My dining room chairs, purchased from Craigslist for $20 apiece last fall, have been many colors. They were red when I bought them, and then I tested two different shades of gray before realizing that I needed to stop trying to make gray chairs happen. Gray chairs are not going to happen, Gretchen!
So yesterday I picked up a few cans of Rustoleum in Heritage White. After a quick sanding, my first chair got what I hoped would be a nice, flaw-hiding coat. Except white spraypaint doesn't hide flaws:
Pardon the dizzying bird's-eye angle.
See all the splits in the wood there on the top rail? Se how the reed-strapping is starting to unravel in spots? I don't know how old these are or who manufactured them, but these babies are showing some mileage.
I thought I'd do a little experiment, and before I sprayed the second chair, I sanded it thoroughly and used half a tube of wood filler on it. I filled the unpaintable gaps around the rattan joints and forced putty into the splits and dings (the chairs are made of really soft wood). It took, all told, a couple of hours. I was kind of hoping it wouldn't make much of a difference so I wouldn't have to do it three more times.
Of course, it made a huge, visible-to-the-naked-eye difference. The refurbished chair is (obviously) on the right:
Back detail, un-refurbished:
Back detail, refurbished:
Better. Now please excuse me while I go buy more wood filler.
PS: Found a gorgeous cotton blanket in TJ Maxx that perfectly matches my nightstands. I bought it:
I love you, TJ Maxx-- two x's and all.
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