Before altering or adding any decorative touches to an old wood chair, you have to prep it first by scrubbing it with a damp cloth and light cleanser to remove any build-up of dust, dirt or grease. Then lightly sand all the surfaces and brush away all the sanding dust. Now the chair is ready to be painted with a base coat in whatever color works best for your design, using either spray paint or brush-on paint. Add a second coat of paint as needed, then allow the chair to dry thoroughly.

This is a "Princess Chair" I made for my granddaughter. You don't need to be an accomplished painter to alter a chair lik this — you can use stencils, collage images or even stickers. I used collage images for the little girls, then hand-painted the vines and most of the leaves, then I sanded back some of the edges to make the chair look more shabby chic or vintage. I hot-glued beaded fringe under the edge of the seat and added glass finials to the top. Drill pilot holes slowly down into the center of each chair post, then don't screw in the finials too tightly or the wood may split.