It’s Black, It’s White

It’s BW. Yeah yeah yeah!

:) I couldn’t resist some MJ action.

I was just a tad bit obsessed with spray paint last weekend. I had a wicked case of spray paint trigger finger by Sunday evening, there was so much spraying going on.

This little project started with a lovely inspiration photo I found online and then filed right to Pinterest:

I think this kitchen is so lovely – warm wood cabinets, but still bright and airy. Perfection in my eyes. :)

I kept going back to those bright white chairs – I’m all about contrast, and I loved them against the warm wood.

Then I realized how similar they were to our island chairs, and I knew what I had to do. Spray paint action!

We’ve had black chairs at our island for a while now:

I decided to see how they looked in white, and figured if I hated it I could always go back to black. But I don’t hate them. I LOVE. :)

I started by giving the chairs a quick sanding. Let me tell you -- I hate sanding with a deep burning passion, but because these get so much wear, I figured it was necessary. It was SO quick though – it took less than five minutes per chair:

You just need enough to scuff up the finish to give the paint a little somethin’ extra to hold to.

Then I gave them all a good cleaning. There are cleaning products just to prep furniture for paint, but my Shaklee stuff worked just fine:

(Please ignore our deck in desperate need of restaining.)

After a really good wipe down, I started the priming. I used two cans total – Zinsser and basic Valspar primer:

Both worked great. The Zinsser didn’t cover quite as well as the Valspar, but it’s supposed to be a better quality primer. I’m sure they both will hold up just fine.

I primed those chairs within an inch of their lives. ;) I could barely see black through the primer when I was done, which made for an easy final coat of the white paint.

Before the white, I did some touching up. The chairs are from Garden Ridge and were a DEAL – but they aren’t the best quality. There were lots of spots that had some crackle:

I used my trusty caulk and covered all of those not-so-pretty spots. It worked GREAT.

After the caulk dried, I did one final coat of Rustoleum white spray paint:

I used a satin finish so they weren’t too shiny, but they can still be wiped down.

Then put the seats back on:

And I had fallen in luuurve. :)

I swear you notice the beadboard on the island more now:

Gleeeee!

I love how they pull in the white of the backsplash, woodwork and the pretty pitcher on the island.

And I love how they look with the green seat fabric.

Did I mention I LOVE? :)

It always kills me how a simple change like paint can completely change a space. It’s brightened our kitchen by 100 watts!

And because I have to show how far our kitchen island has come every. single. time. – the before:

Just a few short years ago!

And the after:

ACK! I big fat heart you spray paint! Hollllla! You are one of my many BFFs! :)

Do YOU believe in the power of spray paint?

P.S. If you’d like to see nearly 500 spray paint transformations, check out the spray paint party from last week!