Have you had those moments when your head is saying one thing but your gut is screaming another? If you ignored your gut, you probably quickly learned like I did that you should've listened. That's the story behind the children's rustic rocking chair makeover that I'm sharing today.

My head said to paint it a clean solid pastel color with a cute stenciled butterfly, and that's the direction I was heading.

Until this happened...

Painted Rocking Chair With Farmhouse Style

Mint is a very popular color these days for a gender-neutral nursery. So I started the makeover with one coat of a Pistachio Mint chalk-style paint color leftover from the Mid-Century Modern Dining Hutch makeover for a client.

But before painting the second coat I was really liking the rustic charm of the dark wood peeking through the paint.

But did I listen? My gut was screaming to stop there but I'm a stubborn old mule and had a plan. Besides, I already had that adorable butterfly stencil waiting on the workbench.

So I added the second coat of mint paint and called it a day.

But all evening and into my dreams I kept envisioning a farmhouse-style rocking chair with a time-worn distressed finish. I know those of you who upcycle furniture know all too well how these pieces can infiltrate our dreams.

Anyway, the next morning with sandpaper in hand, I listened to my gut and set out to distress the paint. No surprise, the paint wasn't coming off easily.

Pro-Tip

Another way to distress stubborn fresh paint that has completely dried is the wet distress method. Grab a pail of warm water and an old rag and rub the areas where you want to remove the paint.

And I liked it...I liked it a lot!

The takeaway - I could have saved myself a lot of work had I listened to my gut in the first place. The best thing you can do when painting furniture is to tell your head to take a break and let your intuition guide you. It is ALWAYS right!

Before I go further, let's backtrack a little so you can see what the vintage rocking chair looked like before the makeover.

And here it is after the makeover painted green.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the rocking chair makeover, almost all of the DIY projects shared here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Painted Rocking Chair Makeover Steps

This is how the chair looked after the wet distressing to remove some of the mint paint where it would naturally wear over time.

Next, I started to apply white wax when again, my gut said to go with dark wax. This time I listened and grabbed a jar of Daddy Van's Van Dyke Brown dark wax that I had on hand.

In the photo below you can see the difference between no wax on the right and dark wax on the left.

Apply the wax with a wax brush, making sure it nestles into the nooks and crannies, and then wipe the excess with a lint-free rag. It deepens the paint color and gives the paint a lovely aged patina, much more suitable for this vintage piece.

What do you think? I know chippy furniture isn't for everyone.

I'd love to hear your stories of what happened when you haven't listened to your gut when working on a project.

Here's an adult-size Whimsical Rocking Chair Makeover idea for a nursery. For more farmhouse inspiration take a look at our Farmhouse Furniture And Decor Ideas page.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this small painted rocking chair makeover. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed this small rocking chair makeover, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your Child's Furniture Ideas or Rocking Chair Ideas board on Pinterest.

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.