Transform your plain dining chairs into chic designer furniture in five easy steps with this paint-dipped effect.

Transform your dining chairs

Transform chairs with a dipped paint effect

Give your dining chairs a new look with a dipped leg effect.

Also known as dip-dyed legs or coloured feet, this quick dipped effect is quirky, playful, and an easy way to give old or tired furniture a stylish new look.

First, sand your chair with fine sandpaper. Use a damp cloth to remove any residue.
Apply one coat of wood primer – this will ensure the paint has a nice surface to stick to. Follow the wood grain with your paintbrush and be careful not to let the primer drip down the legs.
Once the primer is dry, use your chosen colour to paint the whole chair. If you’d like to create a contemporary look, we recommend an acrylic paint with a matt finish such as Dulux Satin – this will give you a beautiful low sheen effect.
Once your first coat has dried, repeat step 1. After you've sanded the chair again, use a damp cloth to wipe the chair of any remaining dust. Apply a second coat of paint.
Once your second coat has dried, it’s time to get dipping! Measure how high up the leg you want the dipped effect to go and stick low-tack decorator’s masking tape just above this point. Repeat this for each of the legs.
Use your chosen second colour to paint the legs of your chairs. Make sure you paint the second colour over the masking tape line slightly – this will create a crisp line under the tape.
To stop the paint peeling off along with the tape, remove the masking tape before the final coat has finished drying. Make sure the paint isn't wet enough to drip before peeling back the tape to reveal a clean line.

You could try experimenting with this effect at different heights and with colours that work with your accessories. We’ve used neutrals here, but you can go for any colour combination that takes your fancy.