Sometimes all we need is a little bit of a makeover to feel pretty. True for people and true for shabby little French chairs as well.
I thought it was about time to give you another look at some of the Old Things New projects I’ve been doing around my house.
I’m always busy doing something but I don’t always write about it here because, well, there is just so much fun stuff to write about.
This is actually a project I did over two years ago, which is good, because you’ll be able to see how it’s holding up.
The title of this article is The Ups & Downs of Painting & Waxing Upholstery. This project was a big thumbs UP, so I’ll share it first, then I’ll tell you about my other experience with painting fabric . . . which turned out to be a big thumbs DOWN.
I painted this thrifted French chair using my homemade chalk paint recipe, color matched to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint’s (ASCP) Old White. I have an ASCP color sample brochure which I take down to my local hardware store to have it matched.
I was fortunate enough to find a set of two of these sweet chairs on Craigslist. The other one has a wobbly leg (which hubby promises to repair) so she hasn’t received her paint makeover yet 😉
The pattern of the fabric ended up giving the chair lot of great texture when painted.
Also, because the fabric is a fairly tight weave, it didn’t soak up as much paint as some fabrics are prone to do.
Here are the steps I took in painting this chair:
- I thoroughly sprayed the chair down first with a spray bottle of water. This helps the paint soak into the fabric.
- I painted over the entire chair, fabric, trim and wood, with the Old White knockoff paint, watered down a bit more than what I would normally paint an all-wood piece of furniture.
- I allowed the paint to dry thoroughly before continuing on to the next coat.
- I applied two more coats of Old White to the fabric and one more coat to the wooden sections of the chair.
- After more drying time, I painted the wood with two coats of home made chalk paint, color matched to ASCP’s French Linen.
- After all was dry I scuffed up the paint with a sanding block to allow the Old White and some of the natural wood to show through.
- Finally, I applied ASCP soft wax, allowed it to dry, buffed, and repeated the process with a second coat of wax.
Note: Soft wax is great but I now prefer the less expensive, harder and more glowing finish of MinWax Paste Finishing Wax. You can see my review of that in this post about my Chalk Painted French Country Bar Stools.
I really love the contrast of the two colors, Old White and French Linen. How about you?
This little French chair has her home in my blue and white guest room and she is very happy to be the prettiest piece in the room 🙂
Finally, the DOWN side of chalk painting fabric. I would never, never, repeat, never, try painting velvet fabric again. I know that a lot of people do it but the one chair I painted took an entire quart of chalk paint, and I was using ASCP, which is expensive. Even after painting multiple coats, it still had a slight hint of the pink color. I waxed it because that is supposed to make it feel “just like leather,” according to some, but not my low napped velvet chair. The chair ended up feeling rough when running your hand across it and I felt like it would never be comfortable for “real” use.
I lent my chair to Santa Clause for a holiday bazaar and by the end of the day, bits of his red suit were stuck in the rough nap of the painted chair! LOL!
So, needless to say, no more paint on velvet for me!
This however, was a successful paint job, and if I could find more chairs like these (cheap) I’d snatch them up in a heartbeat.
Have any of you tried using chalk paint on upholstery fabric? What was your experience? I’d love to hear!
Blessings,
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I have some chairs to reupholster. The fabric isn’t in bad shape but the colors are awful. I want to try to paint, and if that doesn’t work, I will learn to reupholster. They were freebies, so I have nothing to lose!
Your post here is a keeper as a guide for when I do it. Probably soon–now that it’s nice and I can put the chairs outside to dry.
Yay! Go for it my friend. The way paint transforms things is delightful to me!
Great chair! I used flat latex interior wall paint (same method, spray fabric with water, etc.) to paint mildew stained outdoor butterfly chair covers – they look dynamite!! And much cheaper than replacing the covers. So successful I bought 4 thrift shop outdoor stools (great heavy metal frames with ugly yellow upholstered seats – seats are now indigo blue (mixed from samples the home improvement store give away) and possibly more waterproof.
Ohhh… your projects sound beautiful! Isn’t it fun?
Thanks for the encouragement!! I was thinking of this very thing; for my upholstered bench; it has a lot of wood like your chair…shoot if all else fails; I can take it in and let the big guys make it right:) right? lol….I like to try new things too! I love how your chair turned out. This gives me some courage to attempt to do mine as well!!! Thank you for posting this:)
Yay Melinda! I would love to see pictures of your upholstered bench when you do it. I’m sure you can’t mess it up because there is always more paint to correct our errors. Good luck 😉
Oh my this is something I never thought of. I’m going to have to find something to try it on.
Go for it Gail! Someone else just wrote about doing this on an antique settee. Wouldn’t THAT be beautiful? Please send me a before and after pic if you do find a piece to transform.
How on earth did you get the wood parts of the chair painted so professionally around the painted fabric?
Haha! A steady hand? The thing is, if you get a little paint on the fabric there is always more touch up paint to correct your errors 😉
I just sent a friend a link to your blog because she posted a pic of an antique settee that she is planning to paint with ASCP. She just moved to the Carolinas.
Oh nice! Wouldn’t a settee look pretty in these colors? So your friend that moved here to the Carolinas, is she a really good friend? A friend that you’ll be coming out to visit? Yes? Well, then I know you will want to visit us here in Greenville too 😉
Wow, that turned out beautiful! Pretty as she was originally, no denying she’s gorgeous after her makeover!
Good job Patti, and thanks for sharing. I need to find a really small lady’s slipper chair or something and do something similar. I could use one in my sewing room.
Blessings!
Thank you Sharon. I slipper chair would be beautiful. A picture of one popped up on my Pinterest feed this morning. The wood was painted Old White and the fabric was like a Robin’s egg blue. So pretty.
I remember that lovely chair, Patti! I agree with you….when I painted my dining room chairs I used the minwax paste wax…and they are tough as nails. Thanks for sharing your projects…good and bad!
Oh My Gosh! First, you did a BEAUTIFUL job on that chair!!! Second, I have one almost identical to the before chair, hmmmmmm?!? Thank you SO much for your post!!!
You are most welcome Teresa. It sounds like you have the bug to paint your chair! 🙂
Your chair looks fantastic……..I have heard about doing this before, but it always wonder if it needs to be on a pc. of
furniture that rarely has anyone sit on it…………..Does waxing it make it like leather and where nothing would come
off on your clothing??
You did a fab job on that chair I have to say, very very pretty and know you must really be enjoying it.
Blessings,
Nellie
With or without waxing, nothing comes off on your clothing with chalk painted upholstery. I like the feel of it with the wax best though because it’s smoother to the touch. I don’t sit on this chair every day but what I’ve heard from those who use their painted pieces daily is that over time they can get some cracking. I’ve seen pictures of this and it kind of looks like worn leather, which I probably wouldn’t mind that at all. Thanks for your kind words Nellie 🙂
Great makeover!
Thanks Virginia! <3
Thanks Virginia!
I am interested in doing this with an upholstered head board that isn’t quite the right white…So you did apply wax tot he fabric after?
Yes Natalie. I applied the wax to the paint after it was dry. Clear wax doesn’t change the color much but you could use a tinted wax if you want to. 🙂
It looks great! Thank you for sharing, I have a question re:waxing process:
How did you apply the wax? with a brush? what kind? did you warm up the wax?
Hi Sierra. I used Annie Sloan soft wax for this particular project. It doesn’t need to be heated as it spreads easily. I used a round wax brush to apply it, which I also got from Annie Sloan. It was spendy but I’ve had the same brush for years and have done a gazillion projects with it. Thanks for writing!
This looks like it would work well on a small wing chair that I have. Will give it a try, thanks for the inspiration! A couple of years,ago I spray painted some faded red patio umbrellas. They still look like new. Spray paint has UV protection in it. Who knew?
I love painting fabric. I painted this amazing Victorian arm chair. I haven’t painted anything velvet before but I always use ArtMinds soft gloss acrylic decor paint. One step that I also do is once I do the desired number of coats and it has dried I sand it all down with the finest grit sandpaper you can find. This just smooths everything out before applying the wax.
Can I use any leftover paint that I like the color, or do I need fabric paint to do my project? I’m eager to try, I just want It to turn out like yours, meaning great!