In the past, I would go to yard sales and see amazing upholstered vintage chairs, and I would pass them by. The fabric usually looked worn, and I didn’t want to dish out the money to have it reupholstered.
Then a few months ago, I tried my hand at painting the actual fabric. It turned out great!
So when my mom saw that a neighbor had left this outdated, peach number out on the curb, she scooped it up and brought it home for me to work a little magic on.
I started by vacuuming it out and dusting it off.
Next, I took some sanding blocks and lightly scuffed up the feet of the chair and wiped them down.
I then grabbed some Plaster Paint in Pink Dreams, a good paint brush, some fabric medium, and a squirt bottle full of water. I used a 1:1:1 ratio of water, medium and paint. I went section-by-section and would squirt the section with water and then put on a coat of paint. I continued this until the whole chair was covered.
I let it dry for 2-3 hours, and then I went over it again with another coat making sure to get in under all of the gathered areas.
Once this dries do not be alarmed that your chair will feel really rough and crunchy.
Next I took a sanding block and went over the entire chair lightly which will remove some of the crunchiness.
I then took some Silver Bling Plaster Paint and went over the feet of the chair three times. I then coated them in poly.
Last, I coated the entire chair in Plaster Paint’s Paste Wax and buffed it. After you have buffed off the wax, that is when it will soften and feel like a soft leather.
I love how cute it turned out, and I can’t wait to take a picture of my little niece in it!
Head over to yesterday’s post to see how I made this No-Sew Pillow to go with it ( and enter the giveaway)!
Make sure you head over to check out my Painted Vintage Chair!
I love the color! Thank you for sharing the process of transforming an ugly chair into a showstopper!
Thank you Debbie! Have a wonderful weekend!
Love this! I have wanted to do this same thing for awhile. Where do you find the plaster paint?
Thanks Christy! You can go to http://www.theplasterpaintco.com/ and order directly from them or see where the nearest retailer is to you. It’s great paint! I use it on almost everything!
Definitelyhave to try this!! Thanhs for sharing.
Question: How long will this surface last…say if you had a 6 year old in your home? Love it and I have a sofa that could definitely use an update like this.
Thanks Susan! Well, I painted another chair 6 months ago that has had a lot of use and it isn’t showing any signs of wear yet. Hope that helps!
Thanks!
What a gorgeous transformation. I guess there’s hope for some of my old upholstered pieces.
Thank you!
Unbelievable!!!!!!!!
Love this concept, color, creativeness. The Capital C`s were a team…….Crittendens!!+++++
Lol! Thanks Joy! Have a great weekend!
This chair looks amazing. I have an old blue (faded, dirty, ugly) upholstered chair and have been thinking of painting it but was worried about the feel of the end result. I’ll have to try this out. Thanks!
Thanks Alanna! You definitely should try it!
I can’t believe the chair is actually painted. You did an amazing job. Gorgeous!!
Thank you Crystal! It’s such a girly piece!
This is too cool! Found you on the Cedarhill Farm House link up! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Kyla! Glad you stopped by and hope you come round again!
Gorgeous colour – and so much easier sounding that upholstering – who knew!?!
Thank Julie! I just don’t have the time for upholstering, this worked just as well!
Wow! That color makes a statement! It looks great on that chair. The pillow you made fits perfectly.
Thank you Audra! I think it’s pretty fun and girly!
Hi there! I hopped over from Catch as Catch Can to see your gorgeous pink chair! I am not familiar with plaster paint–is it similar to chalk paint? Best painted chair I’ve seen! Blessings, Cecilia
Can I paint an upholstered chair with chalk paint and use Minwax brand was over it? I love this idea!!
So glad you gave the tutorial on making this chair feel like leather… I was wondering about the itchy, scratchy parts!
I bet any little princess would love a pink princess chair.
Are you kidding me right now!?!?!? Hands down the most beautiful painted upholstery I’ve seen. Ever. love, Love, LOVE the pink. I’m woman crushing on you pretty hard right now Shanna <3
It’s gorgeous! Sharing it on my FB page later this evening! xoxo
I know this is an older post, but I happened to run across it today on Pinterest. I LOVE it!! I showed it to the hubs and he was equally enthused. I’m on the hunt for a curbside find to try this out on. I’m not familiar with plaster paint, is this something I would have to buy at a specialty paint store?
Hi Judy! You can order Plaster Paint online at http://www.theplasterpaintco.com/ or you can go to their website and find a retailer that is near you. It’s great stuff and a little goes a long way.
Yay!! 2 locations close to me!!
My bad manners, I forgot to say THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Of course! No problem!
Others asked, but I did not see a “reply”. Is this like chalk paint? With the links and brand name reference to the paint you make note of, it makes me wonder if you have an affiliation… which is totally fine. I think we all just wonder if we can use our version of “chalk paint” to do our furniture, with our version of wax. Not asking you to endorse “other methods” to turn out as good as yours, just wonder about similar products to the brand names you used. Thanks for any help. Take Care!
Hi Andrea! Sorry, when I answer people emails directly through my phone they don’t show up on my site. Plaster Paint is almost identical to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I used it because I like it just as well as chalkpaint and instead of it being $36 a quart it is only $25. I haven’t tried using homemade chalkpaint on upholstery yet (although I use it on furniture all of the time) but I’m guessing it would work the same. I would personally use either Plaster Paint’s Paste wax or Annie Sloan’s due to the fact that it is a bit softer than others out there and you wouldn’t have to work quite as hard to get it deep into the fabric. I don’t have any affiliation with Plaster Paint it’s just a line that I love. Hope this helps!
This chair is gorgeous!
Good post. I’m facing a few of these issues as well..
So very fun! Do you think that the same paint would work on 1970s style woven wood blinds (the kind that have yarn woven into the wood)? Thank you for your help!