DIY Chalk Painted Office Chair and Weathered Barstools

Remember last week when I couldn’t decide if I should add a gray wash to the barstools? It felt kind of weird to give brand new, just out of the box bar stools a makeover so I thought I would give it a few days to see if the darker wood would grow on me. My mom said the wood on the barstools didn’t really bother her so I thought I should at least give it a chance.

But literally the very next day, I was still thinking about giving the them a gray wash so this past weekend I finally took the plunge.

I didn’t want to lose the warmth of the wood entirely because we have several warm wood pieces in the bookcases. Gray washing seemed like the perfect option given you’d be able to still see the wood grain which I love.  If you’ve never tried to gray wash or white wash anything, it’s really easy. You’ll need to water down your favorite gray or white paint. I’m using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in a mix of French Linen and Country Grey. Apply the watered down paint directly to the wood you want to “wash” and wait a few minutes while the paint penetrates the wood grain.

After a few minutes has passed you can either wipe the excess paint off with a lint free cloth or you can use a piece of steel wool to add a little extra patina. Make sure you protect your hands, face, clothes and surfaces if you choose to use steel wool.

Use the steel wool to work the wash/paint down into the grooves of the wood. Then allow the paint to dry. You can seal with polyacrylic, furniture paste wax, hemp oil or a product like Howards Feed N Wax.

It’s a slight difference but you can definitely tell the walnut top has a gray tone now.

It feels like it just fits better in the office.

While I was out giving the barstools a bit of a makeover I decided to give the office chair a makeover too. The original plan was to paint the chair in French Linen so imagine my surprise when I realized I was completely out of that color! It didn’t make sense to drive three hours to buy more French Linen so I used Valspar’s Hot Stone which is the same color on the accent wall and calcium carbonate powder to make my own chalk-like paint. I’ve shared this recipe before but just in case you missed it, here it is again:

 

CHALK-LIKE PAINT RECIPE

1 cup latex paint

2 tablespoons calcium carbonate powder

1 tablespoon warm water

Tip: Make sure the calcium carbonate powder is completely dissolved in the warm water prior to pouring in the latex paint. Once you’ve poured in the latex paint make sure you stir and mix well until all parts have been incorporated fully. I usually use a plastic cup and spoon to mix everything up but a few of my friends use a jar with a lid to mix this combination as well.

Two coats of DIY Chalk-Like Paint later the office chair was ready to go. You can seal DIY Chalk-Like Paint just like you would the chalk paint you buy premade with furniture paste wax, polyacrylic, or polyurethane.

I wasn’t sure how the color would turn out but it looks really nice layered against all of the other neutrals at the desk area.

It’s starting to feel like a real desk now. Here’s a look at how we styled everything.

I had a little bit of paint left over so I decided to paint a few baskets too. I’ll share how they turned out tomorrow so I’ll see you then!

Many blessings,

CoCo