I remember the first time I saw someone paint upholstery. I was watching TLC’s Trading Spaces with my mom YEARS ago and one of the designers painted a couch. My mom and I both gasped. “You don’t paint upholstery!”
Lately I have seen a ton of tutorials for it. It seems to have gained popularity. Most tutorials have a lot of steps and seem complicated. I have very little patience and if I was going to try it out I wanted it to be simple.
Back when I was doing my one-year anniversary giveaways I was working with DecoArt. I discovered that they have a paint made specifically for fabric called SoSoft. Now, I have used their fabric paint medium for a LOOOONG time and I love it, but I had never tried their new SoSoft paint. I contacted them and asked if I could try it out.
Remember that $5.00 chair I got from the ReStore? Well, I painted it :)
Just a reminder of what it was before…
Buy SoSoft Paints
I used the color called Indian Turquoise and then I mixed it with Grey Sky.
Here is how I did it:
- First of all, upholstery fabric is thicker than regular fabric. So I watered the paint down a little to help it sink in.
2. I used a foam brush to apply it. A regular brush would work, too. I used what I had on hand. Keep it pretty thin. The heavier the coat, the stiffer it will be when it dries.
3. The key to making this work was after I brushed it on, I got a terry cloth wash rag and rubbed it into the fabric. I really worked it in there. I rubbed in every direction. If it sits on the surface it will be stiff. If you are worried that you got too much paint in an area, then get a wet rag and rub with it.
That is basically it. Because this chair was velvet, after rubbing it into the fabric I did wipe the rag all in the same direction so it would dry laying the same way. All in all it took about 20-30 minutes. I let it dry over night before sitting on it.
I am happy with how it turned out. It obviously is not as soft as the original velvet, but it isn’t crunchy like I thought it might be. The main problem is that you can’t throw it into the washing machine to soften it up. Like I said, I have painted fabric for a long time (pillows, blankets, etc) and after being washed they soften up even more. Maybe I will scrub mine with soapy water or something to test it out. Who knows!
*** UPDATE: After a few days of sitting n the chair the seat really softened up! So I got to thinking, how could I get some wear on the rest of the chair? I decided to SAND it! I did! I used sand paper and went over the whole chair. I didn’t over do it because I didn’t want to damage the fabric, but it totally worked. ***
*Oh, another thing to consider is the color of the original upholstery. If you have a black chair, you probably won’t get it to turn a perfect white. This chair was gold and I think the blue was the teeny tiniest greener because of it. Just a thought.
But I love it! I can’t wait to add it to my office. Which is coming along nicely :) I also stained the legs with Minwax’s Gel Stain and sealed it with Minwax’s Wipe-on Poly.
Looks fantastic! Great project. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks for the tips. The chair looks great! I would much rather paint it than try to reupholster it!!!
Stacey…this looks awesome! I love how it turned out and such a great pop of color! I’m going to have to try to paint some fabric!!!
Come get my couch! ;)
The chair looks great! Could you try vacuuming it with the brush attachment? After I shampoo my couch it feels kind of “crunchy”, but after the first vacuuming it feels like my regular couch again.
That is amazing! Love it!
Brooke
Oh, thank you for such a great tutorial! Wonderful tip about rubbing it into the fabric – that makes so much sense, and I would never have thunk it. I am so going to try this!!!
Would love it if you would link this up to my turquoise lovin’ party going on right now!! ;) GORGEOUS!!!
Oh my gosh, I remember Trading Spaces and Hildy painting the couch magenta. Isn’t that ridiculous that I would know exactly what you’re talking about! The chair looks fab–I never would have thought to do it!
Stacey,
I remember when Hildi on Trading Spaces painted that couch! You could always count on her for an interesting performance; do you remember when she glued white feathers, floor to ceiling, on all 4 walls in a master bedroom? I digress …
Your chair looks fantastic! I was planning to head to a craft store today to look at fabric paint; I have an ottoman that I was going to recover, but there’s nothing wrong with the fabric (it just doesn’t work in the current location) so I thought fabric paint might be a good idea, or at least a good experiment prior to reupholstery ;) Thanks for the tip about the terry washcloth and pushing the paint into the fabric … have a feeling that could make a big diff on my project. I guess I’ll have to post about mine too, good or bad.
Robin
happilyhomeafter.blogspot.com
Oh Hildi! I remember that too. And then there was the time that she glued straw to the walls. I always appreciated her thinking outside of the box but she clearly did not have children. And it was never very practical. Oh, and then there was the bathroom that had silk flowers glue gunned to the walls. Crazy lady :)
It turned out great! I’d have been afraid of the crunch factor. Glad to hear it’s not an issue. Thanks for sharing.
It’s perfect!!!
I have several “painting upholstery tutorials” saved to my computer…but I haven’t had the opportunity to try them out yet. I did buy two of the ugliest ever chairs from Craigs List with the plan to use Cutting Edge Damask stencil in a warm orange onto painters canvas and then use it to recover them. I have never seen the product you used before…LOVE the color , I’ll have to give it a try.
Nice short and simple guide! In future I will be less iffy bout second hand used upholstered chairs :D
btw, last night I bought and installed one of those toilet water saving adapters from HD & installed. Never would have known about them if you hadn’t posted it! Thanks!
I totally want to do this!!!I wanted to paint my chairs orange and their original color is dark green… I don’t know how they will look, maybe I should consider another color, darker… anyways, your chair looks great! Thanks for the tips!
wow. i cant beleive you painted it, it looks so good i love the colour xxx
Some art painted on it would be nice too.
I LOVE THIS!!!! The color is so modern and hip right now. I really can’t wait to try this. Thanks for the tips.
Looks great. Thanks for trying out a “soft” paint. I’ve been dubious about others who used house paint. Now I realize I could have done this to my red ottoman, duh. Tried a quicky diy throw tied at the bottom (dorky) and now have an Ikea cover from the thrift shop (dull). Love seeing you try things out and report on the results.
I have a plaid fabric couch that I crying to me for some help. Can you get that in a big bottle?? What wou;d I need to do for a sofa different if anything??
That’s AWESOME! I need to get some of that stuff!!
Does the paint rub off if you sit on it? or spill while sitting on it? I don’t want to turn anyone colors, but LOVE this idea.
You are a brave girl!! I need to find the guts to do this!! I featured you today in my Friday I’m In Love favorites!
http://socialsalutations.blogspot.com/2011/10/friday-im-in-lovewith-brights.html
– Jenn @ Social Salutations
Hi Stacy,
Just found your blog after a google search for painting upholstery. I have one question….you may have answered it already and I’m sorry if I missed it……how many bottles of the paint did you use for your gorgeous chair?
Great tips! Thank you so much!
Janelle
Love the chair! I have some just like it. You said it was upholstery fabric? I’m not sure what that is. Mine are microfiber. Could you paint that?
Yay, what a great post. I am always looking for new paints and techniques to share with my readers! I would love to mention you on my blog!
Love it!
I just finished this project and only found your tutorial after I had already began!
I mentioned your tutorial and linked you into my post… let me knowwhat you think!
http://burlapandjadedesigns.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/chair-makeover-painted-upholstery/
Thanks so much ..loving your blog! (Im new at blogging!) You are inspiring!
I was happy to find your site. I’ve wanted to paint my furniture for a while now. Since reading and seeing your results, I have gotten up the nerve to do it. I’m going to follow your instructions. I want to paint it a turquoise but the ottoman I am going to paint is a salmon color. But, if the turquoise doesn’t take and it turns some shade of purple I can live with that too because I’m going for a colorful room. I’ll let you know the results after it’s done. Thanks again for your posting.
So, what are your thoughts on painting MicroFiber couches/chairs? Since it is a different material – would it work?
FAN tastic!!! i am going to attempt this!!
I just wanted to let you and your readers know that I posted your chair on my page with examples of painted upholstery! I linked right to you so they could find more information on your blog. Hope you don’t mind.
http://www.hypheninteriors.com/chairs
in the original pic it looks like there are some marks on the white fabric. If there are, did the paint cover them up?
i’ve just bought a cream wingback chair from a secondhand store and would love to change the colour but it’s got some water marks on it.
When you said you watered it down did you actually use water or fabric medium?
Hi Stacy!
So excited for this suggestion buying a cream colored microfiber sofa from a friend that needs some tlc & was thinking of using the crimson color of decoart sosoft paint- would you be able to tell me how many bottles of the turqoise you used on the chair- it will help me guesstimate better how much i may need– and did you order directly through their website or order online? Many thanks for the awesome suggestions!!!
Hi! I love this!!! How many bottles did u use? I just ordered 3 to paint a chair…hopin its enough! Any help would be great, thx much!!! :)
Hi! I’m about to embark on my own upholstry painting journey on a cute (but hideous pink) chair I inherited from my grandmother. I was reading through the comments to see if you’d answered the question of how many bottles you used and I didn’t see a response. My chair looks to be about the same size, so it would really give me a good start.
Also, how much water did you use to water it down, and did the temperature of the water seem to matter?
Would love your feedback. Thanks for posting!
Wondering how many ounces you used of fabric paint?
Even in these financial times you can still
make your home look great and we have several ideas to assist you with procuring a cheap dining chair which looks fantastic.
Another key challenge lies in determining whether the second hand mobile being purchased for resale is in good working condition, and the extent of
repairs required, if any. Well, this begins to add up, and that means so do your options.
Thank you. This is a gorgeous chair Well done!
Love the look of your chair! I’m wanting to paint a favorite rocker of mine that was stained with shoe polish and then when trying to remove stain some of the color came out of fabric. How many bottles did it take you? Also, how much did you water it down? Where can I find SoSoft? Would this work in my AMAZING SPRAY SYSTEM by Preval that I bought at Home Depot? It is a system to make any paint a spray paint by diluting it.
I’lll ditto the question above–how much paint did you need for your chair? I’m contemplating painting a wingback chair so I’m trying to figure out how much paint to purchase. Any online retailer that you’d recommend for the paint? Thanks for your post! I’ve been apprehensive about painting my chair with household latex and feel a lot better at using the DecorArt paint.
Misty
Your chair looks great! I have a chair that I would like to paint, but there is a lot more fabric to cover than on your example. Could you please share how much paint was needed? Thanks a million!!
I need some help!!! I just bought a textured fabric cream color love seat at an auction from a model home. Its in great shape but the fabric is a little yellowed from sitting in the sunlight for several years. I am very intrigued by this painting fabric idea. Since the fabric is textured, can I still do this? Any color (which I haven’t picked yet btw) should work since the seat is cream now. The room I’m putting it in has bright yellow walls, and two print pictures (from the old Southern Living) with big yellow and red flowers. I’m leaning toward a red couch, but then I couldn’t paint it but so many colors again if I should change my mind down the road. Thoughts…hints?
What do you reccomend if the fabric is slightly soiled?
Hi. I’ve been painting furniture for years,but,never could figure out how to soften fabric that is stationary. Your sand paper idea works great!! I’ve a sectional couch and reclining chair I just refurbished(painted). They feel as good as they look,now. Physically and spirituely(yes an ‘e’).
Thanks for this! I’ve been drooling over a turquoise wing back chair online for weeks but it is just way over my budget. I’ve been thinking about the idea of spray paint, and even found a cheap cream wing back on craigslist tonight. But then I couldn’t actually find turquoise fabric spray paint and the spray paint I DID find had some awful reviews of stiffness and scratchiness and bad coverage. I love this idea so much more because I have better control over the color and application. And your chair looks awesome!
Hi, just curious- cause I see a lot of DIY on painting furniture but little on the actual fabric that’s being painted… I have an ugly polyester chair & ottoman I’ve been wanting to try this out on & I’m not sure if this material will take the paint/dye/stain. I know I can test it out on a hidden area- but before I go spend money on just any paint- I also wanted to know if polyester can be painted, what is the best paint to use? If anyone knows email me thx much- Abigail.elarde@yahoo.com. Again, thanks to any tips! :)
Such a great idea! Sharing on fb today!
Currently using chalk paint on some chairs, and so far so good. I also painted a grain sack stripe on some chair fronts of dropcloth and did sand those lightly, I think that is the key. I will sand these wing backs I’m working on too, and maybe try the water wipe as well.
your website is AWESOME! makes me want to get a mortgage!
I was wondering if you can paint microfiber?
This is a great DIY project. Thanks for sharing!
Hello! I was doing some research on painting upholstery and was reading some negative reviews saying that the fabric turned out crunchy and stiff. I have a large couch and two chairs in velvet that I was wanting to do and I was impressed with your way that you did your chair. By wiping the paint into the fabric it seemed to make it softer. I was just wondering how much paint you used? The bottle looks pretty small! Thanks!
Thanks for the tips. i’ll have to try that on our sofa that needs a little more pep.
Btw, did you know that another site is using your chair example as theirs? I just came across it and thought you might like to know… http://furniturechat.com/fabric-paint-for-furniture.html
I’m going to use the Sosoft on a wing back how many bottles do you think I would need?
Did you seal the upholstery with the wipe on poly, or the legs? And how many bottles of paint did you use?
Great Tutorial!
How much paint did it take to do one chair? I have four ugly rose pinky chairs I’ve tried giving them away but no takers that’s really ugly ;) I’m excited to try this.
I am concerned if it only can be used to certain fabric materials or on any materials. I have a couch I want to do
and it is polyester or some heavy material do you think it will work on it and also does this wash out of materials?
I know I’m late on this but how many bottles did you use?
This is great. Do you think it could work on a microfiber couch?
CanI paint a melon-red silk camelback sofa and a dirty white duck chair?