Alternate post title: “In A Minute, I Have To Hairdry The Chair”
Guys, I did something a little bold. We wanted our $25 hotel-style dining chairs to be a crisp, solid apple green (since I plan to make patterned curtains, I wanted the chairs to be a single, fun color without a pattern that I’ll tire of), so I decided to paint them.
I know — kind of insane. But I didn’t feel like I had much to lose because the backup plan was always to reupholster or slipcover them, both of which would still be possible if the paint experiment didn’t work. I approached it as an experiment: nothing was guaranteed and I felt a little crazy the whole time. I was nervous — who paints a chair? But lots of bloggers have done it with great results, and I kept one tutorial on my phone for reference and encouragement while I worked. Kristy’s chair transformation was especially inspiring; she did hers with paint and it turned out beautifully.
Here’s how it went. I followed Kristy’s method for the most part but adjusted some steps to match the directions on my supplies. For materials I picked up three tubes of Fabric Painting Medium and three tubes of acrylic paint in a cheerful apple green from JoAnn Fabrics — all under $10. I also bought a quart of satin interior latex paint by Glidden in “Granny Smith Apple,” which felt fitting since I’d been thinking “apple green.”
I mixed one part latex paint with one part textile medium in a bowl. To be precise I measured the fabric painting medium into a measuring cup so I could match the amount of paint. It worked out to about a third of a cup for my first mix.
I did accidentally pour a little too much paint into the measuring cup at first and had to pour some back, but measuring helped me avoid having too much paint in the mix. Eventually I had a third of a cup of latex paint combined with a third of a cup of fabric painting medium in the bowl.
I mixed it with a brush I had on hand. At first the color looked pretty yellow — paint often looks different when wet — so I wasn’t worried yet about the final shade.
Following Kristy’s suggestion, I added about a quarter cup of water to thin the mixture a bit. Then I sprayed the chair with water so the fabric was damp; that helps the paint glide and prevents the fabric from absorbing too much paint in one spot and becoming clumpy.
Here’s an in-progress photo John snapped over my shoulder while I worked. I was nervous enough that I didn’t stop to pose for clearer shots.
This is the result after that first round of painting — though I still had a few steps left, which explains the post title: John asked if I wanted to watch TV and I kept saying, “wait a minute, I have to hairdry the chair.” He thought that was hilarious and declared it the perfect title for this post.
The idea behind hairdrying was to heat-set the textile medium. The medium’s instructions said it needed heat to set, and if you can’t use a dryer — like with a chair — a hairdryer can simulate that heat. However, when I re-read the instructions on the textile medium tube it recommended waiting a day before the heat-setting step, so we ended up watching TV while the painted chair dried in the corner.
First impressions after it dried:
- It’s much more neon than the apple green I had in mind. That’s partly my color choice, and could be corrected with a different paint or mix.
- The process was time-consuming. It took over an hour and a half to paint one chair with several even coats for good coverage. At that rate it would take roughly 12 hours to paint all eight chairs.
- The fabric’s texture still shows through and those swirls in the weave are visible, which gives a somewhat uneven, less polished look.
After sleeping on it we decided that slipcovering or reupholstering would be a better solution for our chairs. The painted fabric still had a swirly texture, the finish felt a bit crunchy and coarse rather than smooth, and painted seams and folds looked noticeably painted — especially in corners and creases where the paint gathered and looked gunky.
This technique can work well depending on the fabric and the look you want. Some people get stunning results — that turquoise painted chair that inspired me is a great example of a perfect outcome.
Although our experiment didn’t produce the final look we wanted, we’re glad we tried it and learned from the process. We didn’t finish with the last coat of acrylic because we decided to stop and rethink the plan, but I did later use a hairdryer to set the paint that had already been applied. It’s set permanently and won’t rub off on anyone who sits in the chair — similar to painted clothing that remains permanent after curing. The fabric medium helps soften the paint so it’s less stiff than pure paint, but in our case it still had more texture than we wanted.
Right now the green painted chair lives in the cluttered playroom while the other seven chairs are waiting in the dining room for reupholstering or cheerful apple green slipcovers.
We’ll keep you posted as this chair adventure continues. For now, our likely next step is slipcovers, but we’ll see how it goes.
Psst — we’re also talking about how kids always want the one non-toy item within reach (the remote, your cell phone, keys, sunglasses) and sharing Clara’s favorite unusual “not-a-toy” toys over on BabyCenter.