Average But Inspired

Inspiring creativity with crafts, DIY, and home decor projects.

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Stenciled Chair Seats – A Thrifty and Fun Kitchen Chair Makeover

One thing I love is giving a plain object new life and personality with a simple change.  Stenciling the seats of my beat up kitchen chairs is precisely that kind of project.  With just a little patience and some paint, I was able to take my kitchen chairs from boring to beautiful in no time.  Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home. Thank you to Cutting Edge Stencils for providing the stencil used in this project.  The project and opinions are all my own.

This all came about because after six years of use, my white kitchen chairs were getting a little beat up.  Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.  The seats were in especially poor condition due to my kids’ use of a portable booster seat on top of them.  It scratched the finish off of almost every seat.  Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
I always toyed with the idea of repainting the chairs, but I pretty much despise spray paint because I never do it correctly (duh). Since the easy way out wasn’t an option, I was just going to leave them. Brush painting these chairs was too much work for me.

But then I got the opportunity to try out Cutting Edge Stencils’ products and a lightbulb went off in my head: stencil the chair seats to fix the problem left by the booster seat and give the chairs a totally cool new look at the same time!

Products I Used for my Stenciled Chair Seats

Links noted with an asterisk are affiliate links.  To read my disclosure policy, please click here.

How I Stenciled my Chair Seats

First, I read the directions that came with my stencil and watched a Cutting Edge Stencils’ video on how to actually do this.  Then I got to work and unscrewed the seats from the chairs, which made them incredibly easy to work with.  I lightly sanded them and painted them all over with two coats of Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint in Vintage.  Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
Once the seats dried, I applied a light coat of Elmer’s Spray Adhesive Craft Bond to the back of my Nagoya Stencil. I pressed that onto the middle of the chair seat.  I put a couple of pieces of painter’s tape on the edges of the stencil for extra hold.  Probably unnecessary but I like to play it safe.Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
Next, I dipped my roller into the Americana Multi-Surface Paint and made sure it was evenly applied on the roller with no visible wet patches. Then I gently rolled it over the entire stencil.  Once the first coat dried, I applied another.  TIP:  If you’re impatient like me, get out your hair dryer and speed up the drying process.Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
After that paint dried, I gently removed the stencil, matched it up with an already painted edge, and stenciled the right side of the seat. I repeated the process for the left side as well.  TIP:  I used the Americana Multi-Surface Paint on the first seat and switched to the Ben latex paint for the remaining seats (because I ran out of the Americana paint).  I prefer the Americana Multi-Surface Paint SO MUCH MORE.  The finish is much better, in my opinion.  It was easier to apply, less “goopy” and resulted in much less bleed through.  It comes in 2 oz. bottles at the craft store, however, so you probably have to estimate one bottle per seat. I linked to it in the supply list at an 8 oz. size, which should get you four seats.Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
After I finished all of my stenciling and the paint dried, I sealed each of the seats with polyurethane and then reattached them to the chairs (which I Magic Erasered, by the way!). Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
I am in luuuuuurrve. Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
Now I want to stencil ALL.THE.THINGS.  (The chairs look cute with my Pipe Strap Kitchen Art, don’t you think?)Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.
Even my husband likes them, which shocked me. I fully expected him to “veto” this project, but he is actually happy with them! Give old chairs new life by stenciling the seats! It's an easy project that packs a lot of punch and will help make a statement in your home.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

– Bre

Comments

  2. Sandi says

    What a change! The chairs looks so fresh and new again. I am curious about the Ben paint. Is that Benjamin Moore? Very nice work.

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Thank you, Sandi!! And yes, the Ben paint is a line of paint they carry at Benjamin Moore. It is low VOC and has a primer in it, I believe. I think because it’s thicker than the multi-surface paint, it tended to “goop up” a bit more (if that makes any sense at all! Ha!)

    • Bre says

      Thanks, Ruthie!! Someday I will re-stain that table a bit darker, but for now I’m just gonna let my kids do their art projects on it and beat it up! 🙂

  12. Angelica says

    I was going to say one of the damask stencils was my favorite but then I saw the INDIAN INLAY FURNITURE STENCIL KIT BY KIM MYLES and my decision was made! I love how versatile it and I have so many projects in mind already. 🙂 The chairs are absolutely adorable, now you just need to do the table to match! Oooh, that would certainly be gorgeous!

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Oh Angelica you are so right!! Wanna help me with that project – aaah it’s a little intimidating! 🙂 I think your stencil choice is GORGEOUS! Thanks for entering and good luck! 🙂

    • Bre says

      Oh that would be a perfect choice for anything little girl’s space!! Thanks so much and good luck! 🙂

    • Bre says

      Yes! I think that’s one of their most popular stencils! It’s gorgeous. Thank you so much for entering, and good luck, Denise!! 🙂

  20. Elaine X. says

    I love what you did with your chairs! The stencils make the chairs look so much more fancy! I love all the stencils on Cutting Edge Stencil’s website that I can’t decide! I’d love to try a stencil to makeover my bathroom!

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Thank you, Elaine! I know – they have such gorgeous patterns that it’s hard to choose! A stencil in a bathroom is such a great idea! I was thinking of doing that in my kids’ bathroom! Great pattern without the hassle of wallpaper.

  27. Cat says

    I have used Cutting Edge Stencils to brighten up a wall in a dark corner of my house – and I felt the same way afterward – wanting to stencil ALL THE THINGS! Ha! And if it wasn’t for baby #2 having come soon after, I might have done just that. My favorite is the Casablanca all over stencil, which is the one I used. Your seats look so good – and it’s giving me a hankering to do another stencil project! Nice work, Bre!

    Reply

    • Bre says

      Aw, thanks, Cat!!! That’s so awesome that you’ve worked with their stencils before – aren’t they awesome? Thanks so much for stopping by. I am looking forward to checking out your blog! xo

    • Bre says

      Hey, Jenny!! Thank you. 🙂 Yes your porch that you did with their stencils is awesome!! Such a great product line! Have a great weekend!

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