so. many. small. chairs.

Published on by Quandie

As I was scrolling through my past projects and looking for themes among my small projects, I realized I’ve painted (and/or otherwise refurbished) quite a few kid sized chairs.  In fact, a search of my blog turned up over 30 of them!

I always pick up the wooden ones when I see them at garage sales.

This style is my favorite to work with.

They are adorable painted with milk paint like this one painted in Miss Mustard Seed’s Aviary.

They are really well-suited to that chippy look.

That gorgeous green is In a Pickle from Sweet Pickens Milk Paint.

It’s also the perfect style to turn into a Christmas decoration.

They are also fun for hanging on the wall when cut in half.

I’ve added stencils to them …

And I’ve added transfers to them …

But I also find other styles of kid size chairs as well, like the folding ones.

This little pair of folding chairs were painted in Homestead House’s Laurentien milk paint, and then I added some re.design with prima transfers (Everyday Farmhouse and Sweet Apricot).

And this sweet little folding chair was also painted in Homestead House milk paint in a color called Soldier Blue.

I’ve painted up a handful of kid sized rocking chairs as well.  This next one is painted in a mix of milk paint colors that I whipped up one day.

And this one is painted in Dixie Belle’s Rebel Yellow.

I don’t mind if the chairs have some metal parts either, I just paint up the metal as well.

This next chair is actually my ‘painting chair’ …

I sit on it when painting the bottoms of large pieces like armoires or big dressers that can’t be lifted up onto horses.  I’ve gotten to the point in life where sitting on the floor isn’t terribly comfortable anymore.

I painted a similar style chair in a spooky look last year and it ended up being one of my favorite painted chairs …

And actually, I even sometimes paint the all metal chairs like this little metal folding chair …

Or, in some cases, I just add a transfer …

That chair, by the way, has not sold.  If any of you locals are interested, I’m marking it down to $10.  Check out my available for local sale page for more details.

And then there are a few random styles of chair that I’ve worked with, like this one …

And this one …

Last winter I did a little experiment and added a stencil without first painting the chair just to see how it would sell.  It did sell, maybe not quite as quickly as the painted versions though.

And then sometimes I just leave the chairs as I found them (or more accurately, as my picker Sue found them) …

She found this little pair of folding chairs for me a couple of years back.  I hung them on the wall to stage the photos of this dresser …

And then I decided that I really liked how they looked hanging on the wall so I kept them and hung them in our bedroom.

How about you, do you ever paint kid sized chairs?  Do you have a favorite style?  Leave a comment and let me know!

 

18 thoughts on “so. many. small. chairs.”

  1. I love all your kid sized chairs! Wish I had room to keep at least one of them around for the grandkids (only one is still small enough to use one now). Especially like the flat ones from Sue – great on the wall instead of pictures. Very original!

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  2. First of all, I love them all, but the Halloween chair is “to die for”! It’s my fav! I haven’t painted any kid’s chairs as they are so expensive here in NW IN – everyone thinks they should be $10-$20 each to start with even before painting. I, myself do love all chairs, big and small – so versatile. I actually painted two chairs similar to the black chairs you painted some time ago. They haven’t sold yet, but I do love how they turned out. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. Well, $10 is my limit. I do often see them being sold for $20 or more as well, but I pass those by. Well … unless I just can’t resist, and then I know I’m going to make about $5 profit for all of that work, but I still enjoy the process 🙂

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  3. I have sold a number of child size chairs over the years, too. Some in their original paint, some painted and decorated. I think the easiest sell was one I had in my shop in my “workshop” area, waiting to be painted – the old kindergarten kind with a natural finish. Someone (adult) bought it as it was to use in her office/classroom to sit lower to the floor. Love your inspiration – your choice of colors and decoration is always spot on.

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    1. These chairs can be super practical for things like that. I also like to sit on them when taking photos of furniture, they put me just a the right height.

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  4. WordPress is giving me a hard time about posting a comment. So I apologize if this is a duplicate and you should just delete if it is:
    This post made me want to keep the 3 kitchen chairs I just put in the garage for my husband to donate. We just moved into a new house on the 1st, (“it’s a process” is my new mantra) and though I will eventually have a dedicated painting space in this house, I first need to get everything put away and /or cleared out before I can start. There are 3 of my kitchen chairs and 2 stools on the giveaway list. But now, I’m thinking I should stash them (but where? my husband is going to ask 😳) so I can paint them once we are more settled and then I can find a space for them (but where? my husband will ask again 😜). Maybe on the covered porch outside… or in our bedroom … or … or … . LOL. Thanks for the inspiration. I’m actually itching to get painting and am frustrated with the “process” of settling in. The idea of painting my chairs will help keep me going.
    Also, I love, love, love the dresser at the end of this post. Is there a blog a post on it? I did a quick search for dressers, but didn’t see this one. (There are a lot – I may have just missed it.)

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    1. That dresser goes back to October 2018 (you can see the post here). As for your move, phew, I can imagine what a process that is! I absolutely dread the day we ever move out of this house, I can’t even imagine it. Can you hang the chairs from the rafters or walls in your garage to store them until you get to painting again? I always feel like there is more room if I can get things up off the floor. And maybe your husband won’t look up 😉

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  5. I am always on the hunt for child sized chairs, preferably little rocking chairs, I have a soft spot for them, but I will grab any style of little chairs…they are easy to paint, distress or stencil, and I usually sew a little seat pillow with ties…and they sell. of course I never know when or where I will find them, but I am always excited when I do.

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      1. ha, well it is good you document so well. I guess I usually just notice what you did and the outcome. However, I when I wanted to paint something, I was glad you put the paint company and color in your post so I could copy it, so I must have paid attention once.:)

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      2. In some ways this blog is worth it just for the ability to go back and look for a particular product or technique I want to use again 😉

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  7. I love all of the sweet little chairs! I currently have 3 little chairs and a round table set that I cannot decide what to do with. I need to get it ready for my booth, but I’m so indecisive about this set. I guess I just need to do something and if I hate it then redo it. It is only paint after all, right?

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