Apartment Redress::Patio Set::Part II

Last week I showed you the chair and table set I have out on my patio. I really wanted to go with bright colors and patterned seat cushions, but was torn with the more practical gray and bright cushions – more timeless, more options with less hassle – want a change, just whip up some new seat covers. It seems you were just as divided – two votes for bright, two for gray, one for patterned chairs. I was still undecided when I headed to the hardware store to look at paint after deciding I wasn’t happy with what I had on hand – not enough of the yellow I was going to use. 

I cruised the paint chips and looked at the prices. $12.59 for one pint! Yikes. No thanks. Well, what’s on the mistint cart? Perfect! That’s it! Why didn’t I think to look here first and let that guide my decision. There it was, the perfect color at the perfect price. A nice blue gray, a little lighter than I had hoped, but it goes with the light gray I picked as one of my main colors (light and charcoal blue gray for the main big furniture colors). Just $5 for a whole gallon of really nice paint. It’s the perfect thing for a on the cheap fixer upper redress project.

Jason made the good point that if you know you want to repaint a piece of furniture, you should check the mistint paint before you look at the paint chips so you do not fall in love with a particular shade of color, you are less likely to pick a mistint if you have the “perfect” color in mind. There are many answers to the design question of the “perfect color” and it’s best to keep an open mind. Sure have a general idea (dark and light gray for main; cherry, kelly green, lemon green, and cobalt), but keep a little room to take advantage of good deals. 

Anyway, on to the process! 

When painting over wood, especially wood that has been painted a million times, it’s a good idea to strip and sand and then wipe it with a damp cloth. There is a great citrus based stripper that my friend has used, but I’m allergic to citrus based solvent, so I had to go with the nasty stuff. Thankfully, I had gone through that step a long time ago, so sanding and a wipe down was all that was needed. 

Then a nice quick lick of paint.

I haven’t decided one way or the other about the table. I don’t know if any amount of sanding would make it smooth enough to paint. It is very rustic wood. In the meantime I think I will make some super cute brightly patterned fabric, I have a ton of great strips to use up, so maybe I’ll do a log cabin style top for each pillow. I also want to make some kind of table top piece. Maybe I’ll make something that matches the seat cushions.