Painted Chair for Outdoors - Love Grows Wild (2024)

Learn how to create the perfect antique finish on furniture with this step-by-step tutorial sponsoredby DecoArt.I have my favorite products to use and the best tips and tricks ready to share with you!

Can we just talk about that chair color for a second? You all know I am a neutrals girl when it comes to decorating my house, so a color like this is WAYoutside my comfort zone generally. I think my mint desk in the office is just about the only real pop of color to be found! But I tend to feel a little more playful when it comes to outdoor decor, and thatis exactly what I had in mind for this gorgeous chair.

There’s a house I drive by sometimes that has the cutest old chair in the front yard sitting next to a tree. The paint is all chipped away, the seat is nearly falling apart, and it looks like it has been out there for decades. Every time I drive by that house, I can’t help but thinkhow cute the chair would be with a little potted plant sitting on the seat or a wreath tied to the back for the holidays. I decided it was time to have a cute outdoor chair of my own!

I recently picked up an old wood chair for about $15 and gave it a gorgeous antique finish with a bright pop of color. I wanted my chair to look just as old and weathered as the chair that inspired me, so today I’m going to share exactly what I did to achieve this beautifully aged finish. I’ll list the specific products I used and some will include affiliate links. Thank you for helping support our blog!

You’ll need:

paint
dark wax
matte varnish
metal scraper

I like using a chalky finish paint for a few reasons: no prep work (a.k.a. sanding or primer) is required, it has a beautiful chalky, matte finish when dry, and it chips and distresses perfectly if you’re going for that look. For this chair I used DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint in a 3:1 ratio of Primitive and Treasure.

I started by wiping down the entire chair with a wet rag to remove any dirt, dust, and (ew) spider webs.

Then I painted on the custom paint color I mixed with a small brush. This chair only needed one good coat of paint… yay! It looks bright baby blue now, but we’ll fix that in the next few steps!

Once the paint was dry (which doesn’t take long with chalk paint), I applied a dark waxall over the chair. You’ll want to start small because a little goes a LONG way with dark wax. I like to keep a paper plate nearby and barely dip a paint brush into the wax, then wipe the majority off onto the plate before applying it to the furniture. This way you have better control of how much wax you use and don’t get dark spots that won’t blend evenly. Once you brush the wax onto an area, buff the wax into the paint with an old rag. I applied wax to the entire chair, but added extra in the corners and crevices and anywhere the chair would normally see a lot of aging. Below you can see an example of what the chair looks like with and without wax. I know this “dirty” aged look isn’t for everyone, but for a chair that is going to live outdoors and get dirty anyway, I think itis perfect!

After the wax was finished, I grabbed my handy dandy scraper. You can also use sandpaper to distress paint, but I’ve been favoring the scraper lately because it gives you a lot more control and you can get a more rough, random chipped paint look. Just run the scraper along edges and corners to remove some of the paint and expose the wood underneath. Focus on areas that would become worn naturally and try to be random about your distressing. You don’t want it to look uniform! There’s not a right or wrong way to do it, I’d just suggest starting small and adding more as you go until you get the look you want.

And last but not least, I sealed the chair. This chair will live outside in the elements, so I want to protect the finish I just created as much as possible. I used DecoArt’s Ultra Matte Varnishapplied with a brush in an even coat all over the chair. It dries clear but adds a little bit of depth to the color of the paint, which I love. It’s also a matte finish (as the name suggests) so it won’t ruin your gorgeously antique finish with a super high gloss look.

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!