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Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer

Simple DIY tutorials and thrifty furniture and decor makeovers

Vintage Banker’s Chair Makeover

Happy Trash-to-Treasure day, dear friends! On the second Tuesday of the month, I and four of my favorite blogging friends get together to bring y’all brand new trash-to-treasure makeovers! My project for today is a vintage banker’s chair makeover.

Look for the links to my friends’ makeovers at the bottom!

I originally planned to share what I did with this tea kettle today:

A perfect trashy makeover, right?? Except I was all ready to share it LAST week when I thought it was the second Tuesday lol! I ended up sharing it anyway last Tuesday.

You can see how sweet it turned out HERE.

But then I had to go back to my stash and see what else would work for today, and I immediately locked eyes (if it had eyes, they would have locked), with this beauty of a banker’s chair:

I would never have paid money for this chair as it is just way too masculine for my taste. It has lived in my hubby’s office for years, but he’s doing some redecorating there and was just going to toss this in the dumpster behind his building.

I’m sure he could hear my voice in his head and then he thought better of that idea and asked me first.

I just couldn’t see this perfectly good (and comfy!) chair get tossed, so here we are!

My challenge was to make it a whole lot less masculine.

I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I love.

Clean

The first step to any makeover is a good cleaning!

I cleaned this chair with White Lightning using a terrycloth applicator pad which works great! You can just throw them in the wash and use them over and over again.

I then swapped out my water for clean water and gave it another wipe down to rinse. White Lightning is a degreaser and deglosser and gloves are recommended.

Paint

This chair did not appear to have any properties that would leave me to believe it would have any bleed through, so I went right to painting it in Dixie Belle’s Fluff:

Fluff is more of a vintage white rather than a bright white like Cotton and usually covers in just TWO coats.

There were some scratches on the seat and in that area, I did end up getting a bit of the tannins bleeding through since the original sealer had been worn away.

To remedy that, I applied BOSS in White just to that area:

Spot BOSS small areas of bleed-through

I allowed that to dry overnight, and then I was able to paint over that one area the next day with no bleed through. (In the above photo, you can see how Fluff compares to a more bright white as well.)

Once everything was dry, I sanded all over with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around an old sanding sponge.

This chair had lots of dings and scratches, so distressing helped to camouflage that a bit.

Adding a Silkscreen Stencil

I really wanted to add a stencil to this chair, so I looked though all of the Silkscreen Stencils.

I loved the roses from this Floral Silkscreen set:

silkscreen stencil Floral

SALE!!

All the silkscreen stencils have been marked down 30% to make room for new inventory! If you’ve ever wanted to give them a try, NOW is the time!

I’ve also marked down all of the first and second transfer releases from the Belles and Whistles line AND all their decoupage papers as well! It’s all 15-30% off!

You can find everything thing that has been marked down in the ON SALE tab in my Etsy shop or HERE!

I used this acrylic craft paint for this step as chalk paint dries a bit too quickly:

Using Silkscreen Stencils

The Silk paint works well too if you have that on hand. There’s a small plastic spatula that you use to apply the paint…super easy!!

You can keep moving and using the same stencil over and over as long as it isn’t touching another fresh stencil that isn’t dry yet.

These are adhesive, so you get super crisp, sharp lines!

They can be used up to 10 times each. I don’t even have any regular stencils that I’ve used that much, so that will create a lot of projects.

Once you’re finished, rinse the stencil right away. The scrubby soaps are perfect for cleaning these, but a washcloth works also.

Then you can just let them dry on a paper towel.

I washed and rinsed these several times while working on this chair, and you can pat them dry and keep stenciling!

When I was done, it was still adhesive as many times as I rinsed and patted it dry:

I kept going until I was happy with the pattern I created and then let everything dry overnight.

Seal

Since the seat of this chair was pretty scratched up, it may get scratched again, so to give it the best protection, I sealed it with Gator Hide using the blue sponge applicator…

Sealing with Gator Hide

The After of this Vintage Banker’s Chair

Here is how this once very masculine banker’s chair looks now:

Painted Banker's Chair

I wanted to keep it neutral, so I stuck to black and white.

Painted Banker's Chair

The silkscreen stencils are incredibly detailed…

Vintage Banker's Chair makeover

I gave just one of the legs a little love as well…

Vintage Banker's Chair makeover

And here it is from the front…

Vintage Banker's Chair makeover

It’s hard to know when to stop. I really could have kept adding and covered the whole chair!

Floral Silkscreen stencil

But I stuck with just a little here and there…

 

It isn’t easy to work over these curves with an adhesive stencil, so I added it to the front and then went back once it was dry and added it to the top, matching up the pattern…

It definitely took away the masculine edge it started with!

Floral Silkscreen stencil

What do y’all think?

Vintage Banker's Chair Makeover wth stencil

I hope you enjoyed this one! I’m just happy I could save it from the trash!!

Here’s what my friends are rescuing today!

1. Prodigal Pieces

2. Artsy Chicks Rule

3. Salvaged Inspirations

4. Girl in the Garage

That’s one more from my biggest haul ever complete!

If you missed any so far, you can catch up below:

Terra Clay Paint Case Makeover
Tea Kettle Makeover
Tray Update with Stencils
Painting the Smalls #18
How to Turn a Spindle Bed into a Bench
Dated Shelf Makeover
80’s Clock Repurposed
Stenciled Demilune Table
DIY Fabric Lamp Shades & $5 Thrift Store Lamps
Thrift Store Dresser Makeover

Don’t forget to check out the ON SALE TAB in my Etsy shop and see what else has been marked down!

All orders over $50 ship FREE!

Thursday is my birthday woohoo…another year of life, and I feel SO blessed!  With that, I’ll be playing the rest of the week instead of working, but I’ll still be popping into your inbox with this mirror:

Have a great week!

UPDATE: See how I gave this a gorgeous new look HERE now!

XOXO,

 

 

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Comments

  1. You brought that chair right up-to-date with those lovely tattoos! No more vault-sitting for her! 😊 She’s coming to the main floor where all the action is! 😉 Nicely done, Christy. 🥰

  2. Wow, that turned out really cute! You saved it from the land fill, YAY!! I received my dixie bell package from you, and I just have to say I didn’t have to fluff at all, and it is so much cuter in person than the pictures even, I LOVE it so much! I just sit and look at it and will love it for the rest of my life!! My husband usually doesn’t say much about anything I bring into our home, and he even said it was beautiful! You are awesome and I appreciate you and what you do so much!!

    • Aww thank you, Mary! YAY!! I’m so thrilled that it arrived safe and sound, and I love that you love it!! I really enjoyed making make. Enjoy, my sweet friend!! XOXO

  3. I felt so excited to see this, last week I saw it and fell in love, its such a great strong chair, so beautifully made. You did it proud, it looks stunning, and the stencil is perfect for this.

    • Thank you so much, Janette! It is so well crafted and very comfy, so I was thrilled to be able to make it pretty! XOXO

  6. It’s LOVELY! I think the minimalistic look with the stencil is perfect!! Great job…😃😍☺️🙃

  7. I love the transformation. It’s time we show love and embrace the solid and sturdy old chairs of yesterday. Good job Christy!

  8. Another lovely piece! I always connect with your creativity

    I do have a question. How do you know when a rescue is worth spending the cost of supplies. Between the Boss and the paint and the stencil or a transfer and the sealer, costs can really add up. I’m not trying to sell them. Just pieces I’m doing for myself or family and friends. Any advice would be appreciated. As always, thanks for sharing your talents!

    • Thank you so much, Gayle! I think you can justify it more if you are creating pieces you and your loved ones will enjoy for years to come. If you consider the cost of purchasing brand new vs the cost of supplies, it makes good sense. And while the initial investment for the BOSS, sealers, etc might be a bit much, they will last through several projects. I hope that helps! XOXO

  9. Beautiful! I have 2 of those old chairs stuck in back of my shed! They keep getting farther back in there since I had no idea what to do with the chunky things. Love the white/black contrast and the way you wrapped the design around arms and legs. It’s cooled off in the mornings a little so I want to drag my chairs out and get started—before I forget what you did. Have a wonderful weekend!!

    • Thank you, Cecilia! Chunky is a great way to describe them, but a little paint really helped to give them a lift! Enjoy transforming yours, my friend! XOXO

  10. The makeover really did soften the clunky/hard lines of this chair. Bankers chairs always seem like they would be stiff and uncomfortable. However I’ve found that with the somewhat larger seat pan and the fact that they are usually incredibly well made; they are very supportive and comfortable.

  12. Ooh, Christy, amazing what a little paint and some imagination can do! I was sure there’d be some upholstery involved😁 I have a plain, bulky chair that’s been crying out for a makeover and would be very happy to sport some of your rice paper decoupage paper (or the transfers I bought months ago and have been hoarding since).

    • It really is amazing what even just paint can do! Start painting that chair and the ideas will flow! XOXO

  13. Absolutely fabulous!!!The black and white was the perfect choice. Now that “she”is transformed,you husband won’t want it back!! Will you keep it or send to the shop?Beautiful work .

    • Thanks so much, Charleen! My husband actually liked the outcome, but you’re right lol…he doesn’t want it back. This will be heading to the shop! XOXO

  15. Oh my, Christy, I would not have thought this chair could look so lovely! Your vision always amazes me! 🙂 Love the black and white – so classy looking. So funny that someone mentioned “tattoos” because that is what I was thinking, too. She is a beauty!!

    • Aww thank you, Patty! I really appreciate that! I am a sucker for a simple black and white look also. And yes, it really does look like tattoos lol! XOXO

    • Thank you so much, my friend! I appreciate that! It will be a hands-off day for this mama for sure lol, although I’m good as long as I get out of cooking! XOXO

  18. Hiya Christy,
    I am in love with this makeover. My Gramma always put a little something on the back of the clothes she made, usually the hem of a dress/skirt. She said it was like giving a kiss goodbye for the person to remember you. The tattoo on the back leg of the chair reminds me of that. Keep them coming … all my best …./leslie

  23. Another AWESOME makeover! I loved the placements of the stenciled areas. I glanced through what’s left of your haul and I hope you will choose that cute little drop-side table in the near future. It’s adorable already and I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with it!

  24. I love how this turned out!! I have a dining room set that needs to be painted and I’m so intimidated painting it by hand. Did you paint this chair by hand? How do you avoid drips and unevenness on the “spindles?”

    As usual, I love what you’re doing and look forward to your emails to inspire me!

    • Thank you so much, Deanna! With chairs, you can cheat the first coat by using Rustoleum spray primer. Then follow up with Paint. I paint everything by hand, but I find it relaxing, so I might be nuts ha ha! I put on a good podcast and listen while I work. As for the spindles, just keep watching for drips as you go. You can totally do this! XOXO

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