the windsors.

Published on by Quandie

You might think I’m about to talk about England’s royal family, but no.  I’m talking about the chair kind of Windsors, not the royal kind of Windsors.

I picked up these Windsor chairs at one of the neighborhood garage sales last summer .

Structurally they are in great shape, they just have a bit of an outdated finish on them.  As soon as I saw them, I pictured them painted black.  Black is a classic color for a Windsor.  So when Dixie Belle sent me some of their chalk style paint in a color called Caviar I dug these chairs out of the carriage house to give them a makeover.

I did not sand the chairs before painting them, I just gave them a good cleaning with some TSP Substitute and started painting.  I used the same damp brush technique that I mentioned in my post on Monday, simply dipping my brush in a cup of water occasionally while painting.  It took two coats to fully cover mainly because the paint thins out using this technique, but it also goes on ultra smooth.  So for those of you who prefer to see a brush-stroke free finish, this is definitely the way to go.

Once dry I wet distressed the edges of the chairs using a damp rag and then used a 320 grit sandpaper on the seats, flat arms and flat top at the back.

I did not sand any of the spindles because that would likely have pushed me over the edge.  Painting them was putzy enough, just look at all of those spindles!

Can we just stop here a minute though and talk about this color?

The Caviar is a gorgeous deep, rich, saturated black.  It looked deep and dark even before I waxed it.

In fact, here’s a secret.  I didn’t wax the legs yet.  Obviously I have to get to that before I sell the chairs, but I was trying to take advantage of a sunny day to get my photos done so I saved the legs for later.

Before waxing I stenciled the seats with a fab french design.  I’m fairly sure I ordered this stencil via Etsy, but once again the shop I ordered from is no longer there.  I seem to have bad luck in this way with stencils.  So I’m sorry that I can’t give you a source for this one.

The stencil was just the pop of something special that took these chairs from ho-hum to fab.

Once I had the stencils done, I sanded lightly over them with 320 grit sandpaper and then waxed the chairs (and I will get to those legs!) with Dixie Belle’s Best Dang Wax in clear.

If you’re used to using Miss Mustard Seed, Homestead House or Fusion wax (like I am), don’t be freaked out when you open up the Dixie Belle clear wax and it looks really white.  I thought for sure I had gotten a white wax by mistake.  But no, ultimately it dries clear.

Also, you really won’t need a dark wax (like brown or black) to deepen the black color of this paint.  It looks gorgeous even with the clear wax.

I love how the chairs turned out.  If I had a spot for them I’d definitely keep them.  But there is no room at the inn, so they have to go.  If you are local and need a pair of Windsors, be sure to check my ‘available for local sale’ page for more details.

 

22 thoughts on “the windsors.”

  1. I would say contact the Queen, Miss Q, but you put that French stuff on there so that’s out. But seriously those chairs are so great. I think someone would love those on either side of the fireplace or at the ends of a farmhouse table with mis-matched chairs on the side. Love them, bet they took patience to paint!

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    1. Shoot! I wasn’t thinking about the queen when I added that French stuff 😉 And I agree, they would be perfect at either end of a farmhouse table, love that idea Laura!

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  3. Quandie, they sure look great with your wall hanging (I have two of those hangings myself)! I bet you’re going to have a hard time parting with these gorgeous chairs — oh, the dilemma we face being junkers! 🙂

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  4. They did come out really nice. I like the idea of putting them on both sides of a fireplace. Wish i had one upstairs. We never use the basement so no one would see them.

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  5. Wowza these are fab. Absolutely love them. Color = perfect, stencil = perfect, your location = so not perfect. Seriously I don’t have a place either but I do have a pencil post bed I am trying to convince my husband should be black. Love this color.

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    1. You might want to consider the Dixie Belle Caviar for your pencil post bed Victoria. It’s a gorgeous, rich black. I’ve found that the black milk paint fades over time, and the black Fusion acrylic paint tends to leave brush strokes. Of course, with this chalk style paint you’ll have to wax or add some other top coat. So … it’s all a trade off really.

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  8. These are more than gorgeous! I love Windsors, and these are so sweet. It is killing me that I do not live closer to you! If I were you, I would cram those babies in my house someplace! You gotta have room on your front porch at least??!I
    Lol
    Blessings

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    1. LOL, well, my house is definitely on the small side. Not much room for cramming stuff in, even on the front porch. They are going to a good home where they will get plenty of use though, so I’m happy about that 🙂

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  9. woo hoo! Today I bought some Caviar at a shop I found in a neighboring town. I debated between the two blacks and finally decided to go the darkest, Caviar, and am so glad I did when I saw these fantastic chairs you just showed. I’m excited to try the Caviar now that I’ve seen your outcome with it.

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  10. Love Love Love! They came out amazing! I was just introduced to Dixie Belle as well and I cannot say enough good things about this paint. The coverage, the smooth finish, the ease of use. I’ll be using it for many future projects. :))

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