Is That Chair Leather? No, It's Painted Fabric!!

This chair really looks like fine red leather. But it's not.

I painted the upholstery on this chair then sanded it to make it into this beautiful red piece that feels soft as suede and totally perks up my living room.

Here she is at the start. The local St. Vincent store had two of these chairs but I only needed one. I am now KICKING MYSELF for not buying both!

The frame and fabric were in excellent condition. Very tight joints, comfortable seat. I figured I could re upholster it or...as my Pinterest board says, 

Paint That Chair!

I won't do a tutorial since the DIY info is all over the web. Literally....videos, Martha Stewart, Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV, Hometalk!

I decided to use acrylic paint in bright red and liquid textile medium. I mixed two parts paint to one part textile medium. I used a full 8 ounce bottle of craft paint and 4 ounces of the textile medium and mixed them well.

Then I sprayed the fabric with water in a spray bottle (mixed with a bit of fabric softener). I dampened each area just before I painted it using chip brushes. I also masked the wooden areas.

I painted on my back deck on a 90 degree day. Excellent light and weather for painting! But I have to tell you ladies, even after multiple coats I was feeling very very iffy on this project.

Very iffy. 

I was already calculating if I had enough red fabric in my stash to go ahead and re upholster this chair, I was very undecided about the appearance.

And then after three coats the fabric started looking pretty good. 

Lovely color retention, really good texture of the original woven pattern and 

I was using less and less paint for each layer. 

Of course, I let each coat dry for an hour in the hot sun before adding the next coat.

Urg. Here's what I used. 

I know most blogs have neat photos and a concise list of brand name products plus links for purchasing, but I was ready to PAINT so I just dove right in. 

I didn't buy anything since I already had it all in my stash.

Ahem.

Here's the painted and sanded fabric up close. 

It looks just like leather and after sanding it feels like a very soft and sumptuous suede. 

I am totally pleased with the way this project turned out!

I cleaned the wood with Murphy's Oil Soap then polished

 it up with Olde English lemon oil polish.

And the paint does NOT rub off.

Even if you are wearing white jeans as a test.

This was totally worth the time and money to get myself

 a bright and comfy chair for our living room.

Would I do it again? YES!