Chair Rescue DIY Transformation

On a routine drive, I spotted four abandoned chairs standing roadside, forgotten and bound for the dump. But I didn't see them as trash. I saw them as potential, as new additions to 'Roadside Chic' decor, waiting for rescue and transformation. The joy of rescuing and transforming these pieces was palpable.

Blue Peace & Love Chair * Seaforth, NS View in FOG.

DISCOVERY

Driving in our rural area, at the end of driveways, various types of furniture are waiting for the garbage truck. Some of these pieces are worthy of rescue and repurposing. My interior design sensibilities are a style I call 'Roadside Chic', a blend of rustic charm and artistic flair; it's not for everyone, but it suits my budget and creative expressions well.

Collection from 'Roadside Shopping' now 'Roadside Chic', featuring a view of the 4 chairs when they were initially in white enamel paint.

Details of decorative paint along the edges of the chair.

          

TRANSFORMATION

Today's world of consumerism is overflowing with throwaways that still have purpose but get discarded. As an artist, I see everything as a resource for creative possibilities. The process of transforming potential garbage into an item that can be displayed with joy in one's environment is not just a task, but a journey of creativity and innovation. 

Wood chairs can become loose over time and require some assistance with good old-fashioned wood glue, as well as possibly a screw. This process involves a careful inspection, cleaning, and repair of any damage, followed by a creative transformation to give the piece a new lease of life.

 OIL PAINT 

Para Interior Oil Paint BLUE is used for the entire chair surface.

Leftover fine artists' paint is used for chair decoration.

Sanding the chair is essential to remove some of the rough edges, improving its durability and preventing peeling as it ages.

The repurposed blue oil paint was purchased years ago when the paint stores were selling off all their oil-based paint to be replaced with water-based paint. I have a couple of cans of blue oil paint that serve as a background surface for the artist's leftover oil paint from a fine art painting session.

PRO for oil-based interior paint. It hardens over time, retaining its luminosity and durability better than water-based paint, as far as I have compared it with water-based paints.

CON for oil-based interior paint. The odor can be bothersome, but it can be alleviated by keeping the studio windows open. Patience is required for the stages to dry to completion, and cleanup requires using oil-based thinners for brushes, which is not environmentally acceptable. The remedy is to use inexpensive brushes, wrap them tightly in plastic between painting and drying layers, and at the end of a project, discard the brush rather than using thinners.

Peace & Love Chair with details.

CREATIVE DESIGN

The seat design is inspired by a favorite drawing/painting done by Picasso, ' The Bouquet of Peace' from 1958. I love daisies and LOVE to pick flowers for bouquets, especially the unruly gathering of informal flowers and grasses in a vase. I chose this image and used it for my transformed rescue chair, 'Peace & Love'.

Sketchbook Drawing for the blue chair decoration.

1. Paint the entire chair with blue interior oil paint twice for a durable surface.
2. Pencil drawing in a sketchbook is done to the size needed to cover the seat of the chair. Outline the pencil drawing with a black marker and color in the flowers using COPIC CIAO markers to give me an idea of colors to use.
3.  Use a yellow transfer paper to copy the drawing directly onto the blue-painted chair seat.
4. Using the leftover oil paint on the painter's palette, start to fill in the traced lines to give it a base and let it dry. It took about 3 layers of oil paint to cover the design of the drawing. Each time, as it's oil paint, it might take a week to dry between coats. This is not a quick project, especially using oil paint.

The 'Peace & Love Chair' was a labor of love, transformed by Minaz Jantz. It started as a discarded piece, but with careful restoration and creative design, it became a unique and artful addition to my home.

In a world that often chooses disposal over transformation, I advocate for a different approach. Restoring and repurposing old, discarded furniture not only saves money and brings character to any home but also contributes to a more sustainable environment.

FIND TRASH,  MAKE TREASURE! Minaz