This is a crazy chicken.

Behind the crazy chicken are two white bar stools.  I picked them up at a garage sale when we first moved into our house because we suddenly owned an island but had nothing to put around it.

Here’s a closeup:

That’s baby Micah, trying to eat the bar stool.

Over the past five years, we’ve gotten a lot of use out of those stools.  They’re sturdy and in pretty good condition.  But they’re also boring and a little worn, and I didn’t feel like they belonged in my kitchen anymore.

That’s because, behind the scenes at Five in Tow, we’ve been working on a few major house improvements.  I tackled the kitchen, which included refinishing the cabinets to a deep, espresso color.  I’m going to show you the whole thing next week, but for now, you just have to trust me that those old white bar stools just didn’t go.

The white was too contrasty against the espresso, and they were a little battered and worn from being used as blanket tent supports for the last five years.

So I decided to fix them up.

I had a can of turquoise spray paint in the garage.  I bought it with a coupon for the craft store when I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted for 40% off.  I do that sometimes–I just buy spray paint and keep it on hand because I never know when I’m going to need to paint something turquoise.  It happens.

I taped off the wooden seats and sprayed the legs with several thick coats of paint.

My husband walked by at this point and looked at me.  I wouldn’t say he disliked the color.

No, the deep loathing I saw in his eyes was much more like hatred.

“Trust me!” I smiled.

“Shouldn’t you be working on your kitchen?” he asked.  He meant, shouldn’t you be finishing the project you already started instead of painting perfectly good bar stools that hideous color, which I hate?  And also which I don’t like?  At all?

Yes.  I should have been finishing my kitchen.  But painting bar stools was much more fun and creative than slathering another coat of polyurethane on my cupboards.

So.  I continued.

I wanted the stools to look worn, in a good way, and I wanted some of the white paint to show through.  I figured this was going to happen anyway, after months and months of kids using the stools, so I thought I might as well make it look intentional.  I took some sand paper to it and smoothed away the blue paint wherever I felt like doing it.

Finally, I slathered on a glaze to antique the stools even further, and to tone down the color a bit since my hubby loved it so much.

After the stools dried and my husband went away to search craigslist for new bar stools, I got out my stencils.  This is the exact stencil I used, only I purchased mine at Michael’s with a coupon.

I love it because it has several patterns, and I didn’t want my stools to be matchy-matchy.

I did want a bright, cherry-red color to accent the turquoise.  I also thought this would pull in the red on a wall on the opposite side of the room.  My kitchen, dining room, and living room are all one great big room, so things have to coordinate.  However, I chose a brighter red for the stools because I wanted something fun and vibrant.

Besides, Jeff loves it when I paint things fun and vibrant colors.

Tape and stencil with acrylic craft paints.  The picture above is from another stenciling project.  I didn’t take any pictures of myself stenciling the stools because I did it while we were watching a movie to distract Jeff from the horrors of his wife painting his stools turquoise and cherry red.

But, they turned out like this:

Aren’t they fun?   I sprayed a few coats of polyurethane all over them just to make sure they’d last after five kids get a hold of them.  I have to say, it was a joy to shoot some poly out of a can after spending hours and hours painting it onto my cupboards with a brush.

Now, here’s a little sneak peak at my kitchen renovation post.

Don’t you love the flowers from my yard?  I’m picking bouquets every day because we’re not going to have flowers like that to pick in El Paso.

See the painter’s tape on the floor?  That’s because I spray painted stools instead of applying the last coat of polyurethane to my island.  La la la!

(I think it was a good choice).

Jeff doesn’t think the stools go with the kitchen, and he’s probably right.  But I love my stenciled stools anyway and I’m not above buying a few accessories to place around the kitchen to make it all work.

They are a tad bright.  But then, I kind of like things that way.

What do you think?  Do you side with Jeff and think my stenciled stools are a little over the top?  Or are you ready to break out the spray paint and make some of your own?

Also, stay tuned for my upcoming Kitchen Transformation post!  See how I turned my cabinets from dated and drabby to classic and stunning for less than $50!