Number Fifty-Three: Black Painted Chair & Where I Get My Inspiration From

One of the pieces we picked up on our trip to Rhode Island (you can read all about that here), was this classic wooden chair.

I had been looking for something similar to this for a little bit and the price, quality and style of this one fit the bill. For the record, I paid about $20 and it is a solid piece originally made in Gardner, Massachusetts. Whenever I find pieces from Garner they are always super well built.

The actual style of chair that I was looking for had a somewhat similar shape, but the back was a bit higher and more decorative. We did end up seeing one on the same trip that was nearly identical, but, it was $400...just a bit out of our price range.

Anyway, the original stain of the chair was a bit flakey and worn in some spots, but that was fine since I knew I wanted to paint it black to match my inspiration piece.

And where exactly do I get my inspiration for furniture and decorating? It can really come from all over. A lot of it is honestly just me planning and processing things in my head. But, I also gravitate towards magazines, books and other blogs. Another biggie is antique malls. I love looking at older pieces with original finishes and seeing if I can recreate them on my own. My plan for this chair came from Better Homes and Gardens' March 2015 issue. See that super gorgeous chair!

Anyway, I knew prepping and painting this was going to be a huge pain. Spindles are not fun. And are notoriously time consuming. I lived with the chair unpainted for a couple of weeks and just felt meh about it. I really wanted it black and leaving it stained just did not have the right vibe.

Here it is in the same spot as found...

...and painted...

To alleviate the prep I decided to use chalk paint. I'm typically not a fan of chalk paint at all, but it has its place for certain pieces and if it meant I didn't need to painstakingly sand each spindle I was all for it.

I did a couple of coats and just lightly distressed the chair. I wanted some wear, but not super distressed and aged looking.

And there you have it. I'm looking to list my house in the next couple of weeks so I don't want to do major changes and redecorating (although I am dying to), but this little project changed the look of the entry, was easy and inexpensive and will definitely be following us to our new home.