Spring Pinterest Challenge: A Chair Makeover

I love reading and writing blogs. I love Pinterest. I wish I could do both more. Four times a year, the two marry into a joyous occasion when two of my favorite bloggers issue the cattle call for the Pinterest Challenge.

You actually do something that you pin and then you write a blog about it, and link up to the hosts on their pages. Katie from Bower Power and Sherry from Young House Love created the challenge and each season they recruit two other bloggers to participate with them. The summer edition has Kate from Centsational Girl (another daily read) and Michelle from Ten June.

You may recall a recent non-Pinterest project that took me so long and was so much work I swore off painting furniture forever. No? It's this one. And then I lied, because I had to buy a chair to use as my work chair.  

I stole it for $60 at an antique store and it is genius because it has the same arch as the secretary and it a little bit ladylike. And while the antiqued white finish with the burlap seat would be ideal for any other room in the house, in here it needed more color. But nothing was obvious to me, so it sat for two months while I tried to find color inspiration. My bedding has a honey-color in it, and my striped drapes have the honey color and a coral color. While I do try to keep this room neutral - it is a marital space - this chair is all me and all lady, so I was not committed to keeping her gender-neutral.

I Googles and pinned many pictures of painted chairs, especially painted sheild back chairs. Bold colors with small-scale upholstery.

From Design Sponge.

From B Home Decor.

And you know Eddie Ross is always working his magic out.

From Eddie Ross shoot for Southern Living magazine.

Inspiration came in the form of the can of terracotta spray paint at Lowe's. As in, the actual color and finish of a terracotta pot. Then, after several short bursts of productivity in the blistering Louisiana heat, we brought this indoors. 

It looks brown and gross in the picture, because I waited until it began storming to try and photograph it, but it is actually as coral as they come. The fabric is left over from the living room drapes we made last year, and will likely not stay, but it's what I had. White upholstery does not fare well in this house. Hopefully I will have selected a sturdy and suitable replacement by the time this white fabric turns gray. Even if I was not sitting on it three days a week, Corey puts his Army uniform in this chair when he disrobes at night.



This photo is truer to the actual color, courtesy of my iPhone. No direct natural light in the bedroom makes anything in here a beast to photograph accurately, but the iPhone hates this room the least. You get the gist. This room is never going to be done, because now I need new matting for the silhouettes, and may choose to darken the frames.

Here's another iPhone shot of the chair moved next the the curtains of inspiration. See that coral striped in there? The chair is now the exact color of that stripe. How's that for color-matching?

I think my next Pinterest challenge submission may not be furniture-related. First we did the inside of the front door. Then we made the headboards. I'm getting more confident in my sewing skills, so maybe I'll partner with my Singer for the next one. Or perfect a hairdo or try my hand at art.

While you wait for me to figure that out, head on over to see what each of the Pinterest Challenge hosts have created this summer.

Sherry at Young House Love

Katie at Bower Power

Michelle at Ten June

Kate at Centsational Girl