Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Painting Fabric with Chalk Paint- Now A Believer!

From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
For the past few years I have seen and heard about painting fabric with Chalk Paint. I was a non believer if there was ever one! I did not think it would turn out well at all! I pictured it cracking and just so stiff you would not even want to sit on it. It was just not a project I thought I would have ever tackled. 
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
In come these chairs I shared  back in the spring. I reupholstered one of them for the desk area in our kitchen. You can click here to see that transformation. I love reupholstering but it makes my hands hurt for weeks. With the dining room makeover in progress I knew I was going to be using two of the chairs for in there but was trying to figure out a way around reupholstering them. I decided to try out painting the fabric with Chalk Paint. I figured if it turned out awful I would just rip the fabric off and not be any worse off than before hand. 
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
The original finish had a great texture to it so I knew Chalk Paint was going to be the perfect choice in paints for this project all around.
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
After painting the frame of the chair with several different colors I took my paint brush and lightly dipped it in water and then "painted" the fabric with just water. You want the water to soak in to provide a base for the Chalk Paint. If not the paint will just sit on top of the fabric and it will crack off. You may need to do two light coats of water and pat the fabric dry. After the water soaked in I started with the first coat of Chalk Paint. I made sure to apply thin coats!
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
The most important tool for painting fabric with Chalk Paint is to have a medium grit sanding block to LIGHTLY sand in between EACH coat of Chalk Paint. If you do not use thin coats or you do not use a sanding block in between each coat you will get cracking and you will see brush strokes. 
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
It took me 6 coats of Chalk Paint but remember they were THIN coats. I made sure to brush them on in ONE direction which is the opposite of what you would do on a piece of furniture. I have seen pieces where the fabric had multiple paint stroke directions and they looked very unprofessional.  It may be that the painter did not use a sanding block but I wanted to make sure mine did not turn out that way. After the chair was finished and lightly sanded, I used two layers of wax on the fabric. I applied the clear wax with a soft white cloth and rubbed it in very well. After this step I became a believer! I could NOT believe how soft the fabric felt!! The chairs feel like a soft leather. My neighbor friend stopped by and felt them and could not even believe how soft they are.
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
After waxing it was time to add the trim with my hot glue gun.
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
And here is the final result! 
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
I had already completed one chair back in the spring before our master bedroom makeover so I have had one chair to sit on for the past 5 months. There has been zero cracking! 
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for this project. The frame of the chair is a combination of Old White, French grey, and  another color I do not remember then topped off with clear and dark wax. I used Old Ochre for the fabric and topped it off with Clear wax ONLY.
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
The stripes in the fabric worked out in my favor. They add a nice finishing touch.
From My Front Porch To Yours- Painting Fabric With Chalk Paint
I am beyond thrilled with how the chairs turned out! I can not wait to show you how they look in the dining room. I am almost completed with the dining room and hope to share next week.

NOTE: This is just the method that worked perfectly for me on this project! I am sure there are plenty of other methods for achieving the same results. Some use fabric medium before painting but it was not needed for these chairs.

Visiting these wonderful spots:
Between Naps On The Porch
A Stroll Thru Life 
Savvy Southern Style
Confessions of A Plate Addict
Craftberry Bush
French Country Cottage
Miss Mustardseed




23 comments:

  1. Just beautiful Pamela! Great job! Love your chair!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Hugs,
    Vesna

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  2. Wow, Pamela, what a fantastic update! Looks fabulous!

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  3. Oh my goodness! Your chairs look AMAZING!
    Great job! Re-upholstering is difficult, so I give you big kudos sweet friend.
    Thanks so much for sharing with us!
    Have a great week,
    Suzanne

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  4. The chairs look amazing and so much easier then reupholstering !

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  5. Oh my, Pamela! Your chair is gorgeous! I love a great success story.

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  6. Pamela...they turned out amazing!! I love how easy it really is to paint the fabric and I prefer it over reupholstering any day :)

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  7. I have a crown like the one you are showing , and I have been wanting to paint it white. Did you paint yours and if you did , what did you use , and the chairs are gorgeous.

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  8. OMG, I never thought it possible too Pamela! It looks amazing, now I wonder how long it will hold up though. Great job!

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  9. Your chairs turned out beautifully, Pamela! Such a great style, too. You had a great find in them.

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  10. Shocked at how good they look. I honestly had doubts but as I scrolled down to the finished chair, I am in awe. Will have to consider this myself! Thanks for sharing!

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  11. They turned out just gorgeous Pam - they look they belong in a french chateau or your house !!!
    Love them ♥
    I painted the fabric on some outdoor chairs and have not been so lucky - I guess with the elements...........
    but an indoor one I did has been fine for 2 years now !
    xoxo

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  12. These turned out ah-mazing! They look like French antiques! I too have become a believer in transforming fabric with chalk paint when I recently painted a vintage orange chair! It's gorgeous now and no one can believe it!!

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  13. Oh ya I like them I have used regular latex paint but didn't think to use chalk paint, I'll use chalk paint on my next chair

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  14. I can't BELIEVE how great this turned out!! Wow! You'd never know that chair had been painted! I love the finished product! And P.S....I LOVE that crown too! :)

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  15. I am in AWE!!! Omg it came out fantastic. I am going to have to try this on one of my re hab projects!

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  16. The chair looks terrific!!!...I need to try my hand at this technique!....you are inspiring me!!

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  17. Wow, that is amazing. They look really touchable! I would love to find something to give this a try on. I really like how the strip adds some depth. You did a beautiful job on the wood too.

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  18. I believe!!! the chair is amazing. Have a chair that I need to experiment on. Thanks for all the inside tips.

    Cathy <;)

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