Happy accidents

Sometimes the idea in your head is brilliant, but the execution or end result just doesn't quite match up. Somewhere in the process, or maybe somewhere between my brain and my hands, something goes awry. Most of the time it means I've got a mess on my hands. But sometimes, once in a blue moon or so, it results in a little happy accident.

Enter more golden oak. If you read my previous post, then you know that our old house had a TON of it, everywhere, all over the place, in every room. Including these chairs. 

Anyone else have these lovelies? One was stationed at the desk in our old kitchen. Yep, we had one of those. All that was missing from our 1988 build was a dial telephone mounted on the wall! We didn't use the desk much, though it did have a short stint as a beverage counter for holiday parties. But still, we packed up the chairs, and moved them, and stored them, and unpacked them again.

And I'm so happy we did. 

Because one of those golden oakies made a fabulous transformation via a happy accident. 

Our current master bath also has golden oak cabinets, as did our kitchen (those are gone now! more soon). It also had an extra vanity for which I can only assume is make-up, primping and the like. If you are anything like me, that maybe happens for a date night or special event, both of which are extremely rare these days! But still, it begged for a chair. A non-golden-oak-chair. 

Enter Rust-oleum Universal Paint & Primer spray paint. Can I just say Robin's Egg is my new favorite color? Cuz it is. I kinda want to put it everywhere. The bathroom is light and bright and I wanted to keep it that way. At first I thought white chair, but then that felt too boring. I went to pick up supplies, spent a few minutes perusing the color options, and hit upon Robin's Egg. 

The perfect non-country light blue with a touch of greeny-gray. 

And that 's when the idea was born. White legs and back rest, Robin's Egg seat. Mix it up a little, but keep it light and airy feeling. Kinda like this. Isn't the distressing on there pretty? But the idea in my head, and on the screen, did not come to fruition, probably due to lack of planning. 

I tend to jump into things, projects, classes, recipes, etc. I guess I assume I'll intuitively get it or just figure it out on the way. My husband tends to be more process-oriented and planful. I like to think we balance each other out nicely. Needless to say, I thought I had thought of everything; sandpaper, paint, drop cloth, vented garage to work in, topcoat and paint brush at the ready. But after I painted the white legs and back rest and went to town on the seat, I realized I was getting Robin's Egg on places I didn't want Robin's Egg. 

Then I took a step back and Tim Gunn's voice popped into my head. Except instead of "Andre" he was saying "OMBRE!" And so the ombre chair came into being. I went back over the seat and slightly up the back and down the legs to make it look more intentional. After letting it dry over night I went back over everything with a coat of Minwax Polycrilic Water-based Satin topcoat. This stuff is so easy to use and the result is fab. Just make sure to do thin, even coats and watch for drips. I let it dry, sanded with 200 grit, then applied another coat, and let it dry over night. And here she is!

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I love how it turned out! Not too boring, just a bit of color, but still light and bright and fresh feeling. And no more golden oak. Lessons learned?
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1. Sometimes you just need to go with those oops moments
2. Sometimes hanging on to furniture you didn't think you liked can be a great thing
3. Project Runway and Tim Gunn need to make a come back!

** Any mention of products I use for my own projects have no affiliation with the company nor do I receive any compensation or incentive to use any specific product. All opinions are strictly my own. **