Tutorial Tuesday: I Painted a Chair

Well, I'm back.  I was gone so long that I forgot the name of my blog (I could not, for the life of me, remember my Google sign-in).  Things have been rough for me lately, and I just have not been able to find time to make my fingers type this.  Things haven't been rough, like, 'Oh, woe is me' rough; I've just really been battling mono, and it's been winning.  And then what idiot goes and buys a puppy while suffering from mono?  This idiot.  So yeah, illness, chronic fatigue (because it wouldn't be mono unless it turned into chronic fatigue!), puppy poop, and work have consumed me... but I did get to meet Wilson Phillips the other day, so I'm really not complaining about my life (more on the Wilson Phillips story later).

Anyways, during my long hiatus during which I have developed what I like to call "mono brain" (it's a condition in which you forget everything - and it's very real), I decided to paint a chair.  Not just any chair - a chair made entirely of fabric.  This chair, which is giant and incredibly comfortable, has been in my family for years, and I'm so glad it has fulfilled all of my desires that I have for a chair to fulfill.  The only problem with the chair is that it's brown and cream, which isn't really that much of a problem, but when you have lack-of-color anxiety (also a very real condition), brown and cream make you sweat, especially when you are anticipating a new cream couch (read: too much cream in my living room).

So, I did some investigating and found this website, which is basically a huge advertisement for some really awesome, natural paint that is safe for painting fabric.  I had no idea there was such a possibility!  The only fabric I've ever touched with paint was every article of clothing I've ever worn while painting and a giant sweatshirt/dress that I decorated with puff paint when I was 5.

This paint by CeCe Caldwell looks amazing, but I'm way too frugal poor to spend $35 on a small can of paint.  So I did some investigating, and it turns out that Hobby Lobby sells Fabric Medium (found in the acrylic paint aisle).  Basically, this is a magic potion that makes any paint safe to paint of fabric.  This could be very dangerous for me to possess such important knowledge, because this now means no fabric is safe when in my vicinity.

My big, comfy chair was the perfect victim specimen for my first fabric paint experience, so I headed my happy butt over to Lowe's (with the pup in tow, since Lowe's allows that kind of thing) to pick out a quart of the cheapest paint they had.  I settled on a bright, asparagus green, and a coral color (please don't ask me the brand/color names, as that would require me to get out of my bed to find them) to go along with some fabric that I had lying around that I decided to use as a cushion cover.  Then I went to Hobby Lobby and bought 2 large bottles of Fabric Medium, and headed home to get started.

First off, I would just like to say, please make sure you properly read the directions on the Fabric Medium before getting started.  Don't accidentally read the numbers backwards and add twice as much Fabric Medium and half as much paint as is needed, causing the whole project to mess up and requiring you to redo it.  I mean, who would ever do such a thing, right (certainly not me!)?

Once you've mixed your concoction, paint away!  There's no need to prime or prep (just make sure your fabric is clean).  I had no method to painting - I just took my brush and starting slathering the chair (and the dog, and my boyfriend, and my hair, etc.).  Make sure you have plenty of towels nearby, just in case.

So, here is what my chair looked like before:

Please ignore the giant painting mess in the background and the top of my head attempting to hide behind the chair.

And here is the chair after:

Just ignore the fact that it needs another coat of paint because I can't read directions.

I am in love.  I feel like the green might be a little too bright (since I need yet another coat of paint due to my inability to read, I might get a little darker green next time), but there is so much color added to the room.  And the fabric really isn't crunchy; it feels almost like fake leather.  It's not uncomfortable to rub against, but I would do all of my pillows and cushions in paint.


All-in-all, I basically got a new chair for about $30 (if you don't include all of the "mess ups").  The supplies I used were:

• 2 large bottles of Fabric Medium
• 2 quarts of latex paint
• 2 paintbrushes (medium or large are fine)
• 1 large pizza (because painting makes me hungry)

That's it!  It was so easy, I even did it while my boyfriend was visiting and he didn't even say anything about me taking too long.  If you guys have any questions, leave a comment, and I'll try my best to answer!