Painted Wooden Dinning Chairs: Guest Remodel

At Red Door Home, she painted wooden dinning room chairs and added a new look with new fabric cushions.  She how she did it below.


About a year and a half ago I purchased this dining room set from Craig’s List.

It is made by Henredon and included the table, four chairs, two leaves and custom made table pads. We had no dining room furniture (or any other furniture in this room) and considering the quality of the pieces, for $400 I think I found a pretty good deal.

My husband and I instantly agreed the striped velvet fabric (which I think was the original fabric) had to go. I choose pretty fabric from Calico Corners, used the old fabric as a pattern and even reused the original cording - a simple reupholstering project, which immediately updated the look of the chairs. 

It was at this point, the agreeing stopped. I wanted to paint the chairs and Mr. RDH wanted me to leave them as is. So for 18 months Iheld off painting, thinking I might change my mind. I kept seeing pretty pictures, however, on some of my favorite blogs like the ones below. 

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image via Cote De Texas

I have always loved a mix of finishes and now was even more convinced I needed to paint! So last week - unbeknownst to Mr. RDH - I took the plunge and once again I am so glad I did! (you may remember I had a similar dilemma with a clock.)

Chair before:

Chair lightly sanded:

Chair painted with my favorite paint – Valspar satin in Porcelain:

Chair glazed:

My dining room with newly painted chairs:

A big improvement! I love how the painted chairs make the space brighter and the table and chairs less “matchy-matchy.” 

For a centerpiece I used an architectural element filled with sticks, along with several different style candlesticks and alinen table runner I made (for directions click HERE). Since this is one of the first rooms you see when walking through the front door, all of these elements provide the perfect transition into the rest of the house. 

So what does Mr. RDH think? I am happy to report he likes the chairs better now that they are painted. Turns out he was never really crazy about the chairs to begin with – he liked the table.Harmony found!

I think that they turned out great!  What do you think?