New Chairs – Instead Of Stain Paint A Wood Finish – Step by Step Tutorial

I love the new chairs I found at Houzz for such a great bargain price – 2 for $129. (This is not a sponsored post by Houzz, I just like to share a bargain when I find one.)  However the white washed wood finish didn’t work with my decor.  I have looked and looked for two more Louis style chairs to go in my dining area for a very long time.    I previously found two at Goodwill several years ago and refinished them and reupholstered them.  You can see those tutorials here and here.  As usual, I was looking for something at a bargain basement price.

I stained the Goodwill chairs I found dark to match my dining table and upholstered the backs in a fun cowhide fabric for a little whimsy.  The new chairs are upholstered in a really light beige linen fabric and the frames have pretty detail.

I love the carving and fluting on the base of the chair.  The whitewashed stain didn’t work with my other chairs or the table, so I need to stain or paint them.

I finally decided that having them dark was the best choice for me.  Instead of staining them, I chose to give them a painted finish.  First thing I did was take some chalk paint I had and add a little black to it and paint the frames a dark charcoal.

When that was dry I did a really light sanding with fine steel wool, then painted on a coat of dark brown craft paint.  I then highlighted some area with a camel color paint.  This creates the look of a stain finish and how it is light and dark on wood.

Again I went over the chair with fine steel wool, then gave it a coat of Clear Satin Poly.

When it was completely dry I gave it a light sanding with the steel wool again to make sure it had a nice smooth finish and to knock down a little bit of the shine from the poly.  All Done.

I love how these two compliment the style of the cowhide chairs and also compliment the style of the dining area.  

In case you are new here, these are the captains chairs I have been using.  They belong to the breakfast harvest table, so now they are back where they belong.  These looked fine, but gave the area a little more casual look than I wanted.

The wood took the finish a little bit darker than the other chairs, but they blend beautifully.

I changed the runner to a white one and added a really fabulous marble turtle I found to hold the wine corks and opener.  

The smaller chairs open up the whole room even more, so I love that too.  One more thing knocked off the to-do list.

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