The Upholstered Chair Project

Did you see my newly painted patio furniture?

Well, there is also another way to paint upholstery.  It takes more time, but the outcome is worth it.

If Simply Spray would have had the color I wanted this chair, I would have used it.  It was so much easier...but I needed just the right color of gray.

I have wanted a wing back chair for soooooooo long.

When I saw a pair on Craigslist for $60, I jumped at the opportunity.

Unfortunately when I got the chairs back home, they didn't seem as cute, 

and they were actually really dirty.  It sort of grossed me out.

I saw a post a while back by Emily Clark on painting upholstery.

If she could do it, I should have the guts to go ahead and do it too!

What you need:

1 soon to be Cute Chair (Or any piece of upholstered furniture)

1 Quart of Latex Water Based Paint

1 Spray Bottle full of water

1 - 2 inch paint brush

A few rags

Fabric Medium

Step 1: Clean your chair as good as you can.  I used an upholstery cleaner on the arms and the top of the chair where it seemed soiled, and I washed the cushion cover on gentle in the washing machine.  There were still stains, but it felt clean, and was ready to paint!

Step 2: Mix 1:1 parts of your latex paint and your fabric medium.

The fabric medium is what keeps the paint from becoming too hard and crunchy.

The color I used was Seal Gray by Behr.

Step 3: Water down your mixture.  Mix in 1/2 as much water as you have paint.

Mix until the color and consistency seems even.  Keeping it thin and watery will allow the fabric to absorb the color really well.

Step 4: Start the painting process!  I removed my cushion, and started with the chair base itself.

Spray your chair with your water bottle to dampen it and then brush your color right in.  Brush slowly so that you don't splatter all over.  It is okay to get it really wet, I promise your chair will dry.  

Repeat until you see good coverage.  

Step 5:  Use your rag to rub the color in even more!  Rubbing the paint into the fabric will also keep the paint from settling on the top and drying into a crunchy coat.  This is your base coat.  It may or may not give you good coverage depending on what color you are starting and ending with.  Since I was going from white to gray...I had to do more than one coat.

Step 6: Let your chair dry.  I brought in a fan to speed up the process.  

I left my chair for 1/2 a day and then continued.

Step 7: Once chair is dry, embellish!  I fancied mine up with freshly painted legs and nail-heads!

Note: When adding nail-heads, do NOT nail them in completely until you have figured out where you want them.  I nailed them in part way to make sure they looked even first.

Even my little Crew boy helped me out!

The finishing touch!  A cute throw blanket and pillow!

 I kept one chair and gave the other to Sassy.  So I am sure you will see another cute chair redo here soon. 

Do you have a project that needs painting?  

Painting upholstery opens up a whole new world!

Cheers,