The Power of Paint: Painted Upholstery- Take 1

I suppose I am a bit late on the hype surrounding painted upholstery... But... Better late than never I suppose! I first heard of this process on Youtube while watching a video on Annie Sloan chalk paint. It seemed almost too good to be true with the chalk paints, and in the end it was. Don't get me wrong, the Anne Sloan chalk paint probably works great! But the high price tag, proved for me to be like a cross to Dracula! I didn't want to invest a lot of money in my first painted upholstery project, because in the end I didn't know how it would turn out. So, for a while, I gave up on the idea, until recently when I had a touch of DIY fever after seeing pictures of barbaydian261's upholstered chair that she dyed on Instagram. I searched the internet and Pinterest comparing the processes that different DIY bloggers had used, preparing myself for what I thought would be a grueling, nail-biting-process.

In the end though, it wasn't stressful or hard to do. I highly recommend that you do your research so that you know what to expect. Also, read multiple blogs so that you get the process from multiple perspectives. With all that said, below you will find the products and process that worked the best for my project. I am very satisfied with the outcome, and I will definitely be trying this process again on other thrifted finds!
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I started out with 2 upholstered chairs that I found at a thrift store for $20 (it was a happy day in the Land of Cheapskate when I found those beauties!). After cleaning the chairs thoroughly (yes I am a germaphobe) I sanded down the wood in order to remove the varnish and smooth out some of their "battle scars."

After removing the dust from sanding, I primed the wood surface (any primer will do). I then applied a coat of Krylon ivory paint to the wood portion of the chairs (the same paint that I later mixed with the medium and painted the upholstery with).

Now it was time for the fun part! I mixed the paint and fabric medium at a 2:1 ration. Armed with a spray bottle, I dampened the upholstery first and then applied the premixed paint solution to the fabric with a paint brush. I will forewarn you that initially it will look like crap..... Just be prepared for that "OMG-what-have-I-done" sinking feeling in your stomach.

After the first coat I ditched the spray bottle, and just diluted the solution a bit, this provided better coverage and less of a mess. Once your first coat has completely dried, apply another.... And when that has dried, another...... And another. You want to follow the "paint-then-dry" process until you have completely covered the original upholstery's pattern/color with the paint mixture.

Primed, painted,  and ready to roll!

 

(Purchased from Walmart for $8)

(Purchased from AC Moore for $7)

 

 After the final coat of paint

 

Once the fabric was completely covered with no signs of the previous color, I allowed the chairs to dry thoroughly (about 36 hours). I then took a blow dryer and went over the upholstered portion that had been treated with the fabric medium (this is per the instructions that are on the fabric medium's bottle). The chairs looked great, but they needed a little something to give them some flair. I added some decorative nails to them and that gave it the final touch that it needed.

Final result

 

Before and After

The chairs feel just like painted canvas, which I am OK with. I am not sure if it would work for a long-term-heavy-traffic chair/sofa, but thus far they are holding up great. There are no issues with the paint transferring to my clothing or anything.  Not bad for the first time, eh?!

Welp.... on to the next project!