I love little french bistro chairs…
Shabby painted white ones,
vintage greens,
and frenchy blues or grays…
they are darling.
I have had so many questions about these little french bistro chairs
These are not antique- they are from Kmart ~
and just $30.00 each!
They started out looking like this:
So beachy and fun, but a bit bright for blending with my shabby french style.
I was thinking layers of paint…
I loved the deep leafy green of these chairs
(French Chic)
and the shabby chippy colors on these gorgeous chairs…
(Essentially French)
I bought green and white glossy spray paint as well
as primer.
Use primer or scratch up the glossy surface of the chairs before starting
to help the paint stick, otherwise it might scratch off.
I painted one chair green first and covered it completely.
I actually really liked the look~
and thought about leaving it
but I stuck with my original plan of layering.
I added the white and shabbied it up by sanding off some of the areas
along the back and seat edges and a couple areas that stuck out a bit more than others.
For the antique green ones~
I used the green paint and lightly misted over the chair,
more in some areas – less in others.
I love how it deepened the turquoise and gave them a bit of an antique look
even before sanding the edges.
When the chairs were dry
I used 2″ block number stencils (also from Kmart)
and black paint &
stenciled numbers on the backs.
I am absolutely loving these little chairs and their new looks.
They are perfect outside but so charming indoors as well.
At the table,
or in the bathroom holding a basket of towels for guests
flanking the fireplace …
or
nearly anywhere you would like a sweet little chair
for an extra seat.
I want to give a HUGE shout out to my right hand girl…
my little mini-me 🙂 my daughter Ansley.
She helped me so much with the outdoor makeover that I did with Kmart!
From our girl-time shopping together to helping me tidy the yard
and move furniture and plant plants.
I couldn’t have finished it all in time without her help!
LOVE those! Such a great price~ I never heard back from you about the kmart thingy?? Hugs,Rachel 😉
I love the chairs, Courtney and just may 'borrow' your idea!! ;-D
XO,
Janie
They look great in the green & the white
Ohhhh my gosh, you SERIOUSLY got those chairs at KMart???? I must say, I'm shocked! I haven't been to KMart in a million years but I'm thinking I need to go after reading this! Wow!!!
I still can't believe you got these at Kmart! I was just there a couple of days ago looking for a crane for my grandson. I didn't see any, or would've picked up a couple too.
Great job on the transformation! They are gorgeous!!
Sherri
I totally love how you transformed those chairs Courtney and think putting the numbers on them was a fabulous idea! I can't wait till my girl is old enough to do those mother/daughter shopping trips and it sounds like you guys had great fun. You probably don't have to bring a baggie with goldfish crackers for her do you? LOL!
Have a great Monday my friend,
Vanessa
I love what you did! It is absolutely amazing!
Smiles~
C
I need to find a KMart…quickly……your chairs are delightful!
Well, this is pretty fabulous! What a wonderful result! Everybody loves this style!
No KMart here or I would jump at the chance. Great transformation.
Wow great find ~ the chairs are absolutely wonderful 😉
I LOVE what you've done with the chairs! They're gorgeous!
Love those chairs!
Love how you added the age to the chairs. They look great!
These are wonderful! I love what you did with them.
~Heidi
Courtney you make me want to get my tush in gear and finish my outdoor dining area. I have all the chairs mix and match ready. Your bistro chairs are just the most charming things ever. Love the color layering you chose to do.
I saw an amazing vintage look one at Marshalls today, but was in too much of a hurry to get it. I have a few but one can never ever have too many. I love the way you numbered yours, wonderful, tami
I also love those chairs! My only hesitation would be their sturdiness. All I would need is one of my relatives breaking one! hee! hee!
Courtney- They turned out beautifully! I love them…and how wonderful to have your right-hand "girl" right there helping you! xxoo Diana
Gosh, I love those!! They turned out great Courtney.
hugs ♥ tricia
I think they turned out great. It gave them a nice aged feel.
Your chairs look amazing – just the right aged French patina. You would never in a million years guess they were chain store buys! Have a lovely day. x Sharon
They look great…love how you numbered them too!
YOU MAKE PRETTY PRETTY spaces! I just love them! When's brunch?
How funny! I just saw those yesterday at K Mart and was wondering if you could paint them since they were definitely too "loud" for my tastes. Guess that answers my question!
Hugs,
Judy
They are so fabulous! Great job on making them look vintage.
These look fabulous! What a great job you did transforming the KMart specials. 🙂
I'm wondering where you got those stencils for the numbers? I love that idea.
– Susan
Too cute! I never would have expected K-Mart to yield such gems.. awesome makeover! I definitely prefer your green and white to the original blue. I bet these would look really cute in a shabby gold or bronze too!
Hey Courtney! Thanks for posting your tips on painting those darling chairs. As you know, I ran right out the next day after you first posted on them, and bought two turquoise ones. I primed mine in gray and painted them white. I didn't know if you distressed them or not (or it would work on metal chairs), so now I know that I can! I'd like a little gray to show through so it looks like aged wood. I just LUV them! Thanks again for the scoop, sweetie!!!!! ♥
xoxo laurie
Great chairs and great painting transformation! Wish I had a K-mart near me!
Best,
Gloria
Brilliant idea! You turned a very good chair into someting gorgeous and almost artistic in quality!
As if it has been a well used and loved piece for years and years! Lovely!!!
Yvonne
I love these! Especially the finish and numbered detail you added to them! Well done!
😀 Lynda
Thank you for this tutorial. I am heading to K-mart for those chairs. Hopefully, they are still there! YOur photos are incredible too, the way you have staged the painted chairs around the table. So dreamy! ~Delores
They look fabulous. I buy some of the Country Living brand products from Kmart and really like them. ♥olive
This is SO NOT a blue light special! Come and link it to Workshop Wednesday. It would be a great addition to the party!
oh this is lovely. what a nice color combo.
Caroline
I am sooo in love with these adorable chairs. You did such an amazing job.
xo bj
Oh-My-Goodness! They look amazing!
Thanks for sharing,
Debbie
Love the chairs! Thanks for posting the details. I think I may try this on the table I just posted. It is still a bit bright for me.
I do love the finish on those chairs! Even better is they look old but no worries about it breaking!
My goodness Courtney, I LOVE YOUR CHAIRS! I need to run not walk to my nearest Kmart!!!
They look great! I bought a couple of similar bistro chairs at a garage sale that I use in my kitchen table. 🙂
I love this project! I'm a little chair happy right now, so I probablly won't be doing this, but I'm amazed–and I'm one to think outside of the box….I'd never have come up with this! Wow!
~Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage
http://www.shabbyfrenchcottage.com
treasures says
Hi Courtney, I love these chairs! I can't believe they're from K-Mart! They are so cute with the numbers you've added!
~ Julie
I have stashed this post in my "future projects" file! I am keeping my eye out for some chairs like these. So fun and adorable! Thank you for joining this post with TTF. Have a wonderful weekend!
Okay…so I guess I lied in my previous comment. I just bought these to use in my dining room! Once I paint them they'll look great with my frenchy marble top table! I can't decide if I'm going to do my usual grey primer then whitewash, go flat white primer antique white wash or try some gesso and let some of the turquoise show through. Any ideas? I would like them to match!
Excellent idea- shame we don't have Kmart here in the Uk though 🙁
That was a good idea! I have one of the old ones – currently folder up in the closet. I am a chairaholic. DD2 asked me this weekend how many chairs I have (not upholstered new, but old). 13 main level, 9 lower level and 3 in storage rooms/closet.
Dropping by from Met Monday.
Allison
Atticmag
way cute…beautiful colors, you are amazing!!!