DIY Network

Paint Effects for Chairs Use these texture tips from artist Maya Griffiths. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-137

You'll be sitting pretty in a custom-painted chair.

Artist Maya Griffiths paints furniture with the same abandon she uses for her custom wall treatments: There's not a lot of priming and prepping involved. Instead, she uses several coats of paint and lots of colors, sanding periodically to bring all the different levels to the surface.

Maya and Michele Beschen painted up some kitchen chairs to show B. Original viewers how this painting style works in action. The techniques are easy to duplicate, but the results are one of a kind. Scroll down to see how it's done.

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Artist's Painted Chair

Materials:

wooden chair
matte acrylic paint, several colors
metallic acrylic paint
paint brushes
rag
sandpaper
water-based polyurethane sealer

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

• If the chair is raw wood, you don't need to do any prep work before painting with this technique. If the chair is finished, sand it to remove the paint or varnish; the paint you add won't stick to a slick surface. Do not prime the chair.

• Paint the chair all over with a matte acrylic base coat (figure A). Don't paint in all one direction: Brush strokes should be short and go in random directions. This adds dimension to the piece before you even begin with the paint effects.

• Paint over the base coat with metallic paint. Let the paint dry, then sand lightly around the edges (figure B).
  
  
• Pour several related colors of acrylic paint into a plastic plate or foam tray. Get multiple colors on your brush at once to paint.

• Keep adding layers of paint, wiping off areas as desired. Let the paint dry between coats.

• After a few coats of paint, sand lightly on areas you want to distress (figure C). The final piece will show parts of several layers of paint, as well as some raw wood.

• Once you're happy with the overall effect, seal the chair with two coats of water-based polyurethane.