Here we bring home the complimentary piece to last month’s Tuesday Transformation beautifully painted sewing cabinet. While we never gave the cabinet a name, we ended up referring to this piece as our Autumn chair while it was in progress. A simple name, but very accurate!
Painting the frame of an upholstered chair can be a bit different than simply staining or refinishing it. Often, the fabric needs to be removed enough to paint the entirety of the wooden frame. This means removing nail heads, gimp or cording (which are the thin strips of fabric that trim out the edge of the larger pieces of material, usually covering up staples), and underneath those, the staples that hold it all together. While this can be time consuming, ripping it all apart can also be a great means to relieve frustrations! For this chair, each of these steps needed to be taken before painting
Once we had the frame fully exposed, we also gave it a good sanding with 100-120 grit sandpaper – enough to remove any gloss, but still gritty enough to ensure that the paint would hold – and finished it off with a quick rubdown with Krud Kutter Gloss-Off (just in case). We knew we wanted to go with Paint Couture’s Baltic Black again, and not just because it matches the sewing cabinet; we also happen to love it.
Deciding that we didn’t want a flat black this time, but rather something with a little bit of glamour to it, we explored a few of Paint Couture’s glazes along with some Gilders Wax. Using Baltic Black as our base, we did what we always do when we have a decision about finish to make: we made up sample boards.
We coated the entire painted area with a Zinc Glaze by Paint Couture, which gave us a subtle metallic shimmer on the frame. Then, we topped it off choosing a subtle golden accent to go over the Baltic Black and zinc glaze.
Oh-so-happy with the gorgeous statement that the gold makes over the Baltic Black on this dramatic piece, it was then off to the upholstery shop. Side note: we did use a matte finish on the entire frame. This timeless finish won’t need redone any time soon, and the matte finish will ensure that it lasts for years to come.
Our upholsterer was first tasked with removing the rest of the fabric, along with tearing apart the insides to rebuild it from scratch. All of our upholstery is guaranteed for life, so we make sure that it is built with brand new materials that will hold up. Our Autumn Chair kept its frame and springs, while the webbing, padding, Dacron wrap, and cover were all swapped with top quality substitutions.
We just love the way the frame finish and the material complement each other so perfectly!
We are also loving how wonderfully the chair looks with our sewing cabinet, which was inspired by the fabric! Stop out to Vermilion to see the pair in our shop window!