I was fortunate enough to find this beautiful (in it's own way!) old school chair - there's such a feeling of familiarity to these chairs for so many people, that when I saw it, I had to buy it!

The actual chair was 'solid' which is great, because I've sat on some before that were really wobbly! The wood however had lots of scratches and a few chips - although no graffiti! 

The chair actually looks in better condition than it really was in the photo! If it had looked that nice, I might have been tempted to leave it as it was!

It took awhile to decide how I was going to paint it,  I thought about decoupaging it with children's comics as I'd seen one before that looked fun. I had a good look around Pinterest (a great website! Follow me at www.pinterest.com/thelittlewd and you'll probably get an idea about what I'm planning next!) and got some ideas - although I didn't quite find what I decided to do!

When I'm undecided about colour schemes, I find it really helpful to draw a sketch of the item, and play around with colour. You could use any paper for this, but I choose to use my 'Annie Sloan Work Book' as this not only gives great tips along the way, but also keeps all my ideas together so I can always look at what ideas I had in the past!

Having decided on the colour, I took the plunge! Remember with items that are small enough, it's best to paint them upside down first, as this helps ensure you don't miss any bits!

Having painted the whole chair with Louis Blue Chalk Paint™, I decided on my next part of the project, using the patterned paint rollers that we sell at the shop! I love the cow parsley design of 'Tussock' and find it really forgiving with any mistakes so knew this would be a good choice!
Having played around with my design in the Work Book, I decided that a complimentary colour of Aubusson Blue would work well, and show up better than Old White.

I waxed the chair with Annie Sloan Clear Wax, and nearly finished the project here - but something wasn't quite right! The 'clean' look of the colour and lines of the chair gave it a modern look, but this didn't go with the 'lumps and bumps' and scratches that the surface of the chair had. I asked a few customers that were popping in to the shop their opinion too, and ultimately decided that the chair needed a distressed look to give a 'nod' to it's past as a school chair. 
I'm so happy with the end result, and here it is......

I thought you might be interested to see how my first proper attempt at using the fabulous 'Patterned Paint Rollers' that I sell at the shop went.

The door I decided upon was previously painted in Paris Grey Chalk Paint™, and was useful for showing off the colour in the shop (and that you could paint straight over a gloss painted door!), but I always felt it needed a little something more!

I decided on the design 'Tussock' for this door, a design that reminds me of dandelions and floating seed heads in the wind.

I decided to use Old White Chalk Paint™ as I felt this would give the best contrast and light feeling to the back of the shop.

There's a great video by Clare, the owner of 'The Painted House' on using her rollers with Chalk Paint™ here:

With this knowledge in mind, I took the plunge! I have to admit I was a little nervous at first.....'will I be able to keep the roller straight' kept on going through my mind!

As I started, I realised that actually the design is really forgiving and that although it's best to concentrate whilst doing it, it doesn't mind if it's not 100% right - like with Chalk Paint™, avoid perfectionism!

I did make the odd mistake, and should probably have practiced a bit more before jumping in, but with Chalk Paint™ it's all to easy to paint over any mistakes that might happen!

As for the end result....I couldn't be happier! I actually decided that as the door is in the shop, and lots of people will want to touch and feel the door, to seal it with Annie Sloan's Matt Lacquer, just to protect it.  At home I probably wouldn't do this, or you could use her Clear Wax just as well.

I ended up being so happy with the result, that I got a little carried away and also did two other doors using the 'Flock' and 'Tapet' designs, here's a sneak peek!

If you're now inspired to try out a patterned roller, then you'll be happy to know we have everything you need here at 'The Little Welsh Dresser'. If you have any questions, you can drop me an email (hello@thelittlewelshdresser.com) or give me a ring on 01558 824573. Thanks!