[…] this challenge we all got to update anything we wanted with paint! I chose to makeover an unloved chair & I couldn’t be happier with the […]
What Not To Do When Painting Upholstery
UPDATE YOUR UNLOVED FURNITURE WITH THIS SIMPLE UPHOLSTERY PAINT MIX THAT WILL COMPLETELY CHANGE THE LOOK OF YOUR UPHOLSTERY IN THE COLOR OF YOUR CHOICE
Stepping into this week like, new chair who dis. This months Love Your Home Challenge is a paint update project, so I knew I had a perfect excuse to try out painting a chair! If you are new to this little blog you should know I will try anything & be happy to share all of my failures with yall. This project had a few fails but in the end I am so happy with my brand “new” chair! So here is my list of what not to do when painting upholstery.
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Supplies:
- Textile Medium
- Latex Paint
- Brush
- Roller
Process:
The Before-
Start by giving your furniture a really deep cleaning. Do not skimp out on the vacuuming, I did, & I didn’t realize the mistake until it was too late. Some of the dog hair is not permanetly embedded in the chair, luckily for me it was only a small section on the back but still.
Next its time to mix up your paint. The formula I found that works best is: 1 part paint/2 parts medium/1 part water. I found that, that combination gave me the best consistency.
Paint: Salty Dog by Sherwin Williams
Now lets get down to the actual painting! This pretty blue is Salty Dog by Sherwin Williams, but I got it in the Valspar brand to save a little money. I used a combination of a brush & roller. You will need both, the brush is perfect for getting in the creases & the roller will make the rest go a lot faster.
The first coat took me about an hour. You can see in this photo that it covered pretty well but some of the writing bled through so it definitely needed a second coat. I used the entire half gallon of paint on the chair, so if you are painting a larger piece definitely get a whole gallon.
While my second coat of paint was drying I moved onto the legs. They definitly needed a little TLC. Gold seemed like the perfect choice to accent the deep blue of the chair. Rust-oleum is my go to spray paint brand, I gave the legs 2 coats.
Once the chair was dry I moved it inside & attached the feet. Ta da an easy paint update that gave this chair new life! Unfortunately Justin is not a huge fan, if you follow along with us on Instagram you got to see exactly what he thought of my latest DIY!
Heres what I learned:
- Vaccuming cant be rushed
- Two coats is the minimum
- The chair is kinda crunchy, I am not sure there is a way around that
- Husbands wont always love your DIY projects
I hope yall loved this paint update journey as much as I did & I would love to hear what you think of the chair. Are you on team Justin or team Lia?!
Dont forget to check out all the other amazing paint update projects below!
The chair does look pretty now! I enjoyed watching you tackle this project on your IG stories.
Thanks so much Sherry! It was a fun project!
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at painting an upholstered piece. Waiting for the perfect thrift store find! Thanks for sharing what not to do!!! Pinning for later 🙂
I cant wait to see how your turns out Martina! Its a great way to update on a budget!
It looks great! I know what you mean by husbands won’t always like your DIY’s! I have seen a lot of people paint furniture, but I have never attempted it, because I’m pretty sure my husband would think I had gone too far with my crafting!!
I am afraid I can’t convince him to love it Cherryl lol
I think the chair looks great ! I was wondering if you need to scotch guard or use some sort of protective coating to keep paint from rubbing off or cracking.
I didn’t use any & so far no cracking & I even cleaned the chair with a wet rag & the color did not come off. So far so good!
Amazing! I’ve never had the nerve to paint upholstery but yours looks great! Perfect way to makeover an old chair. Great job!
Thanks so much Marty! Definitely try it, it was such a fun project!
The chair looks lovely.
I have a faux leather recliner and loveseat that I was thing about painting.
Since it’s more smooth than regular material do you think I would use the same paint and mixture?
Hi Cathy! Thanks so much, I would use the same amount of mixture because you want the texture to be as smooth as possible!
I have a chair I want to paint but it is red and gold and I am afraid the color will affect the finished color. I want it to be blue but worked it will end up green or muddy. Any advise?
Hi Jan! I might try priming it white first, then going back over it with your final color! I hope that helps, let me know how it goes!
You mention mixing a medium with the paint and water. I’m new at this. What is a medium?
Hi Caren! The medium is the product I have linked at the top of the post. It is what helps make the furniture still feel softer & helps the paint not bleed or run! I will leave a link to it here for you too, let me know if that helps!
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The key to a smooth finish is definitely sanding!
Yes!! I don’t know why it takes me so long to learn that lesson!
The tutorial I saw said to wad up a newspaper and sand the fabrics with the paper to lose the stiffness…
I will have to try that next time!
I painted a couch with straight acrylic wall paint. It felt stiff and scratchy so I rubbed Dubbin leather polish in well. It came out soft and shiny, very much like leather.
That is a great idea Melanie! I used to use that on our horse tack!
Hello Lia,
I have the same chair. I’m thinking about painting it a jewel tone to go with my orange couch.
I have a difficult time getting the legs off, any advise.