Another project from 2012.

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Because I'm on a "spending diet" here, I can't work on any major projects. And even a couple of smaller ones that I'm really itching to do will require painting, and it's just too cold outside, even in the garage. So that will have to wait.

That's why I decided to share with you a project that I actually finished back in September of last year. I'm not sure why I never told you about it, especially because it's one of my most favorite projects ever.

In our living room (that also doubles as a media room) we always could use extra seating. But for the longest time 3 out of 4 corners of the room had the same coffee tables. Finally, I decided that we needed a chair in one of them. But after looking for a while, I couldn't find anything I liked. It was either the color or shape, or, most of the time, the price. The thing is, I wanted something bright, a pop of color. Honestly, I wanted my favorite color - teal. Unfortunately, teal colored chairs are rare and expensive (like the one right here). I knew I needed to cut some corners.

After looking at thrift stores and classifieds, I one day stumbled upon this beauty:

I loved it's shape and trim work. I absolutely hated the color (especially next to our old carpet :). You can't really see it from the picture but it was actually pretty beat up. The previous owners - a cute elderly couple- had it sitting under a porch for a while. But it was only $20, and I couldn't resist.

At first, I was thinking of reupholstering it. I knew I couldn't tackle it by myself (just look at the chair back alone!!). But after an appraisal, well...it was cheaper to buy new! So after looking online and getting inspired by some very crafty people, I decided to...paint it. Yep, you heard me right! I painted it using this:

I think Hubby thought I was crazy at first... Let me be honest with you, it was not a VERY cheap project considering the price of each bottle was about $7 at Michaels. I ended up using 8 bottles but I bought every one of them with a 40% coupon. This project did require some patience while I accumulated all of the paint :)

In a bottle this paint looks this pretty teal but as I started painting, I got this:

A fluorescent aqua-blue...Brrr!! So I went and got another bottle of black paint. I only needed a teaspoon of black per each bottle of turquoise to get a color I wanted. I used a soft brush and  it took two layers of paint for full coverage. Originally the fabric of this chair was kind of scratchy, and after I painted it, it feels a little more like vinyl. And that's how it looks right now:

L.O.V.E! It looks exactly how I wanted it (and even my Hubby loves it now). I haven't decided yet if I want to paint the wooden parts but I do want to keep the trim, so more than likely I'll keep it as it is:

And here's my favorite chair, people. I often curl in it with a book, and kids love to play on this chair too. It's very sturdy and gives our room just the pop of color we needed. One more picture, a little bit closer:

Unfortunately, the pictures don't show the real color (I'm still learning to use my camera) because the color is subtle teal, more like the inspiration chair from World Market. And this chair ended up costing $60 which is more than $200 in savings. As I said it wasn't cheap but you still can't beat the price.

Now I wonder why it took me so long to share it with you? :)

I shared this project with these awesome parties:

My Turn For Us