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April 11, 2016

Trash To Treasure: Painting Upholstery

Hi friends! Happy Monday! If you are visiting from Home Stories A to Z, welcome! I’m participating in Beth’s Thrifty Under Fifty Challenge and I’m really excited about today’s project. I finally tackled a project I’ve been wanting to try for a really long time, painting upholstery. Sounds crazy, huh!? I’ve seen a few people do it over the past few years and I wanted to see if it really worked.

A few months ago I stumbled upon someone giving away an old chair, and like any DIYer I couldn’t pass up something with FREE on the price tag! Are you ready to see what I started with?

before chairWow. Right? I was drawn to the tufted back and the exposed wood. I thought the chair had beautiful bones and I instantly had a vision of how I wanted it to look.
PAINTED UPHOLSTERY CHAIRAfter a little TLC, some paint, new upholstery on the seat, I completely made this chair over for pretty much exactly $50.

Painted Chair Makeover

I wanted a very rustic farmhouse look for this chair and that’s what I got. I am not even going to pretend to be a master at reupholstering, so I went with a deconstructed look that fits right in with my industrial style.

Farmhouse Chair Makeover

To get this look, I painted the upholstery on the tufting and the back of the chair, I gave all the wood a coat of white chalky paint, and I replaced the upholstery on the seat with farmhouse stripes and black upholstery nails.

So I know what you are thinking. Can you really paint over upholstery? Yes. Do I recommend it. Sorta. Based on my experience, I would definitely do this for an accent chair or one that won’t be sat in that much. While the fabric medium does soften the paint, I found that mine still felt a little like plastic. But that could also be caused by many factors, 1) wrong type of paint sheen 2) not enough fabric medium, etc. I’m happy with my first results and I will definitely try it again and tweak my formula.

Farmhouse Style Chair MakeoverIt goes perfectly with our vignette in the dining area. Loving my funky farmhouse chair :)

Painting an upholstered chairI actually really love the imperfections on the chair. It gives it so much character.

So ready for a quick tutorial and some tips on how I painted the upholstery?

Chair PrepI started by cleaning the upholstery. I used a lint brush and than a shopvac to really get all the dust off it. Then, I removed the ripped upholstery and deteriorating foam pad.

1st coat of paintNow, here is the fun part. Painting the upholstery. I have seen a few other people do this before, I loved 11 Magnolia Lane’s tutorial on it. I thought theirs was really easy and made sense to me. So I referenced that when starting this project.

I started by mixing gray latex paint with fabric medium. I followed the directions on the back of the bottle and did 1 part medium to 2 parts paint. I only needed one bottle of the medium for the entire chair (that I painted). After the entire first coat you can still see some of the green coming through.

I let the first coat dry completely and then I added the second layer. I only needed to coats for this chair. This existing fabric was a thick wool and the paint went right over it.

PAINTED UPHOLSTERY CHAIR

To finish off the look, I painted the legs in white chalky paint, added new fabric and foam to the seat and then black nail trim accents. And added a pillow from the lovely Bows and Burlap Boutique :)

So here is what I used:

Chair- FREE

Gray Paint ( you only need about half a quart )

6 oz fabric medium

White Chalky Paint

Chalky Paint Wax

Black Nail Trim (3 packs )

Striped Fabric (1 yard)

Foam Pad

If you utilize retail coupons (hobby lobby/Michaels, etc.) the entire projects comes out right around $50.

Painting Upholstery - Here's what I learnedThis was a really fun project to try and proof that you can always make a piece of furniture beautiful again! Now head over to Finding Silver Pennies to See what Danielle did with her thrifty find!

Monday

Home Stories A to Z
Design Dining Diapers
Finding Silver Pennies
Anderson + Grant

Tuesday

French Country Cottage
Refresh Restyle
Just a Girl
Finding Home Farms

Wednesday

Bless’er House
Beneath My Heart
Love Grows Wild
Ella Claire

Thursday

Southern Hospitality
Life On Virginia Street
Four Generations One Roof
Nest of Posies
City Farmhouse

Friday

In My Own Style
Sand & Sisal
Julie Blanner
Fox Cottage Hollow

About Taryn Whiteaker

Hi! I’m Taryn! The voice behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. I launched this brand over 11 years ago when I became a stay-at-home mom. What started as a small craft and mom blog eventually grew into a full time design and DIY site. My goal has always been to inspire others (especially women!) with design ideas, DIY tutorials, entertaining ideas and give you the tools you need to complete them yourself!

Filed Under: ALL POSTS, Before and Afters, DIY Home Decor, DIY Projects, Furniture Builds and Makeovers, Our Current Home, Our Home Projects

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beth says

    April 11, 2016 at 5:57 am

    I love it!! Way to see the diamond in the rough! Thanks for joining my hop. :)

    Reply
  2. Kim @ Sand & Sisal says

    April 11, 2016 at 6:35 am

    It turned out great Taryn! I love the color you chose too!

    Reply
  3. Jamie | anderson + grant says

    April 11, 2016 at 7:54 am

    Love your funky farmhouse chair, Taryn! I’ve never painted upholstery, but there have been a few times that I’ve considered doing it. It’s nice to know that you “sorta” recommend it! ;)

    Reply
  4. Danielle says

    April 11, 2016 at 8:02 am

    Oh my gosh, Taryn, I love the chair. I’ve never painted fabric but want to try it at some point. LOVE the colors and the tufting and the nailhead. Great job! x

    Reply
  5. Andrea says

    April 11, 2016 at 8:34 am

    The chair looks amazing! I would love to know where the metal cart came from? We walked through a model home a few weeks ago, and they had something really similar. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head, but can’t seem to find it anywhere!

    Reply
  6. Julie Blanner says

    April 13, 2016 at 1:55 pm

    It looks fantastic! I might have to try painting over upholstery!

    Reply
  7. Sue McElroy says

    April 15, 2016 at 5:11 am

    Good job!!!! I Too would love to know more about the cart. I am in love with it.

    Reply
  8. Jessica says

    April 15, 2016 at 5:17 am

    Awesome job Taryn! I love that the cushion is a contrast to the back… so pretty!

    Reply
  9. Debrashoppeno5 says

    April 18, 2016 at 3:55 pm

    The chair looks fantastic. I love how you combined the stripes with the solid back.

    Reply
  10. lynda says

    April 19, 2016 at 7:11 am

    hi ive always wanted to paint chairs…thank you for advice…where do you find (fabric medium)?? I live in a small town..

    Reply
  11. Ashlyn says

    September 27, 2016 at 7:53 am

    Stunning!! I love the grey and stripes, such a chic chair.

    Reply

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Taryn Whiteaker

Hi and welcome! I'm Taryn and the voice of style behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. Sharing our journey of modernizing our European style home in Dallas. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list to get all the latest updates! Read more...

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