How to Paint Wood Chairs in 3 Simple Steps

Give your wooden dining chairs an easy and fun makeover! Learn how to paint wood chairs in three easy steps for a beachy blue ombre effect.

You’ll be inspired to give your wooden dining chairs a gorgeous makeover when you see how easy it is to paint wood chairs. These blue beauties were given an ombre vibe but the same easy technique applies to any color you’d like!

Four wood chairs painted blue lined up side-by-side against a white wall.

Today is one of the most exciting posts I’ve ever written.  Can you hear me squealing in the background.  Now this is something I don’t do in real life, but since I’m on the internet I’ll allow myself some liberties.  

Today I am going to talk about – actually fangirl over –  KariAnne of Thistlewood farms. She is one of my all time favorite bloggers and she does it all. She is a decorator, a DiYer and a photographer.  But most of all KariAnne knows how to tell a story.  Boy, can she tell a story!  She can take the most mundane chore, like painting a door, and turn it into a monumental lesson in life. And with lots of chuckles to boot!

Now you are all probably wondering why I’m going on and on about KeriAnne. Obviously she inspires me!  And I know I could never hope to reach her level of perfection. But I thought I would give it a humble try after  seeing these chairs of hers.

After all chairs can be inspiring, right?  This is the tale of the happy chairs.

There was nothing wrong with them really.  In fact I have one in the bedroom here.

But I wanted to have blue chairs. Like KariAnne’s!  In more than one shade!​

Materials Needed to Paint Wood Chairs:

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How to Paint Wood Chairs (So Easy!)

Step 1: Wash and Degrease

If your chairs are particularly dirty give them a good wash down with warm soapy water and let dry completely.

Step 2: Paint with Chalky Finish Paint

​And so it began.  I started out with DecoArt’s Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Escape. But I added a bit of Everlasting, which is a white color.  You may remember this photo from my behind the scenes sneak peek. Nothing like a messy work space to inspire you!

Here is what the chair looked like after one coat of the paint mixture. 

And after the second coat!  I should mention that painting chairs is nothing to sneeze about.  It takes time and work. 

But I was not to be deterred!  I wanted blue chairs!  Happy Chairs!

Now for the next two chairs I wanted a lighter look so I added more white paint to the mixture I already had. And this is how they came out.

Step 3: Seal with Clear Wax

Finally to seal in the paint I used DecoArt’s Clear Americana Cream Wax. Just add it on with a clean cloth and after it has dried rub it off.  It is that simple. 

There you have it! Beautifully painted wooden chairs. Don’t you just love them?

​They are so happy, they are practically line dancing!​

These shades of blue are a bit brighter than the Serene blue used to paint this bedroom dresser using the same method (no sanding needed!).

And here they are indoors.  With the beach table. Don’t they look great together?  I think I did a pretty good job, and I wasn’t even going for a matchy look.

The room is small, with a window on one side and it needs light colored furniture so that it can feel happy and bright.

We close the shutters in the summertime because of all that Greek sunlight. But even when the shutters are closed we still want the room to look bright!

That’s why I chose to paint the wood chairs.  I wanted to create the look of a Greek tavern here. And keep things fun and happy!

I should point out that the way the light hits the chairs alters the color.  Trust me, there are only two colors for the chairs here. The table is a shade different but it’s hard to tell, and we will keep that secret to ourselves. 

Now that my chairs are happy… I’m happy!

You can never estimate the power of paint. It can totally transform furniture! You can see how I used paint to create this beautiful cubby storage unit. And explore a different method I used for this chair makeover!

And that was the tale of the happy chairs. Did I succeed in creating happiness in those chairs?  Did I make you all happy?

Chairs painted in shades of blue with chalky type paint, to make them ombre happy, #ombreeffect #paintedombre #furnituremakeover #upcycle #chalkyfinishpaint #paintedchairs #bluechairs #DIYproject The tale of the Happy Chairs

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Additional Furniture Painting Ideas to Explore:

This blog is for entertainment purposes only; my DIY tutorials are not professional advice. Read my full disclaimer here.​
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Hello, we're Jane & Sonja, sisters, moms and lifelong crafters.

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153 Comments

  1. I love them! What a fun color.
    I am thinking that I want to paint my dining chairs as well, but I can’t decide on the color and if I want to mismatch or dip dye. Pinterest really makes a decision so hard 😀

  2. I think your happy chairs look fantastic! I love the turquoise colors with the neutral woven seats. They look beach-y or, maybe, Mediterranean.

    1. Mediterranean is the correct word Carol. I was going for the blue sky I see every day when I look out the window.

    1. You got me Jeanie! I am very, very happy. Getting rid of the wood tones is just what this room needed.

    1. That is exactly the look I was going for Katerina. You see these chairs all over Greece.

    1. Sarah those shutters are aluminum so I try not to mess with them. If they were wood they would not have escaped my paint brush for sure.

  7. They are gorgeous, what a well named post! And they look so good along side your beautiful bird fabric screen.

    1. Yes that one was done a few years ago when I first started having a vision for this space. I liked the blue and orange idea but since have chucked the orange for the most part. We will see how it goes.

  9. Yes, Mary, you succeeded in creating “happy chairs!!” What a fun project–thanks so much for sharing it with us all at Vintage Charm 🙂

  10. I am all about happy and especially in your decor. These are fabtastic! Love the color choice. Looks awesome with your beach table. Thank you for sharing them at TADA! Thursdays

    1. Everything is slowly coming together Debbie. And I’m doing the happy dance along with my chairs.

    1. Maria I got my inspiration for the 2 shades from KariAnne’s blog but the colors came from outside my window – the Greek sky!

  12. Mary! These are the cutest chairs! If I accidentally posted twice, I goofed. I thought it didn’t work… Anyway, all pinned and shared for you, and me. I wonder if my hubby would let me paint our new chairs in our fifth-wheel…??? 😆🌷 Then I could recover the fabric on the chairs, too!
    I’m thinking that every time you walk into your kitchen, these chairs WILL make you happy!!!
    Hugs, Barb 💕😊💙

    1. Sounds like a great idea Barb! I know that since painting them I am always walking around with a great big smile on my face. They are infectious!

    1. These chairs turned out beautiful. The shades of blue are perfect. Now they seem to be happy in that pretty dining area.
      Janet
      rosemary-thyme.blogspot.com

    2. Thank you Eilis. The shade is more accurate on the indoor shots so you can see it is very soothing.

    1. The color is what makes them so much fun and the subtle variation. Thank you Holly!

    1. It was actually lots of work with all those nooks and crannies but well worth it for the smile on my face.

  18. I love these chairs Mary they are such gorgeous shades of Blue 🙂

  19. The perfect shades of blue to incite happiness everywhere Mary. I love them and have pinned them!
    Thank you for sharing your happy chairs at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week.
    Hugs,
    Kerryanne

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