Let's Go Aqua

I'm a sucker for all things Boston.  Getting Boston clothes.  Getting Boston shoes.  Getting Boston organic foods.  And even getting Boston old chairs to re-do. 

His 1st birthday pictures are coming up next weekend and I'm getting things ready for them.  Part of getting things ready, means making sure I get his "props."  I have been looking fiercely for an old wooden chair to re-do for him for his pictures.  I knew I wanted something bright and cheerful, but on the boy-ish side, too. 

I went straight to my favorite website, Craigslist!  If I was paid to search for things on Craigslist I'd be one rich momma.  Luckily, 2 weekends ago I found this rocker.  I emailed the lady to make sure it was still available and two days later we went and picked it up for a measly $15.  The look, the price and size matched exactly what I had in mind. 

Best of all...he fits perfectly in it.  Oh and he loves to be rocked back and forth. 

My first step was to do some major sanding.  The rocker was old and worn so there were many scratches that I wanted to sand down as much as possible.  I wasn't looking for a "brand new" look but I wanted to make sure that here weren't any rough edges or parts that had splinters. 

I started with Norton 60 Course grit sand paper.  It's the heaviest grit in my package.  It does the heavy removing and stripping.

 

Then I moved to 150 Fine grit paper.  This prepares surfaces for their first coat of paint.  There were a lot of imperfections left but that's the look I was going for.  :-)

 

 

She's sanded, wiped down and ready for primer.  *Always make sure to wipe your whole chair down before adding your primer or your first coat of paint.  You wouldn't want specks of sand showing through your paint.*
First up - primer.  I wasn't sure if the wood would soak up too much of the paint so to be on the safe side I went ahead and added two light coats of primer.  I let the first coat dry for about 10 minutes before adding the second coat.  I've used this spray primer before so I knew it would do the job.

I went very light on this first coat.  I didn't want to take a chance in having any of the paint run. 

Up close of the first coat.  You can still see a little brown through the white but I would take care of that in the second coat.

 Second coat made it all around white.  No wood-showing-through spots. 

 

It took me a few days to decide which color to paint it. Originally I started with Rustoleum's Apple Red in gloss on one of the back legs as a test and it didn't quite scream, "You love me!" So I went back to Home Depot and picked up 2 cans of this:

Rustoleum's Aqua in satin.  I've always wanted to paint something this color...I had in mind a dresser for our guest room but thought this chair would be the perfect victim. 

So after about an hour of letting the primer sit and dry.  I added 3 coats of paint.  Yes, THREE.  I could have gone with just 2 but staying with the being on the "safe side" theme I wanted to give it just one more coat.  So, here she blows...

 These pictures make her look more bright than she really is.  She's really a soft aqua.  Can we all say together...I'm.In.Love!  Kinda like love at first sight.  That kinda love. 

 She's perfect for my baby's little tooshy to sit in for his pictures. 

I didn't stop there!  In order to get the look I was going for which was the chic look, I needed to make it just that - Chic!  So I got my 150 fine grit paper out again and sanded some of the edges so that the wood underneath would show through.  And it did after a I put some muscle into it.  Remember - I did put 3 semi-heavy coats of paint on this baby.  

 

 

 

She's ready to shine in her pictures!  :-)  I'm excited to share our pictures with you! 

Breakdown of Cost:
- rocker $15
- primer (I already owned) $0
- sanding paper $7
- paint $9
Total Cost: $31

Not too shabby.  A chair like this from Pottery Barn could run you 3x this amount. 

~Jeni