Since I recently discovered for myself how well chalk paint works on fabric upholstery, I’ve had several more projects churning in my head – this one in particular. I have this old Victorian ladies’ chair that I’ve had for 20+ years. It looked a bit like this one:
Last year when I started going ga-ga for gold paint, I painted the wood portion of the chair to spruce it up – unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of the true “before.” I figured I’d do something fun with the wood frame and reupholster the chair at some point, so this is how that turned out:
Ralph Lauren Gold Metallic Paint on wood trim
This chair belonged to my grandmother, and my mother had it reupholstered 25 years ago in this burgundy fabric. There is nothing that screams “Victorian” like the color burgundy. And as much as I like the chair, I don’t want it to look so, so Victorian! I remember back in the 90’s when I heard some friends describe my decorating style as Victorian (gasp!). I really hated when they said that, but I did (and do) have lots of family pieces from that era. So how do you take Victorian into the 21st century? Get out the painter’s tape and get to work!
This is how it looked after two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Aubusson Blue. Not great – yet.
It actually looked pretty bad, but I had faith that if I kept at it, it would turn out the way that I hoped. So are you ready to see the finished product? She’s soooo pretty and perfectly regal!
finished chair fabric painted with blue chalk paint
So here’s how I did it: I painted on the Aubusson Blue with a small paint brush, full-strength. After that dried, I applied a watered-down second coat.
Then, I took the chair outside, lightly sanded it, then wiped off the dust with a dry cloth.
blue chalk paint on upholstery
One more coat of moderately watered-down paint. After that dried completely, I finished with one more coat of just slightly watered-down paint. After about a day, I came back and applied a coat of clear paste wax with a soft cloth, then buffed it off to a slight sheen.
top with clear paste wax and buff off with cloth
The finished fabric is soft to the touch. It looks a bit like leather or maybe even a seersucker suit because of the sheen. Maybe it looks like seersucker because of the texture of the stripes.
If the gold paint trim is not your taste, you could modernize such a chair with a bright contrasting color like yellow or orange. I’m thrilled with my “new” chair, which cost me about $20 (half a quart of chalk paint).
Are you brave enough to try this? Please Pin this post or share it on Facebook if you know someone who might like it!
That looks great! How has your experience been with you and others sitting in the chair? Does the paint crack? Do you find wax residue on your clothing? Do you have pets that sit in the chair and could potentially ruin your finish? It really does look great, but I would be fearful to put it to the test in my home (three little ones and a cat).
On the up-side, I bet it is now stain resistant!
Christine,
I don’t have pets, so I can’t speak to that. But so far, absolutely no cracking and no apparent wax residue. I’ll certainly update everyone if I start seeing any problems with it.
Another beautiful Decorologist project. I’m sharing 🙂
thank you, dana!
Very inspirational. I have several beautiful Victorian pieces that my mind is constantly working on. They seem out of place in my 50s ranch style house and I tend to prefer more minimalism in my home, so they seem very fussy. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to try this but I’m considering it after seeing how well yours turned out!
Simply stunning!!
I love it! I am using Aubusson Blue on a chair project too. Looks so pretty in the finished picture in your room. I tried painting fabric before, but did not think to sand. I am going to give it a try, smart girl!
Your chair looks amazing! I have a Victorian rocker that was my grandmother’s. (I’m a Nana too so it’s REALLY old) its covered in faded lavender velvet. I wonder how velvet would take the paint? I’m tempted…..
I love your style,and everything I see you do. I have a pair of Victorian open back chairs,but am not handy,and am afraid to try it!
Love the chair it is beautiful! I have two naugahyde chairs from my parents in harvest gold, do you think chalk paint would work on them?
You might want to do some research, but I think you totally could!
Fantastic, inspiring – thanks so much for sharing Kristie.
BTW loved the article on Houzz about what Designers do, your straight forward insight was so helpful. Thank you for the hours you put into this blog and the generous way you share your talent, I appreciate it more than I can say. 🙂
Thank you so much for saying that, Georgia! It means a lot to me 🙂
I mean, Susan!
You did a great job on that chair. The chair turns out beautiful and this is an inexpensive way to spruce up the old things. I need to change the fabric cover of my dining chairs… I am bit nervous, as I am not expert in this matter. However, thanks for inspiration I would love to give a try.
Lovely project! Could you share – if you know – approximately how much paint it took to do this chair? I’m looking at buying the Annie Sloan paint on ebay, and just wondering how much to buy to cover a similiar size chair. Thanks!
Bridgitte,
I have painted a big square coffee table, a big end table, and now this chair, with a bit left over. So I’d say it took about half a quart at the most.
Thanks so much Kristie – I love your site, wonderful color ideas! 🙂
Do you think it would be possible to paint a cotton-blend slipcover? Or would the paint wash out in the laundry? I had one made for my sofa but it isn’t wearing well at all so I’d like to try painting it a darker color.
I don’t think you should chalk paint anything that you might want to wash. You may need to look into fabric paint, like Simply Spray.
Hi Kristie
Lovely project! It’s been a few months since you painted your chair, could you please update me on the condition of the fabric, any chipping or peeling of paint? ( if possible with a new photograph) I have a few items I’d like to look into painting.
Regards
Delaney
Delaney,
My chair still looks great – no chipping or peeling at all! In fact, I painted another one in a different color chalk paint, and it’s held up great, as well!
Hi Kristie – fantastic project! I just started painting a Loveseat today with ASCP. I have read so many different versions of doing this. I did a test first with almost full strength plus some water on the underside of one of the cushions. It came out nice – I sanded it but I could tell that if I didn’t put wax on it it would continue to leave some chalk residue on people’s pants. So I figured I need to spray the fabric first, then do a mixture of ASCP + about 40% water. This seems to be working better (no residue). I will do a light sanding and then maybe add a bit more paint and do a second coat. Sand again and then clear wax.
Just wanted to see if I am on the right track. I am going over a cheap shiny tapestry type of fabric. I guess different fabrics require different techniques. What have you found?
Thanks,
Linda
Hi can use emulsion paint to paint a sofa adding the fabric medium to the emulsion ?
I believe you can, but I haven’t personally tried it, Debbie.
Thankyou for your reply ? Am in the uk I’ve done lots of furniture up but my first time in painting a sofa, what paint would you recommend ? I’ve bought 2 fabric medium just don’t know which paint to use my sofa is the old velvet look.
Can you use the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint? Annie is in the UK, so surely it’s available!
My sofa is identical too the girl that painted the sofa blue we’re it led me to this site 🙂
Yes I’ve heard of that paint so il try that thankyou for the info
Really beautiful, as are all of your projects. I too have Victorian chairs. What is the gold paint that you used? I have been looking for the right color and have not found it.
Thanks for the tutorial! I’ll surely be trying it this weekend! I wanted to know if you had any tips on painting the interior/nooks and crannies of the chair seating (like where the seat cushion meets the back)? TIA!
Dear me. I love your home and your design work in general; but this type of furniture calls to mind haunted houses and The Addams Family (even with the beautiful, blue upholstery paint). But, hey, that’s why there’s chocolate and vanilla — right? 🙂
Terry,
I prefer the term “enchanted cottage” to “haunted house!” To each her own 🙂
Plus, it’s a family heirloom . . .
Awesome Victorian wooden arm chair, floral design and finish is really good. we also manufacturer in wooden handicrafts and furniture items from saharanpur, India. Thanks for sharing your designs.