Here are were our dining room chairs.
They were my grandmother's and are beautiful antique chairs, but they were very rickety and probably better suited in a formal-ish dining room one day instead of bearing our daily use.
My parents had 6 of these chairs in storage from their old lake house...
I wanted chairs something like this...

So I spray painted these chairs for a more contemporary feel...
In they went, and I was instantly so excited about the results! They also serve to tie in the center of the room with the wall color. 
What I should have done: Lightly sanded the chairs, primed them, and then brush painted them with semi-gloss metallic silver paint.
Why I didn't: A gallon of metallic paint is around $75 (at Lowe's) and you have to buy it by the gallon! And I think you have to buy the base color separately.
So I just: Spray painted them with metallic spray paint.
How it's workin' out: Pretty good, they have chipped a bit on the seats, but it'll be super easy to just drag them out to the yard once in a while and spray them again!
I guess I could have: At least, primed them with a spray primer before spraying them silver.
But then: It would have probably been an extra day or two before I could see the results, and that was NOT an option.
Would I do it this way again: Yes!!! Besides the intense finger cramp after 6 chairs, it was pretty painless and cheap!