Rocking Chair Refinish

Even though we're moving 3000 miles to a new house before Jonah's arrival, I've still been busy working on things for his room. So that I won't have much to do but set it all up when we get into our new house.

Two-ish weeks ago I found this rickety, old rocking chair at Goodwill for $10 bucks. I almost passed it up because it was (in all honesty) pretty gross. But that's nothing some bleach wipes and some wood glue couldn't fix.

[All cleaned up and ready to start the makeover]

I can remember loving a little rocking chair like this when I was little. If I'm not mistaken, my grandparents bought all of their grandchildren one. I loved mine, and I wanted to continue the tradition onto my kids. Jack was already lovin' it when we brought it home, he even helped me clean it up. And with a little sprucing up, it'll be perfect in Jonah's old-timey nursery.

First thing I did was take those weird little plastic cuffs off the rockers. I think they were originally put on to help keep the chair from rocking too far forwards or backwards. I'm all for safety but they were yellowed and yuck. Also, if you look closely at the picture you'll see what looks like a tan jewelry box attached to one of the rockers in the back. It took us a while, but we figured out that it was "supposed" to play a lullaby tune when the chair is being rocked. It sort of sounded like a dying cat. So off it came, as well.

After a coat of primer and a base coat of brown paint here's what it looked like:

I know, I know "Kate, why did you prime it just to paint it back brown?"

Here's why... Look closely, that shiny coating that's half covering the seat? It's crackle paint!

[Americana Weathered Wood Crackle Medium]

As I mentioned before, Jonah's nursery is going to be antique, old-timey, and adorable if I do say so myself. I've been waiting for the chance to use this stuff, and this was the perfect opportunity! *happy dance* After the crackle paint went on, I added the top coat, creamy white.

And here's a close up of the crackle effect:

Pretty cool huh?

It wasn't too terribly hard to work with. You just have to make sure to do one swift brushstroke of the top coat, otherwise the crackle medium causes the top coat to separate too much. (It's hard to explain what happens, but trust me it just looks weird).

And here's what happens when you forget to even put the crackle medium on:

Oops! Ah well, at least it's on the underside so no one will see it... right?

Here's the finished product!

It's not perfect, but I kind of like it that way. There's places where the paint isn't even (lots of them, because I made it), but I think it still turned out pretty darn good. 

What do you think?

The chair cost me $10 and the crackle medium was $4. (I already had the brown and cream white). So, total = $14!

Next up, a cushion for the seat!