Left to Right: Chairs by Wanda Weston, Interior Designer at WW Design Studio; Lindsay Saunders, Artist at Cinder & Sage; Heather Draper, Founder & Creative Director at The Heather Company; and LeAnne Bunnell, Interior Design Consultant at Elle Design.
Photos by Amy Jo Espetveidt, Quadrophonic Image
Chair by Amy Jo Espetveidt, Arts Editor for Calgary is Awesome
If you go down to the Calgary Home + Design Show make sure you stop at the by the front of Hall B.
There you’ll find 10 pre-loved yet amazing chairs, upcycled into fabulous new creations by local media personalities, designers and tastemakers.
From the bright and colourful to the sassy yet tasteful, these pieces are being auctioned off all in support of Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta.
Chair by Waunita Simmons, Patti Pon and the Calgary Arts Development Team
The Ultimate Upcycle Challenge 2: ChairLIFT returns for its second year and the designs are certainly eye catching.
“The Ultimate Upcycle Challenge was one of our most popular features at last fall’s Calgary Home + Design Show, and we couldn’t wait to bring it back,” said show manager Teri Salazar. “Environmentally-friendly and design-savvy, upcycling hits all the right notes with today’s clever homeowners. We know this will be our best showing yet.”
Chairs have been designed by Assistant Editor at Avenue Magazine Ricky Zayshley; I’m Mr. Fabulous’ Ryan Massel, Founder & Creative Director at The Heather Company, Heather Draper; Avenue Magazine Web Editor Jaelyn Molyneux; President & CEO of Calgary Arts Development Patti Pon and her team; Elle Design Interior Design Consultant LeAnne Bunnell; Cinder & Sage’s Lindsay Saunders; Interior Designer at Nyla Free Designs’ Nyla Free; Interior Designer at WW Design Studio Wanda Weston; and, of course, one from myself, Amy Jo Espetveidt, Arts Editor for Calgary is Awesome.
Chair by Ryan Massel, Blogger at I’m Mr. Fabulous
All participants were tasked with revamping their chairs using Rust-Oleum products, a $50 design budget and a little creativity. For those who want to know more, Rust-Oleum will even have its spokesperson and DIY expert Leigh-Ann Alliare Perrault on-hand at the show to offer her insights around the entries. She also appears on the Trail Appliances Main Stage on Friday, September 19 at 3pm.
How CHESS! was done
Now, for those of you curious about how an upcycle challenge such as this works, look no further and let me tell you a story.
I was asked a few months ago if I’d be interested in taking part. Of course I said yes and started pondering what I could possibly do. But it wasn’t until that Saturday morning mid-August that plans started to come together. All the participants were asked to come to the ReStore: Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta (3465 Sunridge Way NE) and pick out their chairs.
Chair by Nyla Free, Interior Designer at Nyla Free Designs
I knew I wanted something mid-century with little to no upholstery (because I’ve never been one to sew). And there it was, a simple little chair, with parquet-patterned wood and a lot of love needed. There were tonnes to choose from but this one screamed MINE!
On the drive home I knew I wanted to keep some of that original parquet pattern but I also wanted to create an art chair that was bright, colourful and useful.
My husband suggested that it reminded him of a chessboard and the idea of CHESS! was born.
Sitting down with the entire Rust-Oleum catalogue was a daunting task – did you know they were home to not only their namesake products but also TREMCLAD and VARATHANE. Basically, if you’ve ever done a DIY project, you’ve used their products.
Chair by Jaelyn Molyneux, Web Editor at Avenue Magazine
I wanted to keep with my painting style – bright splashes of colour, swirling and splattered with thick black lines throughout – and I had no problem finding a pallet that would work.
Because I wanted to keep it functional, it was all prepped with Rustoleum’s Magnetic Wall Primer to make it a magnetic chessboard. Now, I was super impressed with how easy it was to use the primer and how strong it was. Quick tip though, make sure you mix the snot out of it. I did it by hand and it took around 30 minutes to get all the metallic flakes to be even in the paint but it was worth it and the finished product ended up being really quite strong. The box recommends getting it mixed at the store by the paint shaker and that will certainly save your arms.
Then for spray paint I chose was Painter’s Touch Satin Green Apple and Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2X in Satin Heirloom White (chess board), Satin Espresso (chess board), Satin Aqua (the base colour for the seat), Satin Canyon Black and Satin Oasis Blue (the base colour for the pieces). Plus I used everything again in the splatter.
Chair by Ricky Zayshley, Assistant Editor at Avenue Magazine
I had used the Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch for a display piece a few years back and found that I needed a lot of paint to cover what I was working with so I ordered a lot of paint. But when they say 2X coverage and easier to spray, they are right on the money.
The new cans even spray upside down and that’s a lifesaver on a project like this. The coverage was also amazingly even making fewer coats, and less paint, needed to get the finish I wanted.
A lot of people have asked me how I managed the splatter look on the chair and it was really easy with a few light taps on the spray can from a few feet away. It gets messy but is bunches of fun to do.
The legs were coated with TREMCLAD Professional Semi Gloss Black and more splatter was added to tie it all in.
And the whole thing was finished with VARATHANE Diamond Wood Finish Water Base Clear Gloss to protect it and give it a shine.
The only thing that wasn’t a Rust-Oleum product was my trusty Sharpie Oil Paint marker for the finishing touches.
In the end everything went swimmingly except for attaching the magnets to the bottom of the chess pieces. Gluing neodymium magnets is a chore and not everything will work – hot glue doesn’t stick and neither does contact cement, Weldbond or super glue – so I ended up using JB Weld to attach them. The six-hour drying time meant it was tedious and these strong magnets will pinch your fingers in the rush to reattach. And, even then, it wasn’t the hold I really needed with a few magnets coming off when the chair was set up at the show. A mix of the TREMCLAD still being a bit tacky and the felt bottoms on the pieces worked together to foil me but should be fixed now that everything is dry. Luckily, a vendor at the show itself, the Miracle Glue guy, came to my rescue with a few drops that instantly fixed my issue. I wish I had this stiff from the beginning and I recommend it to anyone needing super strong glue.
In the end, the project took around 40 hours to complete but most of that was drying time and I was super impressed by all the products I used. If it wasn’t being auctioned off for a great cause, this chair could have totally been welcome in my home.
CHESS! – Putting the FUN in functionality with a rebellious edge, inspiration came from the chair’s original parquet pattern, midcentury lines and Rust-Oleum’s modern colour pallet. From start to finish.
Check out all the chairs at the Calgary Home + Design Show (Hall B) now until September 21 at the BMO Centre and bid on your fave. All proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta and ReStore: Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta.