Saturday

Dining Chairs With Old Sign Stencils


Somewhere between the stomach flu and my current head cold, I decided to get rid of a couple 20 something year old chairs.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

And then I decided to keep them.


The chairs were an experiment with painting over fabric 3 years ago that worked really well mostly because the fabric was nice and tight and the chairs are well made.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

The two dining wing chairs were part of a matching set with four all fabric side chairs.

Those fabric mates left the house once my dining room was no longer of the cranberry persuasion.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

But unlike the dining room in many homes, as my kids aged it has actually become highly used for more than just homework.

The man of the house likes to sit in those wing chairs when he comes home from work dusty and dirty, and if I keep these old 20 something chairs, neither he or I have to worry about spilled coffee or if he leaves a little sheetrock dust behind.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

The fabric has a slightly raised pattern that after it was painted gave the look like canvas of an oil painting.  You know, because I'm such a Rembrandt.

The pattern also makes an excellent background for a vintage distressed old look.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

Like I said, I wanted to get rid of these chairs so I started checking out replacement possibilities online.

To get an idea of what chairs were available I looked on all the big furniture websites.

I looking on craigslist.

I found chairs I liked, but I wasn't in the mood to spend upwards of $300 each on chairs I would need to monitor for coffee splatters, or chairs that already came with their own coffee splatters.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

The dining room has become used more as it aged, and I've become more cheap as I have.

Besides, I didn't want to deny my husband his after work relaxation in the chairs he has been relaxing in, cup of coffee in hand, for the past 20 something years.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com
Pre letter sanding
So as I sat on the couch blowing my nose and debating whether the stomach flu or a head cold is worse, I looked at the blank slate that was the backs of the chairs.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

I decided maybe I could give them just one more make over that would jazz them up enough to end my quest - at least for now - for new chairs.

And I did.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

I laid out every stencil I have from the line of Old Sign Stencils that Donna at Funky Junk Interiors has created.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

I fetched my jar of darn near empty Fusion Mineral Paint in Chocolate Brown, and with a box of tissue close by I sneezed and coughed my way through the random placement of stencils to embellish my old chairs.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

No two sides are exactly the same, and the only consistent thing I did was use the Route 66 Stencil on all four wings, but I worried not one second if the placement was the same.

When all the painting was done I took some steel wool and sanded all the lettering down.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

If you have followed the Bliss Ranch blog for a while you know that often when I make something I include some sort of memory that is special to me.

When the oldest was about 3 years old he referred to going grocery shopping as going to the "groceries house".  We still say that.  Guess he figured it was accurate, that's where all the edibles lived.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

So on the bottom of one chair I included 'grocery house' followed with 4 - 14, his birthday.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

The backs of the six side chairs all have my six kids birth dates incorporated into them.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

The subway lettered style on the wing chairs were just the punch the table needed.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

As I was typing up this post, I sort of felt like I should have started out with "it was a dark and dreary day..." because it was, but I ended up liking the drama the dark day created in the photos of the chairs.

Stenciled Subway Art Dining Chairs w/ Old Sign Stencils, Bliss-Ranch.com

I could either retake the photos with some mid day sunshine and do some pretty staging, or blow my nose and take some Tylenol.

Tylenol wins by a nose.


Links to all that chair jazz:
Cottage Side Chairs with vintage sack style HERE
Original wingbacks before & after/pre-paint CHAIRS post

Click the links below for products used:
To get your own Funky Junk >>>>> OLD SIGN STENCILS
FUSION MINERAL PAINT <<<< my paint of choice



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29 comments :

  1. these turned out incredibly, bliss!

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  2. LOVE!!! Did you know that you could be so creative when you were sick? Love that you incorporated that fun memory of the grocery house too....makes total sense to me. :)

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  3. OMG there is nothing else to say! I love love love these chairs and would have them in my house in a second! Brawn stay off those gorgeous chairs!! Great job Bliss <3

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  4. OUTSTANDING project! You did it again!

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  5. Mind blown! I totally want to TOSS my new (very crappily made I might add) chairs out and find two well built wing chairs to do this. Soooooo gorgeous!

    Get better soon, so you can fully appreciate what you just created! Either that or you should get sick more often? haha

    And thank you for your mention of the stencils! :)

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  6. These look awesome! As I'm typing this I'm looking over at the old pink corduroy covered wing chair in my work space wondering if it would paint well. We shall see! Hope you feel better soon - my husband has the flu and I'm avoiding him like the plague! Good reason to stay in my work space!

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  7. Your chairs are awesome Bliss! Love them!

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  8. Really awesome! I have a chair in my garage that I started painting years ago (like 5 years ago) and got the first coat on and quit. Now seeing your fabulous chairs, I'm inspired to give them another try. Thanks for sharing this.

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  9. What dining chair Bliss! Seriously! Your creative use of Donna's stencils is spectacular. Love the use of birthdays and memories. The moody atmosphere of your photos is perfect.
    This is one of my all-time favorite re-do's of furniture. Thank you!!!!
    I hope you are feeling MUCH better!!
    ~ Christina in FL

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  10. These chairs are amazing!!!!!!❤️🌷❤️❤️

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  11. As someone who is memory-challenged, I'm proud to say I remember when you did these chairs a couple years ago and I was highly impressed with that episode. I must say you've done it again. All hail Bliss!! (And no, I'm not wishing for hail.)

    Well done my friend!
    andi

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  12. Just another terrific idea from the cold-fogged brain of Bliss! ;)

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  13. Such a great idea. You're amazing. Hope you're feeling better!

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  14. I just love them, I've been wanting to paint a chair forever. Great job!

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  15. Your chairs look so neat! I love how you did these. They really are a perfect look at your table with the other chairs. I'm sorry to hear that you've been so sick. I would have to say the stomach flu would be worse. I usually make deals with God whenever I'm dealing with stuff like that! Ha! Hope you feel better soon.

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  16. These turned out amazing!! I love how you included something special from your family and the birthdates of the kids in the design!! I hope you're feeling better

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  17. Totally fab in every way! You are amazing! Feel better soon!

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  18. I LOVE your chairs!

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  19. Great results on a fantastic project. Sure hope by now, that you're feeling a lot better!

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  20. OH these are great, Bliss! These are so much better than anything new! I have chair envy...
    Hope you are starting to feel better!

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  21. I'm in love with your chairs! Can you tell me what kind of paint you did the original white with? Was it also Mineral Fusion or another brand? I want to make sure I start with the right paint. Thanks for your help.

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  22. Fantabulous and so Bliss Ranch. LOVE them!!!

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  23. These chairs are nothing short of fantastical!

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  24. I love these! Probably one of the best redo's I've seen! Great match with the side chairs and are a total compliment to your lovely dining room!

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  25. I assume you are feeling more chipper since you wrote this post or I would wish you well. Oh man Bliss, it has been too long since I have visited your little corner of blog world!! I have missed you! You never cease to inspire and amaze! This it just perfect in every way, down to the simple personal touches! I LOVE them!

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  26. Damn! I felt positive that I had made a comment on your fantastic chairs. That would mean I was caught up. The chairs are perfect. Original. Clever. Gorgeous. And every other word you can imagine.

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  27. Damn! I felt positive that I had made a comment on your fantastic chairs. That would mean I was caught up. The chairs are perfect. Original. Clever. Gorgeous. And every other word you can imagine.

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