As Brittany herself says, this story began (as so many here do) with a trip to the thrift store. Celebrating the sale of an old white coffee table, Brittany was delighted to find this sticky, smelly, and admittedly in need of repair chair for the bargain price of only $5. With a little elbow grease and gold leaf, Brittany created a marvelous addition for her home.
After removing the seat, Brittany sanded the whole chair with 400-grit sandpaper, then wiped it down to remove any dust. She pulled out all the old tacks and staples before reupholstering the seat with lovely new stripes. Brittany then sprayed the chair frame with adhesive and got to work covering it in gold leaf. The final step before reattaching the seat was to coat the frame with acrylic to keep it from any future flaking. The result of all of Brittany's hard work is a beautiful one of a kind piece that adds a bit of glam to her space.
See More: Brittany Makes: Gild a Chair in Gold
Images: Brittany/Brittany Makes
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Oh, yes. Classic luxury -- a beautiful job!
Beautiful! You did a GREAT job, Britt!
Gold (or silver) leafing wouldn't work for every chair, but you made an excellent choice! And your choice of fabric is PERFECT. I'm tempted!
Fantastic!!! Really gorgeous.
Awesome! Question, though, since I'm really considering doing this to a spare chair we have now--how durable is the gold leaf coating? Will it flake off with normal wear? Does it need any special care?
To be completely honest, I didn't like the before. And while I don't dislike the after (I love the gilded wood effect in this case, with the detail on the back of the chair) I felt like the fabric choice was a bit cliched and could have been more interesting. But this is completely my opinion and I do think that the after is a VAST improvement on the before.
This is probably the only makeover I've seen here that really made me really cringe deep down inside. I kind of like the before, it isn't perfect but it has its charm, and the after to me just looks so incredibly gaudy and tacky. Not a fan even a little bit, but it looks pretty well done so if it's what she likes, good on her.
I'm with Holler. It just isn't my taste at all. But it looks like she did a good job.
i have a chair that looks like the before and i love that chair. i was thinking why would you change it? the new one looks like you did a goo job.
Gold leaf? Seriously? That's a whole lotta gold leaf and a whole lotta money!
LGS, I haven't used real gold leaf so I'm not sure of the cost, but imitation gold leaf or "composition" gold leaf (has some real gold, but mostly brass and etc) is easy to find and fairly cheap, and that might be what she used here. You could probably get enough "gold" leaf to do the whole thing for $10, depending on where you got it.
I like it a lot.
@lgs
Is it? A kit containing 525sqin for $24, which is more than 4sqft. Would she need more than 2?
(Well, that's composition gold, so it's not really gold....)
Wowzers. This is one of the few makeovers I really like (and I am not into gilded stuff). But I find this was a perfect choice for the choice which went from ugly to glam.
Well done!
umm, I meant perfect choice for the chair, sorry.
Well, whatever she used, I admire her patience!
The "before" reminds me of something from my grandma's sewing room and the after I can picture in my dining room or at a nice hotel. I think you did a excellent job. Well done!
HYZAN: As explained in the post, you cover the entire thing in a coat of clear paint. It's about as durable as it can be. I'd imagine that after 10+ years of use it might look a bit worn in a few places, if it's constantly being used, but that's a big if.
A kit containing nearly 2sqft for $41.50. So... maybe up to $200. Hm...
I've been thinking of gold-or-silver-leafing something (a small side-table, perhaps) but I guess I don't really care if it's real....
Very pretty! Great job!
How could ANYONE not like this? It takes all types, I suppose ;)
Gorgeous. Gold leafing rocks.
I'm with Holler.
vast improvement, and it sets off the gold bicycle! well done!
I am currently in the process of gold-leafing a laminated king-sized "carved" headboard and absolutely did not properly prepare the surface by sanding (SMH, overeager and didn't plan) so I am hoping it holds up because so far I have spent about $40 on the gold leafing and supplies and may need to spend between $20-30 more to complete it, the headboard itself was $25, so $100 all together. It looks really good so far, but having trouble getting gold leafing into all the nooks and crannies. Does anyone have any experience with the gold leafing paint? I am headed to the craft store today to see if they carry it...
I think it was very charming before.
Great job. I just finished doing that to a chair I found on the street.
Totally devastated to see the loss of that beautiful vintage needlepoint. I hope you kept it for another project! Send it to me if you don't want it, HA!
That is sooo beautiful! I have been keeping my eye out for a similar project. I absolutely love the chair. I am a college student who decorated my room in entire thrift store stuff for under 20 dollars (beautiful mirror, 1950s bar cart, dresser, etc) Posts like these make me realize I can have a beautiful home when I'm making $35,000 a year next year haha!
Oh, I love this! It's a million times better now. Nice work!
I'm with the "before is better" group. Maybe would have stained the wood a bit darker but that chair was lovely.
Looking at the first picture I really thought she had painted it all black and stenciled a question mark on it. And I really liked that! haha! The gold leaf is pretty cool too.
One thing I will say as an add-on to my previous comment, I think what really kills this for me is the fabric. When I see gold, to me it either goes to crazy and fun, or gaudy and tacky. If she had gone kind of fun with it and done something like bright (purple?) velvet so it was a throne, I might actually be into it, because it would be more exciting. But to me, it looks like something the Gottis or Donald Trump would have, where the point is to be gold but also be bland somehow. I guess to a lot of people that just makes it fancy and luxurious, but I just cccan't handle it.
love the lil bike so, so much. details?
Yummy!!
ARCAMP83, I've been researching how to do gold leafing and found someone who also had trouble getting gold leafing into all the nooks and crannies. Not sure whether the site discourages or encourages me to pursue this craft, but thought I'd tell you she used Rub n Buff to help fill in missed spaces. Her finished project does not show up as shiny as I would expect. Don't know whether Rub n Buff played a role in this since there are numerous possible causes.
http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-gold-leafed-nightstands.html
I would've gone with a more bold stripe....
What did you do with that original seat cover...? Surely someone must have spent hours doing the needlework years ago. My aunt just had chair cushions that my great-grandmother hand-stitched made into throw pillows for each family member. Truly a family heirloom.