Seat your guests in style with these DIY stencil chairs

17 Sep 2025

Chairs get used a lot in our homes, and if you’ve noticed yours are looking a little tired and worn, give them a new life with a coat of your favourite Resene paint colour! You could paint them all in one solid colour to match your interior scheme, paint the legs and frame in a contrasting hue to the seat and back, or even get creative and add a stencil pattern like we did!

You will need:

• Chair/chairs (use your existing chairs or check out your nearest second hand store)
• Sandpaper
• Paintbrush
• Resene Quick Dry
• Stencil print out
• Thin cardboard
• PVA glue
• Craft knife
• Masking tape
• Stencil brush or small piece of foam
• Resene testpots in your chosen colours. Fleur used Resene Regatta and Resene Blanc

Step 1: Start by sanding your chair (or chairs) with a medium grit sandpaper. Wipe away any dust, then prime with one coat of Resene Quick Dry.

Step 2: Once the primer is dry, paint your chair, or chairs, in two coats of your chosen Resene colour. Fleur used Resene Regatta in a Resene Lustacryl finish – this is your best choice of finish for furniture because of its durability.

Step 3: Either make your own stencil or find one online and print it out. Alternatively, you could use a paper doily. Use PVA glue to glue the print-out on to a thin piece of cardboard.

Step 4: With a craft knife, cut out the stencil. Position the stencil where you want it on the chair and use masking tape to hold it in place. Use a stencil paintbrush or a small piece of foam and dab your chosen paint colour in the holes of the stencil. Fleur used Resene Blanc for her pattern. Make sure you don’t have too much paint on your brush as it may bleed under the stencil. Carefully remove the stencil without smudging the paint, and reposition if needed to cover more area.

Tip: Overcoat with a clear finish such as Resene Aquaclear satin or gloss to improve the durability of the finish, or use Resene Lustacryl Semi Gloss enamel in the colours of your choice instead of testpots.

Wall painted in Resene Eighth Sisal, trims in Resene Rice Cake and table in Resene Black.

project and images Fleur Thorpe

Published: 17 Sep 2025