You did what?!

Would you believe me if I said I painted this chair? 

No? Well I did! 

I know it sounds absolutely crazy, but I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. It's legit! 

Below is what the chair looked like before I gave it a "makeover". 

I was given this chair by mom as she no longer wanted it, but it didn't fit my Boho style I was going for, so it screamed for a new color. 

I was interested in upholstering the chair, but I wasn't that advanced yet in my DIYs to tackle something that extreme, so I went for the paining method. 

***Let me just start off by saying this... This whole process was trial and error, and I have learned some things along the way, that if I ever did this again, I would do some things differently.

I previously watched a favorite YouTuber of mine, Lone Fox, where he bought this chair from a thrift store and he used regular wall latex paint and mixed in some fabric softener and painted the chair to give it a beautiful brown (color he chose) leather look. 

I figured I would try out this effect on my chair too, so I went to Menards and picked out this light pink/Terra color and some fabric softener. I also picked up a 220 grit sand block. I read some blogs saying that if you sand the paint after it dries, it makes the chair much smoother in the end.

*Color and paint that I used*

Once I got home, I started mixing my paint and began applying the paint all over the chair. I made sure to brush the fabric with the paint brush in every possible direction since the fabric I was painting was very textured. I found that making circular motions in those areas made this process much easier. I needed to make sure that the paint got in every little nook and cranny. 

*This image shows how textured the fabric is, and how it is made of different materials. This is where the brushing in every direction was necessary.*

This is where the learning comes in. There are some things I have learned during this process, that would make me do some things differently if I were to do this project again. 

1) There were some areas of the fabric that were very worn and "pilly", which made it harder to cover in the paint. I later learned that you can take a razor to those spots and shave off all the "fuzzies". 

In this image you can see on the right some darker spots. This area of the cushion was very worn and "pilly". Fortunately after many coats I was able to hide it more, but if I had known, I would have shaved this spot down to even things out. 

2) This takes more paint than you think. My brain was thinking that a whole quart of paint would cover this chair AND the ottoman. That would have been the case if this was just a wooden chair or something that didn't have lots of fabric. I didn't realize or consider how much paint would have to soak into the fabric to actually cover the chair. Which leads to my next point-

3) Latex paint and fabric softener does NOT cover the chair. I don't know if it was the type of fabric or the texture of the chair, or maybe I did something wrong, but the latex paint and fabric softener only "stained" the fabric. This would have been okay if my chair was originally lighter colors, but after one coat of this combo (and getting sick from breathing those fumes through my mask) I knew this wasn't going to work. 

In these images, you can see how the paint basically stained the fabric and you can still see everything, as if it was never touched. It didn't really change the look of the chair or cover it like I desired. 

After realizing the latex and fabric softener combo wasn't going to work for me, I went to my next idea. 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. 

Whereas the combo would have been more cost effective, I ended up buying Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and it was a HUGE difference. Annie Sloan paint is AMAZING. It's also a splurge because it's very expensive. 

In the following image, you can see a side by side comparison of the latex/fabric softener combo vs Chalk paint. The Annie Sloan Chalk paint definitely had more coverage. 

When it came to the ottoman, I originally started with that piece, so it already had a first layer with the latex combo paint. I mixed some chalk paint with some water to create a thin paint consistency, and went to town painting away on the ottoman. One brush stroke, and it was already so different. The chalk paint covered the fabric rather than staining it, which was the effect I was going for. It was much easier to see the color of the paint. 

To see the difference, here is an image of the ottoman with one layer of the latex combo and the chair cushion on top with a layer of chalk paint.

When it came to the chair I hadn't done any layers on it, so I mixed chalk paint with a bit more water so it was thinner. You want the first coat of paint thin so it can soak into the fabric and dry. If you don't add enough water, you are going to end up using more paint in the (which I didn't realize till the end).

Here is what the chair looked like after just one coat of the chalk paint and NO latex combo-

One of the many things I love about chalk paint is the dry time. Things dry so fast with chalk paint. Especially if you do very thin layers at a time. With this particular chair it took me a total of 3 coats of paint from start to end to fully cover the chair and get the desired look I was going for. 

After the paint dries, it feels very rough and it wouldn't make a comfortable chair to sit in. This is when the sanding takes place. 

I took my 2220 grit sand block and sanded the whole chair, especially in specific spots that you would make contact with. When it comes to the sanding part, you don't want to sand too much, because you will start to lose paint in areas and have cracks. You are just sanding enough to smooth out the paint and not make the chair so rough in texture. After sanding the texture really showed through and made me love the look even more! 

Here is an image of the bottom of the chair. You can see on the left the un-sanded spot, and the right is sanded. The texture really stands out after sanding it.

And that's it!

As I mentioned, this project was very much a learning process with some trial and error. If I were to do this again, I would do some things differently for sure, but I still love it. 

This took me a few days some finish, but overall, I am very pleased with the outcome. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a chair I would sit in all day and read a book, but it does make a beautiful accent chair in my living room. 

UPDATE AFTER A FEW DAYS:

After a few days of seeing this chair in my living room, I was really unsure if I liked it. Something was missing. I think with both pieces in pink, it just looked too pink. I kept thinking what I could do to add to it and then I thought about those fancy Boucle chairs and how much I love the look of those.

I got the idea to get Sherpa fabric and cover the ottoman. I went to Joan's and picked up a yard of cream Sherpa for $3 (yes, $3. I found my new favorite store). I also picked up a staple gun and staples from Menards.

The process of getting the fabric attached to the ottoman was actually pretty simple. I just went for it. The hardest part was cutting off the excess fabric honestly. I just tugged and pulled the fabric and then stapled the fabric into the wood around the bottom. 

Once I got the fabric around and stapled in, I went around it again with more just to make sure everything was secure. 

I am very pleased with how it looks now. This is just what the chair was missing!

Here is the FINAL look!! I AM OBSESSED! 

Thanks for reading! I hope this inspires you to  your own trial and error too!

Stay tuned for what's next! With it being a new year, I have lots in store for you to read about!

Till next time! 

Stay Thrifty! :)