Some days you stumble upon a piece of fabric that you know you love but can’t for the life of me think of a specific purpose in which to use it. Well, the day I saw this black batik print I knew I had to have it, but didn’t have anything in mind.
When I figured out how I wanted to decorate my sewing room and that I needed to find something bold enough to work with my delightful emerald green enamel painted desk, I thought I had hit the jackpot. I picked up the desk at a local auction house. It was originally a mahogany stain. I sanded it lightly and then applied the enamel paint directly onto the desk. I applied two coats over three days, enamel paint takes a while to dry. It is also important to remember that you can’t use enamel on a damp day which when you live on the north coast, is a rather rare occasion.
I found a great old chair at a secondhand auction house and picked it up for $30. I figured that a coat of white enamel paint would work well with the fabric and contrast with the desk. The first job was to take the original fabric off. It took several hours with some pliers and a butter knife. I made sure to keep the older fabric to use as a pattern for my new cover.
I sanded the varnish off the chair and then used two coats of a primer undercoat. Due to time limitations I did all the painting over a few weekends. I then applied four coats of the white enamel to make sure I got the perfect gloss white.
After the painting was complete and left to dry and cure for a few weeks I ironed out the old fabric and used it as a pattern. I used a staple gun to secure most of it in place. The last piece of fabric on the back of the chair was secured using upholstery tacks to keep that new vintage feel. All in all I am stoked with how it turned out.
World About Sam 