Painted table, chairs and spray painted stools.

After successfully painting my sideboard I decided to paint my dining table and chairs. This was more tricky because they're not real wood. Firstly, I lightly sanded the table and chairs to remove some of the laquer. The chairs had quite a thick coating on them and were badly scratched so I removed as much as I could. I then washed and dried them to remove the dust.

Before

After

I wanted more of a matt finish on the table so I used a DIY chalk paint recipe I had seen on Pinterest. I altered it a bit using 6 dsps of  paint, 1 dsp plaster of paris and 2 dsps water. This made 1 batch. I only mixed up one batch at a time because it went hard, even though I put it in an airtight jar!  The paint I used was eggshell which was quite thick so that's why I altered the recipe. I applied it with a roller on the large areas and a brush on the small areas. It took 3 coats to get a decent finish and I had to sand it lightly between coats to get rid of spots of plaster of paris. I possibly didn't mix it enough but overall I was happy with how it went on and I liked the end result. I then applied Rustoleum Clear Sealer in a matt finish to give added protection.

For the chairs, I used the grey wood paint that I had used on part of the sideboard. I applied it with a brush. It took 2 coats to get an even finish.

I wanted to add a touch of copper to the colour scheme so I bought Valspar Metallic Copper spray paint. I gave my stools (which were originally black - sorry I forgot to take a before shot) a good spray with it. I must say, I was really impressed with how it went on and I couldn't believe how quickly it dried! I absolutely love how they turned out so I decided to spray a pendant light shade and a metal plant pot too. It looks a bit odd at the moment because we don't have the new floor down yet but I think it will work when it all comes together.

I don't know how the painted table and chairs will last with family life, a clumsy husband and extreme crafting but after a couple of weeks of use they have survived so far. The chairs are starting to get marked again, I think it's from buttons on the back of jeans rubbing on them. For that reason, I think I will make seat pads which will give added comfort too.