The Blue Chair Project day one: Paint and destroy!

Painting is one of my favorite things to do. Not rooms. Painting a room is too much work now. There's the "whole falling off the ladder thing," the "pulling your back thing," the "it takes too long for someone who needs immediate gratification" thing. So I sit before a little white yard sale chair, planning on adding a vintage clay pot and some of my plant collection to create a planter chair. But first, PAINT!

 I just want to give a shout out to my friends at Ace Hardware for creating the Paint Pod, a nearly 5 oz. sample of their private label paint. Not only is the coverage awesome and the colors unlimited, it gives you enough to get the job done without feeling an obligation to do your next three to four projects in the same color to not waste the paint. Paint Pods were designed so people can sample the colors, but they've got a whole different audience for these high quality, low volume and cost (under $4 per pod)  treasures.

Old chair, taking the first step towards its new life.

On to the chair. It is solid but the finish is trashed. Perhaps you remember it, above. Got it at a yard sale for a few bucks. Since I want a rough finish, I wipe it down with a soft dry cloth, no stripping or sanding. I brush on a quick but thick coat of Ace's Decadent Blue Paint Pod Paint with an inexpensive brush (remember, we're not going for a smooth lacquer finish here.) It dries quickly,so I do a few more paint and dry rotations.

Now the fun part. DE-painting. Giving it the old "Why yes, I have been sitting beside the barn for several years, thank you for saving me" finish. So I hit it with some hand sanding. (Thanks 3M for the new sanding block with stick-on sanding paper---makes sanding quick and easy!) Knock it around with a hammer. Sand a little more. See, this is the secret of faux finish. Most people think it is hard, but it is really just painting it up, knocking the finish down and repeating it until you like it. That's it. No skill, all boldness BE BOLD!

My Decadent Blue yard sale chair

Blue chair with vintage Mexican pottery.

So, now I have a Decadent Blue aged chair. And I just happen to have a dilapidated vintage Mexican clay pot that will work perfectly with it. The next step is cutting a whole for the pot and planting it up. Check back later make sure I didn't cut off any body parts and to see this project as it comes together. And to see a "before" picture of my next victim!