Rocking Chair Makeover

I love a quick and easy furniture makeover. This thrift store vintage rocking chair makeover didn't disappoint! I wish I knew more about this petite rocking chair. I couldn't find a manufacturer, and I don't know if this style has a particular name. What do I love about it? It's petite, and it rocks very easily. So, I'm guessing I will be referring to her as this little gal.

The small rocking chair was priced at $20.00, but it was on sale for 50% off! Although that's twice my usual limit, I felt it was well worth it. At first glance, I thought I would maybe change the seat. Upon further inspection, I noticed some blemishes on the wood finish. So, the rocking chair makeover I thought I was going to do, turned into plan B right out of the gate.

Are There Health Benefits to a Rocking Chair?

Rocking can be an important supplement to long-term care therapy programs. According to a clinical study of a clientele with a loss of autonomy, frequent use of a rocking chair improves balance and blood circulation, reduces muscle pain, anxiety and depression.

A very popular stereotype of elderly people involves them rocking on their veranda with satisfaction,It turns out that this activity really brings greater peace of mind to many people.It has been very well documented that a gentle repetitive movement provides a soothing effect to infants. We have shown that the same is true for an elderly population suffering from emotional distress.

Nancy Watson, a researcher at the University of Rochester School of Nursing

If you follow My Repurposed Life on Facebook you may have seen this photo. On this particular day, I was in search of a table to go with the Rose Back Chairs I painted. But when I ran across the good deals on the vintage rocking chair and the bed frame, I couldn't pass them up. You can see the Small Pedestal Table by clicking that link. The bed frame has been upcycled, but I haven't posted about it yet.

Easy Rocking Chair Makeover Tips

• Thoroughly inspect for issues (repairs)
• Make repairs
• Disassemble if necessary
• Clean, sand or degloss in order for paint to adhere nicely
• Paint
• Reassemble

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I suppose if you are still loving wood tones, you may just try to clean up the wood and use it as it. If so, this was a GREAT deal at only 10 bucks.

This was the first blemish I noticed. However, there were a couple of more less than perfect areas I noticed after I started painting.

After removing the seat, I got busy cleaning (deglossing) the shiny wood. This is an important step, and much easier than sanding off the shine. I used HTP Surface Prep, a chip brush, scrubby, and an old rag to wipe it down.

Do you see the dings on the front of the left leg?

This was another rough area that I used a sanding sponge on to get a nice end result. Sure, you could strip the finish, sand, stain to bring it back to it's original state, but I was looking for an easy rocking chair makeover!

Paint & Tools

The paint is All In One Irish Garden. What does all in one mean? The short answer is, you don't need primer or sealer when you use this paint.

I love, love, love this small brush, and the trim roller. They are perfect for almost any small, medium to large project. The small brush actually comes in three sizes, and I recently added all of them to my Shop on Amazon.

Start With a Light Coat of Paint

I'm sure you know that I do several light coats of paint, no matter what project I'm doing. This is after the FIRST light coat.

While inspecting the first coat after it dried, there was an issue on the front leg. It resembled a hairline fracture. I sanded it back to the raw wood, and blended new paint with the old before I continued with the second coat, and the third half coat. What is a half coat? It's basically a touchup of anything that isn't looking perfect.

Clean Needlepoint Chair Seat

While the paint was drying/curing, it was a good time to clean the needlepoint upholstered chair seat. Can you find the pretty blue flowers that moved me to choose the paint color Irish Garden?

I'm a huge fan of Norwex cleaning products. I use them in my everyday life, so it was only natural to reach for an EnviroCloth for this job. A damp cloth is all that was needed to make me feel better about the cleanliness of the upholstered rocking chair seat.

My easy rocking chair makeover is nearly complete!

The only thing left was to reattach the upholstered seat. Here's a closeup of how smooth the paint finish is, as well as how pretty the flowers look with the pretty new painted rocking chair. I don't have anything against wood tones, but I love a pretty paint finish on an old piece of furniture!

Easy Blue Rocking Chair Makeover | Oh so Pretty

This is my favorite room in the house for taking pictures. My bedroom has three windows and lots of natural light! The backdrop is my DIY wall to wall closet that still makes me smile every single day! You may recognize my Desk into Chest that I recently painted Navy Blue.

So, there you have a great tutorial on how to do an easy furniture makeover with paint!