I revealed my desperate need for curb appeal in my own rented home last week. Remember this picture?

 

Let’s take a closer look at that porch…

I had been wanting chairs for my front porch, but when I checked prices on craigslist and at Habitat for Humanity, the $25 and up pricetags weren’t exactly what I was hoping for.

I bought these chairs at a yard sale last year. At $1.50 a pop I figured it was worth the ugliness. They’ve been sitting on my front porch like this for months. Gorgeous, aren’t they?

And a little closer look reveals lots of great details:

 

In April, Valspar had a “sample pot of paint” giveaway. I entered and was absolutely thrilled to get my coupon in the mail. Although I had a semi-horrid time picking out which color to get {because of my indecisiveness + all the gorg colors}, I finally settled on one and decided to use it on my outside chairs.

I started by sanding the roughness off the chairs.

 

I also had a little helper. I took these pics with my phone, but I love how her hand is blurry from sanding so quickly! Such a cutie.

 

After sanding both chairs, I wiped them down with a very barely damp rag. I didn’t want to wait for the chairs to dry, so I just got it damp enough so that it would pick up cobweb nastiness and sanding dust.

Next, I primed it lightly with this primer {leftover from painting my chinese stool}.

Here I am, looking all spiffy with my sweats and inside out jacket.

 

And here are my twin chairs, sitting on a tarp after being primed very lightly.

 

Here’s a closer shot so you can see how lightly I primed them:

 

This is what my cherubs were doing at the time – amusing themselves with sticks and dirt. #CoolestKidsEver

 

This brush has been in the family for several years and many painting jobs. I have painted the guest room, nightstand, and random odds and ends with this trusty brush. I love how short the handle is!

Here’s my luscious paint in Exotic Sea.

It should be noted…that you must either use outdoor paint or seal whatever you painted in order to get a paint job that lasts. Since I didn’t use outdoor paint, I will have to seal these guys. No biggie. Just wanted to point that out so you don’t assume you can use indoor paint on outdoor furniture!

After 2 coats, here’s the finished product:

And both chairs together…

How ’bout a little before & after goodness?

You might notice that the grill has been moved? I just moved it off of the porch so it wasn’t the first thing greeting people when they walked up to the house. It’s still under the overhang, so it’s not totally exposed to every drop of rain. Definitely improves the “looks” department of our front porch!

Come back on Wednesday and I’ll show you another detail on my front porch that really adds a POP o’ color!

 

 

 

 

p.s. miss any of the Curb Appeal posts? Click here for a list of them all!