Your table and chairs turned out great. Your son will love his table and will have such fun playing on it. Love & blessings from NC!
Super cute idea! I have a whole can of chalkboard paint and I’ve been itching for more projects :)
Love the chalkboard table….what little boy wouldn’t love it? And of course he is making a racetrack out of it. I love the chairs too, but lost me at slipcover. Did you take the chair apart to put them on?
My dear Kate, you are just SO doggone smart, girlfriend!! What a cute transformation for your little munchkin. Big bang for the buck.
Wow, what a makeover! That is such a cute set! Thanks for sharing this because I had no clue chalkboard paint came in such a variety of colors =)
This is awesome! I’ve been wanting to do something like this in our playroom. When I find the right table I’m definitely going to use chalkboard paint.
What a perfect set! I am drooling over that chalkboard table in that color….and am so impressed with your sewing/slipcovering skills.
oh my! fantastic! love your slipcover transformation and that table is to DIE for!
Hi Shauna !
Yep, I completely stripped the chair down to its wood frame then supplied new foam. I sewed the slipcovers myself then tacked them to the wood frame with staples for a more upholstered look.
I bet he is loving that! Fun.
First of all, he’s adorable. But that project is completely amazing. I love it and it’s so sensible and encourages them to be creative, too! He’s lucky to have a mom like you. Jane F
What a great makeover! Thanks for turning me on to Hudson Chalkboard paint. They have such great colors!
I love this little set. What perfect size chairs for him. They look comfy too! I love the color blue you used. Goes great with the fabric!
What a great project!
Bookmarking this. I’d love to make something similar for my little ones.
Love this, so cute. Maybe I could do this for my desk.
Those blackboard tables are such a great idea. I wasn’t aware that you could get chalkboard paint for a table. I’m going to see where in NZ I can get some. Really cool blog.
That is so creative! I love the colors and the chalkboard paint. The only thing I would have done differently would be to cut a few inches off all the chair legs so that the kids can sit up closer to the table without being above the table. Those pieces were a great find!
Oh my goodness that is darling. What a gorgeous chalkboard color! Loverly friend!
what about that adorable dinosaur? is it a home craft project or a commercially available thing?
it’s cute!
I really liked the many-colored fabric of the rounded chair, actually, and the table seemed to have a really nice surface. Still, the set looks good, if not to my taste. The chalkboard table surface is genius, and based on that idea, I think I’ll try to whiteboard one.
Seriously nice moves, Centsational girl.
What a cool idea. Great job too. I love it. I’m saving this idea for our new GD who will be arriving this summer. Thanks.
Love this! Also love the rug under the table. Can you share with me where you purchased it? Thanks for this amazing blog! I love all your ideas!
[...] turquoise called ‘La Fonda Villa Fountain’ by Valspar. And last month, I revamped a chalkboard table and chairs for him, but then the makeover came to a halt as I ran into a design dilemma with wall [...]
oh no you are going to cause a new wave to spread now that we now about colored chalk paint!
I remember seeing this when you originally posted and it’s fun to see again. I love that you did it in blue! So cute (and so is your kiddo) ;). Thanks for linking up!
Love the train track on the chalkboard table. What a GREAT idea!
This is such an awesome idea!! I was thinking about doing this but was not excited about the black chalk board paint but now I see you can do any color!! Thanks for posting this!!
[...] guns are one of my best friends, perfect for all kinds of upholstery. You can solve so many of the world’s problems with a little hot glue so hot glue [...]
I’ve been inspired, once again :o) I have a table that started as our breakfast table, got it’s legs cut down for a make shift train table when we moved, now it will get new life once again as a chalk table! Great alternative to painting an area on the wall!!!
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your blog posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site: http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/05/cute-kids-chalkboard-table-chairs. I most certainly will aslo be sure to give you the proper anchor text link using your website title: Centsational Girl » Blog Archive » Cute Kids Chalkboard Table & Chairs. Be sure to let me know if this is acceptable with you. Thanks alot :)
I love it.. just finished my chalk board table
http://nancyogengayouree.wordpress.com/2011/11/12/diy-chalk-top-table/