Spray paint. Again. No one should be surprised.
I have a habit of spraying my decorating dilemmas away, and this chair was the latest victim. I’d been wanting to give its legs an oil-rubbed-bronze (ORB) finish for a while. In real life the legs read as an orange-red that clashes with the rest of the room and draws the eye for the wrong reasons.
They didn’t exactly coordinate with the darker ORB legs we added to Karl the sectional, nor with the gray-washed ceiling beams and the deeper, brown-based tones of the console table behind the sofa. We plan to refinish the floors eventually in tones that match the console, so those orangey-red undertones will be less of an issue in the future.
For this quick update I picked up a can of Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic spray paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze—the same formula we used on other furniture legs. If you can’t find the exact can in stores, other high-quality metallic spray paints with an ORB shade will produce similar results.
Preparation took longer than the painting. I spent about fifteen minutes protecting the upholstered seat by wrapping it with two large garbage bags and cutting holes for the legs. Painters’ tape sealed the edges so no paint could reach the fabric. I made sure to spray all the way up to the top of each wood leg to eliminate the ring of orange that sat just below the upholstery.
Once the chair was taped and covered, the spraying itself only took around five minutes. The legs were dry and slightly chalky rather than glossy, so no sanding was necessary—perfectly ready for paint. I set the chair upside down on a recycling bin to reach everything easily and sprayed three thin coats for an even metallic finish.
Here are a few practical spray-paint tips that I follow:
- Buy a decent can. Skip the cheapest $2 options and choose a quality product (typically $7 or more). A good nozzle sprays thin and even without glopping up on your fingers.
- Keep the can moving while you spray. Hold a steady, sweeping motion so you apply an even mist rather than one heavy blob.
- Hold the nozzle about 8–10 inches from the surface. This distance helps create a fine mist instead of a wet, drippy coat.
- Apply multiple light coats. Three thin coats look much better than one thick, drippy one and reduce runs and drips.
- Spray paint still contains VOCs, so work outdoors with a mask and follow the manufacturer’s drying times. When possible, allow longer than recommended for a safer cure—24 hours is common, and doubling that provides extra assurance.
- If you want to reduce off-gassing once the item is brought inside, topcoat with a low-VOC sealer like Safecoat Acrylacq—apply two thin coats to lock the finish and minimize lingering odors.
The transformation is subtle but effective. The new ORB finish lets the legs blend into the room and adds a quiet metallic gleam that complements other accents. I’d rather the spotlight fall on the silver lamps, the curtains, the sectional, or the kids’ artwork than on bright orange chair legs.
Long-term, we’d love to replace this chair with a thrifted or more distinctive upholstered armchair or a slipper chair with turned legs or casters. For now, a $7 can of spray paint (technically half a can, since I’ve still got extra) was a quick, low-cost upgrade that fixed the visual mismatch.
And yes, beware the rest of the house—anything with the wrong finish is now a potential candidate for an ORB makeover. I’ve got the spray can out and I’m not afraid to use it.
Side notes: I shared a list of summer activities over on BabyCenter today—so many fun things for the kids to do. Also, I caught a design show last night and found myself chuckling at one contestant’s phrasing. Small design-world observations aside, the chair legs are finally behaving themselves.