Wicker Chair Makeover

The Find

I found two of these worn wicker chairs one night. They were lightweight and had a good shape to them, too bad someone put them out with the trash - but good that they were still salvageable!  I really liked the wide armrest and gracious curve of the backrest - nice lines.

Wickerness.

The (Half) Makeover

The white paint on these wicker chairs was cracked, flaking, and overall in really poor condition. In addition, on some of the legs the wrapping was coming undone.  I fixed the loose wrapping with some super glue and clamps - that seemed to do the trick!

Coming undone

Cracked paint

Paint missing on some fibers

It was clear that these chairs had spent some time exposed to the elements.  I've never refinished wicker furniture before, so this was a new process for me.  I decided that the first step was, AS ALWAYS WHEN PAINTING, surface prep!  So I used a stiff scrub brush to scour off the loose paint as best as I could.  Then I used a can of spray paint to try to get into all the nooks and crannies of the wicker.

Ocean Mist spray paint can

The color I used was 'Ocean Mist', a very very pale blue. Wicker has many many nooks and crannies, and I used an entire can of spray paint on one chair without even fully coating it to my satisfaction.  It was maybe 1.5 coats in some spots, but only 1 coat in others.  This resulted in  "uneven" color across the chair.  On some of the chair-front the blue color was much more apparent because that part had received a second coat of spray paint.  I estimated that to spray both chairs and get full coverage with even color would take 3-4 cans of spray paint.  If I were planning to keep these chairs for a long time I would definitely consider that a fair investment in such nice patio furniture.  However, I knew these chairs were only going to be around for a few months, and in peak summer I don't actually spend much time sitting outside. So I stopped at one chair with as much coverage as I could get on the underside and topside.  You can see that the pale aqua color was starting to be visible, but that a few more coats would have helped smooth out the surface.

Ocean Mist - 1 coat

Here is the chair in its home-corner after getting as much spray paint as it was going to get from me.

Sitting pretty

Conclusion

The color-mismatched pair of wicker chairs hung out for a while and the newly spray-painted one held up nicely.  The chair shape was very comfortable, and if I had a larger and more permanent space I would have hung on to these curvaceous beauties!  But alas, they eventually went on to their next home, where I hope they will bring others comfortable repose.  

Happy freestyling - don't be afraid to shift your plans in response to a reality check!

Sitting prettier with a freestyle pillow

3rd Life For A Pair of Frames

The Frame Finds

A while ago I posted about finding a pair of frames and the subsequent makeover using gold foil (failure) and gold paint (decent).  As part of the continuous parade of ideas, free stuffs, and design 'pivots' in this home space frames are known to come and go - and eventually those frames went on their way too.  But the story doesn't end there! No, these particular frames ended up with a new life and an old identity all at the same time....

The First and SECOND Makeovers

Just a recap, these frames looked like this when I found them with French architectural photographic prints inside:

First Version

Then after the first makeover they looked like this, featuring some vintage bird images downloaded from the Biodiversity Heritage Library, resized, and printed on photo paper:

Second Version

That is the form in which I gave them to a friend who was looking to fill some empty walls.  One day, while we were hanging some *other* art pieces around the house, I let her know that these frames still had their original French architectural prints inside - just hidden in the back under some cardboard.  

Surprise! 

She had, by pure coincidence, recently found and hung a picture of Notre Dame in Paris in another room of the house.  I showed her the original French architectural prints, and a little bit of an idea was planted.

Later on I got a message that she had decided to repaint the frames (second makeover!) to match the green matting on her Notre Dame picture and to reveal the original French architectural photo prints (the birds happily taking a backseat).

Third Version

Conclusion

Is this a conclusion, or will these frames go through a third makeover? The life of a freestyle find is full of surprises. For now these framed prints live on a lovely gray wall, flanking an image of Notre Dame and the Seine on a sunny day in Paris. (Also loving that chair rail and moulding on the lower wall.)

Where it's at.

Happy freestyling, and don't forget you can sometimes store one piece of art behind another in the same frame!