~a painted fabric chair diy~

Check out this chair.

It is one of two that I picked up at a yard sale.

But this is how they looked before.

Yellow, cute, but not really my style.

Without having money in the budget to reupholster right now, I decided to try my hand at painting the fabric. I did a little research online and came up with this product.

 The reason I chose this product over others is that all the tutorials by people who had used it, gave it a good rating. Also, I liked that I could mix it with my paint of choice, meaning

 I had control over the color.

So I bought 4 bottles because it took 2 per chair.

You basically just follow the instructions on the bottle, mixing 2 parts paint to one part textile medium.

After taping off the wood legs and arms, I used a good brush and started painting.

This is after 1 coat. It's hard to see, but you can see how it still looks uneven and a little blotchy.

I let this coat dry for 5 long hours and then added a second final coat and let that dry overnight.

When I peeled off the blue tape in the morning it took a little finish off the wood, so I touched it up with Annie Sloan dark wax. I actually like the look with the wax better.

You can see by the photos the fabric still has it's nubby texture to it so it looks beautiful.

However, the fabric felt really stiff to me.

I got back online and did a little more reading and found out if you take a sander to it with fine sandpaper, it will help soften it.

And guess what, it did!

My opinion on fabric paint, if you are going to try it.

Go for it, it's an inexpensive solution to an expensive re-upholstering project.

Am I happy with the results?

Yes and no.

I do love the look, I think they are gorgeous.

I do think they are still a bit stiff. To best describe it, I'd say it feels like a canvas material.

Not horrible, but not super cozy soft.

Don't do it on a family heirloom, but it's definitely worth trying!

xoxo