I’m back to show you my naked bar stools and if you missed the earlier post about stripping them you can see that here. Well what you see is not what I was expecting to get back. The one on the right looks like it’s been washed with black paint and the one on the left looks like it’s been whitewashed.
I got the call from the stripper that the stools were done so I headed over the next day to pick them up. I was mighty surprised to see them look the way they did. I actually said to the guy, “What am I supposed to do with them now.” Apparently he wasn’t expecting them to look how they did either. He told me they must have had gel stain on them at one time before I had painted them (and I guess that doesn’t strip well), but I know that’s not true because I was the original owner and my son was the one who put them together for me.
I told him I wanted to stain them will dark walnut stain to match our dining room table. He said that would work for the 2 lighter charis but the 2 darker chairs wouldn’t stain up to look like dark walnut. So home I went and looked at them for a day before I decided to tackle the project of trying to get them to match. I didn’t have the heart to tell the old guy if they didn’t turn out they’d be painted again. I’m so against painting them that I decided to try and stain them before I give up.
I wanted to show you all the colors the bar stools have been over time so you can see what the stripper was dealing with. The most current color was yellow, I loved the yellow (the stripper thought it was hideous) but as you know I’ve been working on eliminating most bright colors and trying to keep the cabin decorated in more neutral colors. I wasn’t up to doing the stripping project myslef so I hired a professional.
Prior to the yellow they were gray, a color that didn’t last long. I had nothing else in the house that was gray or even close to gray so I was ready to cover it up as soon as I picked a new color. As you all know I hate to paint so when I do furniture pieces like this with all the detail in the spindles I run the paint through my sprayer making the job much more enjoyable, and it’s fast.
Prior to gray they were green chalk paint with wax over the top. This was such a fun color but I know it’s not for everyone. All the boys that gathered at our house thought it was John Deere Green and that I intentionally wanted to go with a farm equipment color. They thought it was pretty cool. I do believe this color lasted the longest but it may have been because I was to lazy to paint them once again, so I just lived with it whether I was I tired of it or not.
And the original color, black. I really like the black but it’s a color that I had to dust every day and that surely didn’t appeal to me. I look back and think I must be crazy having painted the stools as many times as I did and that poor stripper man must have thought I was too.
I do have the bar stools finished so come back by to see the reveal and help me decide on whether you’ll give it a thumbs up, a thumbs down, or a new paint job.
You are going to think I am crazy but I like the way they look now — no paint, no stain.
Eunice I also thought just adding a clear coat would give them that beach weathered look and I almost went with that, but I really wanted them to match the dining room table.
I loved the yellow the best…but I can’t wait to see the big reveal !
Cheryl I love the yellow too but I do have a reason for changing it and I’ll reveal it in an upcoming post.
You are always so busy with your improvements. I like the black and the yellow so far. Can’t wait for the new reveal.
Deborah, with the house being so new you wouldn’t think I’d need to do so many improvements but I guess it’s taking a while for me to get it right.
See how the stain goes and which I’m really hoping for you Dawn. The yellow is cheerful and I’ve heard you need black in your decor, but the dusting part, I get that.
Kathleen in Az
Kathleen I’m living with the stain for now and am going to see if anyone else can see the contrast before I cave to painting them.
I can see why you would be disappointed, Dawn. Like Eunice, I think they do look kind of nice like that. My favorite painted looks were the black and gray. I’m hoping that they turned out well when you stained them. Excited to see them and the newly painted island in your reveal. My husband and I are doing a kitchen refresh this week. We’ve decided to repaint the kitchen cupboards in Whisper White by Behr (the same color we painted the bathroom cupboards last month), so that’ll be a huge job. We’re also painting the walls a new color – Natural Wicker by Behr. I’m excited about the new colors. We had to strip paintable wallpaper, which I finished today, along with filling lots of nail holes. I’m not looking forward to the continued chaos, but I’m trying to stay focused on the end results.
Jen, how horrible to strip wallpaper it’s the worst in my opinion. If you read my past post about moving the upper cupboards up (because they’re 4 inches lower than they should be) that will be next on my list and as long as I have them off the wall I’ll paint them then. I be your cupboards look fantastic and things always feel clean with a fresh coat of paint.
Yes…I remember reading that post, Dawn. That will be quite the job raising up your cupboards. There are soffits above my cupboards and I would love to remove them – such a waste of space, especially in a smaller kitchen like I have. Taller cupboards would be wonderful, but even open space could be utilized. That wallpaper removal was horrible, but so far the worst part is having everything out of sorts. Under the wallpaper was 4 different surfaces: plaster (original), drywall, paneling, and particle board. Lol…crazy, I know!! It was great to find that behind the paneling was the original plaster, but the soffits were done in particle board and drywall. My husband is going to put drywall up over the particle board, so some messy dust, etc. in the next days. Right now my walls are many different shades of paint – interesting seeing what previous owners chose – so it’s not looking very good, but I’m remaining upbeat about the end results.
Jen I’m lucky no soffit above my cupboards just wide open ceilings. I am going to remove the crown molding and give them a painting while they’re down though. My cupboard are very tall already and I can’t reach the top shelf without a stool and I’m not short. I can’t believe everything you found under the wallpaper, what the heck was going on there? Good luck with all the drywall dust, that stuff is horrible and get’s into everything. I bet it will look great when it’s all done, just hang in there while the mess is in progress:)
You inspire me to get busy fixing the inside of my house. It is all about being outside right now while I can enjoy summer so my home suffers. 🙂 Plus I am getting so many custom orders on the website and requests for painting lessons that I am having a hard time keeping up. Ah well, it shall slow down soon and I can focus on the house. I hope.
You place looks lovely and I can’t wait to see how you fix your bar stool dilemma.
Pamela, I hate hot weather so I’m not doing much outside right now other than mowing when it needs it and making sure to kill the weeds in the landscaping, I just pray them so it doesn’t take long. Congrats on all the custom orders what a great way to earn extra money by doing what you’re great at.
I love the style of the stools….and love all of the various colors that you had in the past, so I will be anxious to see what color you decided to paint them!
Shirley I stained them, but not sure they won’t still get a coat of paint!
Dawn, I remember all the colors of the stools except for the black! I can’t wait to see how they look stained!
Jane I’m not sure if the black ever eneded up on the blog, or it may have been years ago when no one knew who I was, LOL.
Hi Dawn! This is like a real bar stool saga♥ Can’t wait to see the reveal ♥
summerdaisy.net
Summer it sure is, they are done and I think I’ll stick with what they are for now. LOL
I have to tell you Dawn, that I loved your colourful cabin, you put the colours together so nicely and I LOVED seeing what you did with it. Maybe I’m stuck in the past but I don’t particularly like the neutrals that so many people use now in their homes with no colour to break it up.
My main living area is grey, white and beige, but I still throw turquoise, red and yellow into it to make it more interesting.
Cindy
Cindy I love grey, white and beige together. That’s what I have now will a little rust, turquoise and yellow in the living room. I think I’ll add navy to the neutrals for winter and see how I like that.