Chairs, Chalk And A New Loveseat

Psssst… this post *might* contain affiliate links: see my disclosure here.

As some of you may have seen, the Living Room was featured on apartment therapy recently (yay!).  Although most of the comments were very positive, some of them articulated one of my question marks about the room… the abundance of seating.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

One commenter observed that it looked like a space ready for a group therapy session, and I couldn’t get that image out of my mind.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll stick to my guns if I really agree with and like the design, but this room in particular has been tricky because of all the seating.  I wanted the space to be open and inviting, but I also love that it accommodates so many butts when we occasionally entertain.  Ultimately, I agreed with the comment.

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Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Back to the rearranging board.  I spotted this loveseat on Craigslist and loved it.  But it was $150 which is more than I typically like to spend on CL.  Call me cheap thrifty.  But after a night with the piece percolating, I had to respond the next day and plead my case for $120.  Sold.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

I love cane furniture… and so does Martha.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

With any upholstery project, the first step is carefully removing the old fabric and staples. Remember to save your old fabric pieces as templates.  This one was in amazing shape and actually had springs on the seat so it’s super plush and comfy.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

I had help.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

After the old fabric had been pulled off, I could see what the previous fabric had been… now THAT’s a loveseat I would have gone for!

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Before I could upholster, I wanted to paint the frame.  There’s finally a retailer near our house that carries the magical Annie Sloan chalk paint so I decided this could be my chalk paint debut.  Anyone who likes themselves a DIY/ Home decorating blog knows about Annie Sloan and her paint.  I’d already dabbled in milk paint, but never chalk paint (not to be confused with chalkBOARD paint.. which is similar but not what I’m working with).  In a nutshell, you paint chalk paint right onto your surface- no sanding, no stripping, no priming- and then you apply a soft wax on top to seal the paint in. Like magic.

The man at the store assured me that I could paint “anything” with this paint, including cane, as he pointed to a lampshade to prove his point.  I was a little nervous about paint collecting and dripping on the cane, but a little looksie on google and it turned out I wasn’t insane and cane can definitely be painted with a brush. I chose Paris Gray chalk paint.  A neutral (gasp).   It went on just like everyone said it would.  Two coats, not a lick of prep and so pretty. This is after the first coat. (I painted the cane by ‘swirling’ the brush in circles in order to get into all the nooks and crannies.)

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

The second step to chalk paint is waxing. There wasn’t a ton a surface area to cover so it didn’t take too long, but I could see that for a bigger piece there’s a lot of ‘wax on, wax off.’  I used an Annie Sloan wax brush and rubbed the wax into the wood, then immediately wiped off the excess with an old sheet. I applied two coats 24 hours apart. After the 2nd coat had set for 24 hours, I buffed the piece to give it a little more shine.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

After my foray into upholstery with these chevron chairs, this loveseat was a walk in the park. The foam was in great shape so all that it needed was a new fabric and some gimp to cover the staples.  (If you’re wanting more info on how I reupholster, see here.) Snacks are key.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

As I mentioned above, I used the old fabric from the seat as a template for my new fabric. (I actually didn’t grab enough of the green velvet so I used a separate fabric for the back of the loveseat… a pale blue I had on hand.)

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Here’s a closeup of all the layers for the back of the loveseat. Back fabric first, then batting, cardboard, foam, batting and the front fabric.  I stapled the back fabric on first, then created the batting/ foam/ cardboard sandwich with the front fabric keeping it all together.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

After stapling the fabric and trimming the excess fabric, I used a hot glue gun to cover the staples with my gimp.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Into the living room this beauty goes.  Technically this loveseat could fit 2 people if we want to get really cozy, but it opens up the space and makes it look less like a chair showroom.  And, it’s A-mazing.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

 

Like any space, I’ll live with this new layout and see how a feel after staring at it for a while, but it already feels a lot less like therapy than the previous setup!

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

I also love the blue on the back… such a simple little tweek that adds a fun element of interest.  For your viewing interest, here’s the before and after again. Remember that TV show, The Swan? Yeah… this is like that. But with less gauze.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

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Refinishing a dated loveseat with chalkpaint and new upholstery.

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19 Comments

  1. Those lucite tables are to die for!!
    But back to your awesome bench; it is fantastic. I love that you are keeping the colour going in the room. Also, I did see you on AT, but didn’t put 2 and 2 together. Nice! Congrats.

      1. Really? I am always looking, and have yet to find any. We are heading to a big flea market south of us (Morrisburg) the weekend after next. Maybe I will have better luck there!

    1. That’s so funny!!! How did you find the blog? I hope you don’t mind what I did to it… I know it was your moms… 🙂 (Its my favorite new piece!!)

      1. I don’t mind at all!! I always look up people from Craigslist before I meet them, just to make sure they’re a legit person…

        I stumbled across your blog and i love all of your projects and ideas!!

  2. love, love, love what you did with the loveseat. that shade of green is fantastic! i came across your blog doing a search on sealing cane. i have a rocker with a cane back and bottom that i just fnished painting in annie sloan aubusson blue and am wondering what to seal it with. i’ve painted with ascp before and have sealed with her wax on wood. but wasn’t sure about the cane. what did you seal the cane on your loveseat with? i’m wondering if there’s a matte spray sealer that would work with her paint. any suggestions? thanks!

    1. Hi Elaine, Thanks for stopping by! I’m a newbie to the chalk paint world so haven’t had a chance to experiment too much with sealers etc. For the cane on the side of this chair, I did my best to work the wax in, but I’m sure it all wasn’t covered the way the wooden frame was. Fingers crossed it will hold up okay! Come back again. 🙂

  3. Incredible! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a totally different subject but it has pretty much the same
    page layout and design. Wonderful choice of colors!

    1. Really?! That’s so funny! I’ve just been working with a WordPress template for the time being and will bring in a designer to tweek it eventually! I loved the simplicity. 🙂

    1. Hi Laura,
      I did give it a quick once over with the wax, but very lightly… as you can imagine the cane collects the wax so I didn’t want to have too much build up.

  4. You did a great job with this love seat. I am in the process of reupholstering two Craigslist cane chairs very similar to you settee. Love cane chairs!