Category Archives: Painted and Sold

A Fall Dollar Tree Door Mat

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I’ve been seeing the Dollar Tree Felt Pumpkins, Leaves, and Acorns used as stencils on the Dollar Tree gray door mats. This morning, I used the leaf one to create this beautiful door mat. You can do it, too!

Yes, I made that cute little fall gnome door hanger, too.

These are the materials I used. I used our paint brand we own and produce, Missouri Limestone Paint Company chalk-style paint: Grannies Lace, Old Tin Barn, Bordeaux, English Ivy, and Possum Grape Jam. However, any brand and type of paint should do fine.

I used the side that was more ribbed. On my next one I will use the flatter side. This mat really soaks up the paint. This is the first coat. I eventually did two coats and then a little more to cover well the area that will be under the leaf stencil. The rest can have a more dry brush look.

I then placed the stencil on the mat and just started pounding the Old Tin Barn color on the spines and all around the leaf. You don’t have to do the whole thing at this point. I just did around the leaf area then removed the leaf stencil.

I then continued pouncing the Old Tin Barn color all around.

Using the same brush, without washing it out, I pounced the Bordeaux color on randomly over the Old Tin Barn, trying to blend it a bit.

Using the same brush again, I pounced on randomly the English Ivy color.

Using the same process, I added a bit of Possum Grape Jam color.

This photo shows all the different colors, much like you would see in nature in the fall.

The last step is to take the mat outside and give it a couple coats of the SPAR Urethane waterbased exterior sealer. It says it is gloss, but doesn’t show up gloss on the mat. I don’t think, once chalk-style paint cures for 30 days, a sealer is really needed, but in the meantime I think it just helps protect it a little.

And there it is! A beautiful Fall door mat. The pumpkin and acorn would also look nice.

And here’s my acorn one. I’m keeping this one. It’s pretty appropriate since we have a ton of oak trees (not to mention leaves) in our yard.

Chalk-based Paint Q and A – A Recorded Live Video

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Last Friday evening, I sat down to do my first Live Video on Facebook.  After stressing pretty much all day about it and primping like I was getting ready for a first date, I was ready.  It seemed almost too easy to set up so I was a little worried.  I got in about 5 minutes early just to make sure I knew what I was doing and 30 seconds later, I got the message that I had a poor connection and the little hamster wheel just started spinning.  Great!  I’ve had enough experience with technology, though, I just canceled it and started over.  That time I connected and it was smooth sailing (kind of) the rest of the evening.

Another lesson I learned was that there is evidently a rule that says you can only do an hour. Oops…didn’t know that.  One hour in and people weren’t wanting to leave, so I did 45 more minutes.  I also learned you can stop after an hour.  Wait 5 minutes, then reconnect.  I’m glad I didn’t do that and I’m glad Facebook didn’t cut me off, recorded the whole thing, and didn’t put me in Facebook jail for not following rules.  Whew!  Live and learn.

The biggest thing I would do differently would be to actually use the laptop sitting in front of me.  I was so stressed about it failing the first time, that when I saw the comments start coming up on my phone, I was so relieved, I didn’t think to start it on my computer.  In fact, I remember wondering why I wasn’t seeing it on my computer.  So, I spent the whole time leaning forward peering into the phone to see that tiny little print.  LOL

But once into it, I really enjoyed it.  There were a lot of questions and I was able to share a lot (although it was hard to share when questions kept scrolling through).  I tried to go back to see them but there were some I missed.  I did go back after and answered them on the recorded video.  It was also a little bit fun to “have the floor” so to speak with no one interrupting and me not talking over anyone else.  LOL

It was a great experience, all in all, and I will do it again.  In fact, one viewer suggested doing a live video during a painting class we have coming up on September 30, so we will be working that into the class.  Stay tuned for an update on that.

It is also important that you create an Event for a live video, usually about a week ahead of time.  Then people can join it and will be reminded when it is time for the live video.  I did this quickly, so I only had the event for the day.  I had so many viewers and reached so many people by sharing it with the online course I’m taking and the instructor shared it with one of the other groups she admins.  That was extremely helpful.  I also shared it in the groups I’m in that allows that, on my personal page, and on Instagram.

So…..are you ready to view my very first Live Video.  It really was like having friends come over on a Friday evening.  Too bad I didn’t think to serve wine. LOL .  I do want to warn you that sometime after the first hour, someone asked me to show something I had painted, so I grabbed my phone and tripod and took them on a tour of my living room.  LOL.  I was afraid I might have made them seasick.

And remember.  Be kind.  I am a newbie at this.

 

Patio Chairs Prettily Painted

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Click here for previous Tips of the Week

TIP OF THE WEEK:  March 28, 2017 – Patio Chairs Prettily Painted

I was on a swap site close to my home and noticed a set of patio chairs for sale. I knew these had potential to look great again. They looked to be an expensive set at one time and I had looked for some of these comfortable swivel rockers last year so I knew how expensive they were. I just happened to comment on the post that whoever bought them could PM me and I’d tell them how they could paint them. A funny thing happened. The lady selling them PM’d me. Long story short….she removed her post….hired me to paint them for her….and is planning an in-home painting class this summer. She was thrilled with the final result and was hoping to get at least two more years out of them as they were going to be selling and moving closer to a daughter in another state. So, this was a win-win for both of us.

As you can see, even though the metal was in great shape and only needing painting, the fabric on some of the chairs was pretty threadbare in areas. It would be good to note that if you are planning on painting patio furniture fabric, you’ll have even more success than we did with these. They turned out very nice, but some were pretty threadbare and that still shows.

 

 

What I did next is not what you want to do next. On the first chair I painted the metal black first. That was a mistake. Why? Because when you paint fabric, you’ll want to wet the chair down first and then add some water to your paint – in this case we used the Missouri Limestone Paint Company chalk-based paint that we sell in the color “Crisp Kale”. So…..when painting with watered down paint, you’re going to to get that watered down mess all over your freshly painted black metal! What was I thinking? That one had to have metal repainted in many areas. So….moral of that story is paint the fabric first.

I also taped off the first one. I didn’t need to do that at all. My chippy brush allowed me to paint the black and not touch the green fabric, so no tape was used on the other chairs.

There were a couple of chairs that were really pretty threadbare. I had read that you could repair those with Bondo. I did that and those areas turned out ok and the paint covered them well, but I would recommend only using it if you had a small hole to fix. I wouldn’t do larger areas again.

I never use a roller when I paint with chalk-based paint but for the first coat on these chairs I did since the paint was watered down. That really helped the paint get into the threads of the fabric and adhere. I did two more coats, using a brush for them and that worked out great!

 

There is no need to seal chalk-based paint for outside furniture. The sun and heat cures the paint and makes it very durable.

Were they perfect after painting? No, not by any means. Will they hold up for my client for a few years? Yes, they should work out just fine for her. Are people going to be going up and getting eye to eye with the chairs and searching for flaws? I hope not. : ) Or, will they see the overall picture of the bright and cheerful patio chair set on her patio and wish they had one just like it. That’s what I’m hoping for! In the natural light and with the grass peeking through and trees starting to bud out in Missouri, the set looks beautiful on her deck, don’t you think?

 

A Winthrop Style Secretary – Should it Stay or Should it Go?

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I just can’t keep myself from picking up a paintbrush before Christmas. Last week, my childhood friend came to visit for a week (I’m fond of saying my best friend since 4th grade).  She was the one who introduced me to chalk paint in the first place. Now, she wanted to see me paint the Winthrop Style Secretary (Lammert’s Furniture in St. Louis – possibly around 1940’s) that had been sitting in my hallway for months.  I had purchased it at a resale shop and just hadn’t been able to decide how I wanted to paint it.  It did need painting on the outside and some work done on the drawers and pull down.  But the inside was really in pretty good shape and I wanted to leave it original if I could. So, what color would go with the wood and would be a neutral color that would fit in with just about any decor?

With my friend Cindy’s help, we decided on a new color I had asked Missouri Limestone Paint Company to mix.  I wanted a linen color and they came up with exactly what I had in mind…and named it “Vintage Linen”.  It is a gorgeous color and looks beautiful next to the wood on the Secretary.  I also made a glaze with French Roast and lightly glazed the feet and the finial and area around it.

We decided to paint it right in the hallway, so we put down some plastic and got started.  Since the lighting there wasn’t the greatest and it was a small space to work in, she was my assistant and held a flashlight and was quick to let me know if I missed a spot.  : )

I really become attached to pieces once I’ve painted them, and this piece was one that really makes me want to keep it, especially since it does fit in my living room nicely and blends in with my decor.  Once I decorated it with my snowman collection, I really fell in love.  I do have it for sale for $250.00, however, I’m perfectly happy if it doesn’t sell.  : )

Now for some pics!

originalsecretary secretary_snowman1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

originalsecretaryinside secretaryinsidefinished

 

 

 

 

 

Even though the inside was in good condition, there were several spots and scratches.  My magic stain/sealer by Varathane (water-based) took care of that and restored the beautiful wood finish. It also refreshed the wood on the doors and the fretwork.

I think this one might be one that stays!

Update:  I didn’t have time to get too attached as it sold quickly.  : )

secretary_snowman

TIP OF THE WEEK: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS – Creating a Barn Wood Look With Paint on a Farm Table Top

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You can create a barn wood like look on a table top using Missouri Limestone Company chalk-based paint and a stain_sealer. I have a step-by-step tutorial here to show you how!

For previous TIP OF THE WEEK click here.

The tip of the week is a little late thanks to Thanksgiving holidays. One of my sons and his two sons ages 4 and 17 months came to visit the week before Thanksgiving so need I say more.

My tip of the week for the Thanksgiving holidays shows you how I created a barn wood look on a table top. Plus I get to share the final results of the farm table set.  This is one of those projects I sure wished I had #1 – a garage to work in and #2 – that my dining room was big enough for me to keep it.  I posted pics of the progress and that generated so much interest, I sold it the day I finished it, so others liked it, too.

 

I did manage to get some time in to finish the huge farm table set I started (hoping to finish before Thanksgiving) the day after so that wasn’t too bad.  It took a couple of mornings getting up at 4:30 am to work on it before the little ones were up.  I really needed to get it out of the basement before everyone got here so we could get to the bed.  I was thinking we might have to sleep on it.  It sure was big enough. LOL

TIP OF THE WEEK

How to create a barn wood look with paint and Varathane’swater-based stain and sealer (I call this my magic stain).  I love it!  I debated about keeping this as my secret weapon, but I can’t do that.  I’m an educator and I just have to share what I have learned myself.  Hence the name of our paint company….SharSum Paint, a play of words based on my name Sharon Sumner (Share Some – get it?)

But first, some before pics of the table and chairs.

original-top originalbase originalchairs

farmtablebenchchairsbefore

The table and chairs were basically in pretty good shape.  We had to do some repair on some of the veneer under the table top and on the leaves and had to put the sliding mechanism back together, but this was a good sturdy set.

TIP #1:  Creating a barnwood type look on a table top.  I really didn’t know how this was going to turn out, so I did a practice piece and then decided to just go with it.  I really do love how it turned out and it is all due to my magic stain/sealer technique.

First, I gathered my supplies.  I used Missouri Limestone Paint Company’s chalk-based paint.  I needed Grannie’s Lace (an off white) Sunday Silver (a medium gray), French Roast (a dark brown) and Varathane water-based stain and sealer in Dark Walnut.

I painted the leaves and table first with the French Roast.  The pic shows a finished sample.

barnwoodlooksupplies

Next, I used Grannie’s Lace and dry-brushed over the French Roast.  Then, just a little of the Sunday Silver dry-brushed, and even less of French Roast again.  I then did a light wash of Grannie’s Lace.  I took dry paper towel and just started rubbing that wash in.  Sometimes I rubbed down to the French Roast and sometimes even harder down to the original finish.  The picture below shows the dry brushing.  UPDATE:  I did another table top after this (see pics at bottom of post).  I didn’t bother using the paper towel and rubbing it in.  Instead, I did a dry brush technique on the other colors (adding just a bit of water – not much) and tried to keep the brushing as straight as possible.)  It turned out as nice, if not better, with much less work.

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The magic comes when I add the Varathane water-based stain and sealer.  I used Dark Walnut.  It somehow just blends everything all together and seals it at the same time.  You can see the white wash on the picture below.

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The more coats you put on, the darker it becomes.  I used 3 coats on this table and leaves.  I very lightly sanded in between coats.  The result was a very smooth finish.  The sealer has a little shinier finish than I like, though, plus I always want to have a really durable surface on a table, so I added two coats of Varathane water-based satin polyurethane, which toned down the shine.  Every single time I would walk past the table top, I just had to admire it and feel the smoothness.  : )

So, there’s your tip of the week.  And now for the finished farm set.  By the way, we made a bench for this table out of 3 complimentary chairs.  Check it out on a previous tip of the week.The lady buying the set loved the bench.  She has two little ones and one on the way and she said she was worried about the benches with no backs and afraid the kids would turn them over too easily.  She loved how heavy and sturdy the chair bench was.

finishedbench finished-table farmtableset10 farmtableset9 farmtableset8 farmtableset7 farmtableset6 farmtableset5 farmtableset4 farmtableset3 farmtableset1

The 2nd table top I did is pictured below.

 

 

 

A Coffee Bar from a Dresser

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Yes, please.  I wasn’t going to pick up my paint brush until after Christmas but….I just had to.  I felt the need to de-clutter after Thanksgiving and it came to me that I should make myself a coffee bar.  The piece could be used to store coffee cups, coffee, coffee pot, crock pot, toaster, and whatever else would fit and clear up some space in my small kitchen.

I just happened to have a long, narrow dresser that I hadn’t been able to decide how to finish.  I knew I wanted to paint the drawers different colors due to the way the top drawer was made.  So, Danny dug it out of our shed and we went to work.  He cleaned it up and I started painting.

coffeebar-original

The piece (I call it a dresser, but not sure what it actually was) is made of pine.  The top was in pretty good shape except for a couple of gouges and scratches.  Danny sanded the top a little and smoothed it out and then I used my secret weapon:  Varathane Water-based stain and sealer in Dark Walnut.  I love this stuff.  It goes on so smooth, really brings out the wood grain, and dries quickly.  I used 3 coats, sanding lightly in between.  It dries pretty shiny, though, and I wanted to use the semi-gloss water-based poly on the rest of the cabinet so I put two coats of it on after.  The top is so smooth, with just a little sheen.  I love the distressed look of the scratches and gouges.

coffeebartopwithstainsealer

After 3 coats of stain/sealer – pretty shiny

coffeebartopwithpoly

After 2 coats of poly – really toned it down. Now has a nice soft, sheen.

Then, I wanted to paint the base gray to match my kitchen cabinets, which were Annie Sloan Paris Gray.  So, I took some Missouri Limestone Paint Company “Winter Gloves” and mixed in a little dark “Gray Goose” and it came out pretty darn close.  You’d never know they weren’t exactly the same.  I painted the drawers the same colors I painted my chairs in the dining room. (“Sour Green Apple”, “Old Tin Barn”, “Trading Post”, and “African Violet”) I also bought some gray printed burlap at Jo-Ann’s for the doors and my daughter-in-law, Daphney, suggested adding chicken wire.  I found that at Hobby Lobby.  The chicken wire was the perfect final touch!

I’m very happy with the results.  It’s probably one of my favorite things I’ve done….possibly because I get to keep it.  That didn’t stop me from thinking, “Hmmm…I wonder if people would be interested in buying this coffee bar?”  After all, I have a dining room set to match and I can always paint another table and chairs.  : )  Nah…..I’m keeping this.  For awhile, anyway.  However, you never know that else will come up that I may want to paint just for me. But best of all, it has given me some counter top and  cabinet space in the kitchen.  Yay.

Meet my new coffee bar:

 

 

Electrical Spool Redefined as a Coffee Table/Bookcase

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We’ve all seen these…..those spools in the hardware store that hold electrical wiring, etc.  You may not realize that at stores like Lowe’s (at least in my town) you can put your name on a list to get one of these for next to nothing.

Then, once you have one…..what to do with it?  I recently, thanks to my son’s father-in-law, received one.  It was a smaller one, the perfect size!  I forgot to take a picture of mine before the redefine, but it looked similar to this one…especially the top.  The bottom had 4 holes around the perimeter that matched the 4 top holes.

electrical-spool2

A quick search on the internet “electrical spool DIY” produce quite a few results.  One of the ideas I ran across was to make a coffee table/bookcase.  I loved that idea.  I also knew I wanted to keep all the imperfections in the spool so I chose not to sand mine.  My project was going to be to redefine my spool into a shabby/chic coffeetable/bookcase perfect for a lake house.  Why not beach house?  We live closer to a lake rather than an ocean and I think one that says lake house would sell much better….more market for a lake house table.  LOL

It’s a little difficult to see from the photo above but there are 4 washers and screws on the top.  I also decided to leave them as is and not paint them.  I did clean them good as they were kind of oily.  Now, onto creating my table.  Here’s the inspiration piece I found.

spoolbookcase_inspiration

Off to Lowe’s we went to purchase dowel rods….oops…stumbling block.  They had the perfect size dowel rod, but at over $6 a rod and we need 4 of them, that meant over $24 just for the rods to create the bookcase part.  Nope….that wasn’t going to happen.  So, we put on our thinking caps and decided pvc pipe was the way to go and off to the plumbing department we went.  They had a long piece that would make 4 the size we needed for a little over $3 for the piece.  Yes…..pvc pipe it is.  However, there was printing in black up one side.  We knew from experience that wouldn’t wash off.  So, off to the paint department we went.  We found a can of spray paint for plastic for about $6.  I knew I would use this again, so we purchased it and were on our way home.

The first thing Danny (my handyman husband) did was cut the pvc into 4 pieces just about the right length and then sanded out the existing 4 holes around the edge so the pvc pipe would fit.  It was just a bit too snug.  It didn’t take long and soon our bookcase supports were in place.  He then sawed them off even with the top of the spool.  We took them out again and gave them one coat of the spray paint for plastic.  (I wanted to have that base coat so that the chalk-based paint I would be applying later would have a good bond).

While that paint was drying, Danny turned the table over and added some wood on the bottom to create a stable base.  There were washers and nuts on the bottom, too, so without that (or casters – which were more expensive than I wanted) this worked out fine.  He made kind of an X pattern with the wood that fit around the nuts and washers.  He made one long piece and then two shorter pieces that formed the X and screwed them in place.  He also added on each edge, those little things you put on the bottom of furniture to keep it from scratching floors.  The ones he used were round and had what looks like carpet pieces on them that you tap into place.

I was now ready to paint the spool and bookcase supports with Missouri LImestone Paint Company’s (MLPC) chalk-based paint – “Front Porch”.  We put the supports back in and for good measure, Danny added a small screw on the inside of each one to make sure they stayed in place.  But they were a good type fit as he pounded them in with a rubber hammer so I don’t think they were going to go anywhere. I gave the whole thing one coat, allowing a little of the wood to peek through if it wanted to.  On the supports I also only used one coat.  A lot of the white showed through, but I liked that.  It looked like the front page color was just a wash over them and it created a nice effect.

Note:  All the other hole in the top of the table we left open, including the pvc pipe holes.  In interesting thing to note is at the bottom of the spool column there is a little hoe shaped like an upside down U.  I saw one idea that someone draped white Christmas lights down the big middle hole.  The plug would easily come through that little upside down U hole and you could plug them in.  That would make a nice effect at night.

After the paint dried, I cut a stencil from my Silhouette machine and stenciled “Lake House” on the top using MLPC “Sunday Silver” color.

The final step was mixing up some liming wax by adding some MLPC “January” to some Briwax and giving the whole thing a coat of wax….let it dry for a bit and buffed it.  I loved the effect of the liming wax.  The redefine was complete.  We are taking it to our storage unit “PopUp Shop” this morning.  Fingers crossed that it sells!  If not, I’ve posted it on Facebook’s marketplace and several local facebook swap shops, so hopefully it will sell on one of those if not today.

spooltable

A Custom Painted Wardrobe & Dresser

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We purchased a Waterfall type wardrobe and dresser, but didn’t have a clue how we wanted to paint them.  I posted them on a couple of selling sites as is and offered to custom paint them.  Someone who had a vision loved them and knew exactly what she wanted them to look like.  And so the process to transform these pieces with good bones but needing a lot of work was begun.

wardrobeanddresseroriginal

She had seen a chest I had painted gray and with drawers left original.  The dresser drawers were in good enough shape that this would be possible to do.  So, we had a plan and started with that piece.

All the original pulls were there but they needed some restoration. I had found a product I loved called Rub n Buff.  I chose to use Antique Copper on the hardware and the result was amazing! This is a good video tutorial on Rub n Buff.  After  I buffed the dresser hardware, I sealed it with a couple of coats of water-based polyurethane to keep them looking good.rubnbuffhardware

Then came the transformation of the dresser.  I used Missouri Limestone Paint Company’s chalk-based paint “Gray Goose” on the base.  Due to the dark color and the old wood, I chose to then use a couple of coats of Minwax’s Sanding Sealer, sanding in between coats to even out the finish.  I applied 3 coats of Varanthane’s water-based satin polyurethane to seal and the finish dresseroriginalwas smooth as glass.

For the mirror and drawers I was able to keep the original wood.  I brought out the beauty of the wood with a couple of coats of Varathane’s water-based stain and sealer.  They turned out beautiful.

dresserfinished

Next up was the wardrobe.  My customer found an awesome inspiration piece on Pinterest.  I painted the outside of the wardrobe and the drawer fronts with Missouri Limestone Paint’s chalk-based paint with “Trading Post”, a beautiful turquoise.  The drawers and the inside of the wardrobe were painted with “Field Corn”, a bright yellow.

The inside of the inspiration piece had a dandelion decal.  We were able to find the same exact decal on Amazon.  I researched and found it was best to seal the decal with Modpodge.  I used two coats of Modpodge on the decals then sealed everything with 3 coats of Varathane’s water-based satin polyurethane.  I did not use the sanding sealer on the lighter color paint.  I also used Rub n Buff on the hardware.

This before awardrobeoriginalnd after restoration project is absolutely stunning.  This one is going to its new home today and now I can’t wait to start a new project.
wardrobefinished

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wardrobefinished1

TIP OF THE WEEK: November 3, 2016 – Steampunk Decor – Who Knew?

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For previous TIP OF THE WEEK click here.

I have to admit, before I started painting furniture I had never heard of Steampunk or Steampunk Decor.

steam·punk
ˈstēmˌpəNGk/
noun
a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.

Steampunk incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk decor will then have elements of machinery and the elegance of 19th century design.

I found this article does a great job of explaining Steampunk and Steampunk Decor.

http://www.impressiveinteriordesign.com/steampunk-interior-design-style-decorating-ideas/

Here’s what came up with a Google Search on Steampunk Decor.  Browse through some of these links to get an idea of the look.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=steampunk%20decor 

For previous TIP OF THE WEEK, click here.

Why am I so interested in learning more about this unusual interior design? I have a customer who really likes this and looks for pieces that will fit. So, I made it my business to find out…and you know what? It’s pretty fascinating stuff.

I’ve done a couple of pieces now for him. I call it a Steampunk type look. Not exactly the real deal, but reminiscent of true Steampunk.

The first piece was a marble top coffee table. The middle piece of marble was missing and had been replaced with glass. I painted the table black and bought a piece of fabric from Jo-Ann’s which featured some of the colors of Steampunk and included images of a map, post office stamps, etc. I covered a thin board and stapled it on the back. I put it under the glass (it fit fine as with the board and the glass, the width was just about the same as the original marble and ended up with a cool, Steampunk look coffee table.

steampunktablesteampunktable11

Then, this cool clock came to me through a friend and I thought it would really be a statement piece. I painted it black and an out of date nautical clock has now been elevated to a Steampunk look. My customer loved it and purchased it on the spot.
nautical-clock

I’m kind of liking this Steampunk Decor.

TIP OF THE WEEK: October 17, 2016 – Four Chairs and a Bench

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What a week we’ve had!  This week Danny and I worked with our friend, Michelle, to come up with a beautiful dining room set for a customer.  Michelle had the table and chairs but the customer also wanted a bench, preferably a church pew.  We had the task of staining and re-covering the chairs and finding a church pew or something like it.

chairsstainedforcustomerRepairing, staining, and covering the chairs – no problem.

chairsstainedforcustomer1

But, when it came to finding a small church pew, we were soon out of luck and time.  Danny had often talked about trying to turn chairs into a bench after we saw one, so we started thinking about finding some chairs and trying that. Michelle found us 4 chairs and we were off to Pinterest to learn how to make one.

We saw a  lot of chairs made into benches but many of them curved, due to the shape of the chairs.   And then we found what we were looking for! There were no detailed directions, just this simple paragraph and we had our “ah-ha” moment.  http://www.robomargo.com/bench.html 

KyLady wrote:  “We shortened the front piece on the middle chair and attached it to the corner of each of the outside chairs. If you do not shorten the front piece of the middle chair the bench would not have a straight front and back, it would curve since the fronts of chairs are wider than the backs. The only legs removed are the front ones on the middle chair, the other legs are the original chair legs. All you actually use on the middle chair is the entire back and the front piece.”

At first it didn’t sink in because we didn’t understand what she meant by shortening the front piece and attainspirationbenchching it to the corner of each of the outside chairs.  And then we got it.  Notice the middle chair has no front legs.  Removing them allowed the chairs to sit right next to each other.  This made the middle chair the same width in the front as in the back.  You can see in the photo it is narrower than the other two chairs. The front piece KYLady mentioned is that piece the arrow in the photo is pointing to.  That piece was saved and shortened and added back on so all 3 chairs would be the same in the front.  “Ah-ha”!

So now Danny was ready to start.  We only needed 3 of the chairs for the bench to get the size bench we wanted.  The fourth was still used, bench-3though. You will see how in the the photos below.

You can see the gap when the front legs were still on the middle chair in this photo.

In this photo, Danny has remobench-4ved the front legs of the chair and both the side and front pieces and has glued and clamped and screwed the middle chair to the other two.  He screwed them together right under the top edge and right under where the seat would go.  He shortened the saved front piece to fit the space in front, and then added dowels (and holes) to fit them together and glued it in place.

Rebench-6member that fourth chair? The back legs were broken on it anyway, so he used them to create beautiful curved sides for the bench. That was Michelle’s creative idea!  He cut them off even with the back of the chairs using a straight cut and then glued, clamped and screwed them on. He also cut a 1/2″ piece of plywood to fit, then sanded it for smoothness.

We were now ready to paint.  We used, of course, Missouri Limestone Company’s chalk-based paint in “Grannie’s Lace”, the brand we distribute and love to use!

With a little dry brushing of some water-downed Varathane water-based stain and sealer, we highlighted the embossed design on the front of the bench.  We added some fiberfill batting to the board, covered it with fabric and screwed it in place underneath. We sealed it with poly and the result was a beautiful bench.

Danny did a great job creating this work of art, don’t you think? The customer was thrilled!  She said she liked it even better than the church pew she had been thinking of originally.

Danny’s ready to make more as soon as he finds more chairs!  Be sure to contact us:  sharsumpaint@gmail.com if you’d like a custom made bench for your house.

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