Let me start by saying that raw furniture is a DIYer’s dream. Gorgeous furniture that I can customize to fit my exact home decor style and color scheme? Yes please! There are plenty of design styles that I love, but one of my favorites is classic design with a modern twist. When I saw the Octavia Chair from The AVE Raw collection at AVE Home Furniture, this is the exact concept that I envisioned for finishing the piece. This raw wood chair is so simple when you first see it, but then at second glance you begin to notice the beautiful carved floral accents, tapered legs, and intricate grooves. Time to play! 

Because the chair’s design is a classic Louis XVI style with a beautiful round back, my modern twist came with my charcoal grey and antique pink color scheme. Variations of charcoal are some of my favorite hues, and I have multiple furniture pieces in my home featuring this color, so I knew this chair would look beautiful with a charcoal frame. Before I applied my paint, I lightly sanded the raw wood chair. I then began painting by applying two coats of a matte wood furniture paint in a rich charcoal grey. After my paint was completely dry, I added a layer of wax to seal the paint.

This raw wood chair would, of course, look great with a charcoal and white color scheme. As lovely as the white cushions were, I decided to paint the cushions to make my simple raw wood chair fit for a queen! I love taking a heavy color like charcoal grey and pairing it with a light and airy complementary color to create a perfect balance between masculine and feminine. This is why I love charcoal and blush pink combinations. It feels like an elegant, grown-up spin on a traditionally girlish color. It’s fresh without looking too youthful, if you know what I mean! To paint the cushion, I picked up some house paint in a pretty pink. Before I began painting the cushion, I mixed a bit of fabric medium with the paint to soften the paint. I would recommend using about a 3 to 1 ratio of paint to fabric medium. Because the cushion is fairly absorbent, I applied 2-3 coats of paint, until the color looked cohesive and beautiful. This was quite a bit of paint, so I gave it plenty of time to dry before I moved on to the next step!    

To finish off my (formerly) raw wood chair, I decided to add a strip of rose gold iron-on for the ultimate modern twist. I love metallic accents, and this addition completed my vision! I place a 4-inch strip of iron-on lengthwise onto the seat cushion of the chair. Make sure to use very high heat and apply a lot of pressure with your iron for this because there will be multiple layers of paint that the iron-on has to stick to. To give fair warning, it will take a little while to make the iron-on stick! The upside is that it does not have to be perfect. If the iron-on turns out to be a bit speckled looking, it will only add to the uniqueness of your once raw wood chair. Next, repeat this process with the back cushion. After my iron-ons were ready, I went back and did a bit of touch up on the charcoal paint. Looking back, it may have been better to paint the fabric first, but you live and you learn! The last step in finishing my raw wood chair was to add a bit of polish over the grey paint. Voila!

Starting with raw furniture gave me the option of creating something that was completely my own. To browse all of AVE Home’s raw furniture collection, head over to their Online Shop, which includes all the product information you will need. If you would like to learn more about AVE Home’s furniture, feel free to contact them at info@avehome.com. I hope you enjoy their gorgeously crafted pieces! ~ Lia