Almost Overlooked: Barrel-back Chair

We almost overlooked this sturdy little chair as we prowled for wooden dressers and chests. I sat in it simply to regroup. How comfortable. Here, let me put this pillow behind me. Ah, just right. Take your time, David.

At $22 the barrel-back chair, with side caning and tufted back, seemed an OK purchase. For a nanosecond I considered reupholstering it, but I’m neither skilled nor ambitious enough to undertake tufting. I knew I had paint at home and could personalize it to our living room. And — this is big — I could use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to paint fabric, which would be a first.

Here’s the before picture, with little Pepper Popcorn making herself comfortable on the chair while Boston lounges above. The mahogany wood color contrasts a little too boldly with the ivory fabric.

I matched the sage tones of our rug by mixing Versailles and Olive. That was the easy part. This is what the chair looked like after a couple of coats. If you look hard, you can see the remnants of a red stain on the right side of the seat cushion.

Then I faced mixing the gold. How about Arles, a yellow named for the town in southern France, and a bit of Versailles? I didn’t measure. I just mixed until it looked right.

If you’re interested in how to paint fabric, Annie Sloan demonstrates in this video:

I gave my chair fabric two coats, with 24 hours between coats, and I waxed everything, including the fabric, with Annie Sloan’s Clear Wax. I’m delighted with the results.

Ann Marie and David

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