Young House Love

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How To Stencil Fabric Chairs

The soft spot we have for stencil projects has certainly grown since our office undertaking, but this one by Amy at The Casablanca Transformation would probably win over even the most skeptical stencil fans. And it actually sounds doable in well under fourteen hours! Score. Here’s her letter:

No matter how many decorating projects I do in my lifetime this one will surely go down in history as one of my all time best! I am so happy I had the idea and even happier that I dared to try! Here is the plain white leather bar stool before:

Amy Barstool Before

And the after!

Amy Barstool After Single

I used a stencil from cuttingedgestencils.com and the paint is from turtlefeathers.net and is called Angelus Paint. It is made especially for painting leather (it has a bit of give to it and won’t crack). Since the chairs came unassembled I decided to leave them that way to make it a little easier to stencil. I was amazed at how easy the process was – total time was only about 4 hours. 

Amy Barstool During

I loved that I could pick out the exact style and colors I wanted for these chairs – a custom chair at a very cheap price! I bought the chairs 2 for $152 from overstock then add in the $80 in materials and my total cost is $384 for four bar stools ($96 each)! To have these stools custom upholstered in a fabric of my choice would have cost a lot more than that and they would have been ruined so quickly. I am hoping this painted leather alternative means they will stand the test of time and three boys! – Amy

Amy Barstool After Triple

Awesometown, right? You can check out more details over on Amy’s blog. Is anyone else’s head filling with ideas of what else they could stencil? And look at that pretty kitchen in the background. Me-ow.

Update: We just learned that there are some follow up posts about a few pitfalls with these chairs (specifically she wasn’t happy with the quality of the chairs themselves or the acrylic finisher that she used), so more details can be found here and here. Although Amy did drop in to say the actual stenciling process really works and some other chairs that have been stenciled (of better quality) are holding up great (without any acrylic finisher). Hope it helps!

Comments

  5. Laura says

    Ooooh LOVE the chairs! They look amazing! And the new light makes a huge difference!

    I’m pleased to say that I did do something on my list this week! I gave my guest room a mini-makeover (changed up the color scheme to be more cheerful and bright, but didn’t make any major changes to paint or furniture because I can’t right now!)

    I’ve also been looking to incorporate some new color into my living room because it’s a bit blah and, unwittingly, you guys helped me (sorta!). If it wasn’t for YHL I wouldn’t have trundled over to BowerPower and I wouldn’t have found some prints to buy that have served as my new inspiration! So thanks to you guys! But biggest kudos must go to Katie B for her mad photography skills, obviously. So thanks to all of you for assisting in the happy-fying of my living room. And yes, that’s a word!!

    Okay I’m writing way too much! Sorry! :)

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Wow…I just realized that half of this comment (the chair part) was meant to go here, and the other half was meant to be in answer to the new ‘Dude, Get on That Already’ post! Oops.

      It feels so odd here. Totally self-indulgent and out of place! Lol oops :)

  12. Jordan Jensen says

    I just came across your blog and LOVE it. Obviously I am not the only one. Holy smokin’ followers and comments batman! You have built yourself quite an amazing thing here. I am totally into it and was completely and totally biting my nails and crying through Clara’s birth story. Wow. (I sat here praying my 11 week old wouldn’t wake up from his nap so I could read through it without getting interrupted!) What an amazing and scary story. You are incredible and your story is absolutely… how should i put it… amazing? out of this world? freaky? (I’m sooooooo glad I didn’t read that before I had Wyatt.) I can totally understand your nervousness to have another baby. I sure hope you do, Clara is a doll. Congrats to you and I will absolutely be back to continue to read your story.

    Reply

  13. Cecelia says

    What an astounding job done on those chairs.

    Oh, my lord… I shudder to think the mess I would have made of THAT.

    Hats off to the courage it took to try this. Lovely results!

    Reply

  14. Morgan says

    I love the shapes of these stencils! I find it much easier to work on a project like this when it’s unassembled.
    Nice work!
    reidmore.wordpress.com

    Reply

  16. Marilu Luna says

    Love this idea. I have a question that could use your help. I’m throwing my daughter-in-law a baby shower. The theme are yellow duckies. I found this wonderful soup crock with a spoon and I wanted to stencil in yellow “soup & quackers”. Any suggestions on where I can obtain or make my own stencil and what type of paint I can use that will not wash away?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, I definitely wouldn’t use any sort of paint or stencil on the inside of anything, but on the outside of something it might be ok as long as it doesn’t come into contact with the food. Maybe check with a local paint store to see what product they recommend and google around for a stencil-making tutorial? Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  17. Allison says

    Hi guys, Love the way the chairs came out!! Also, HAVE to know where you got those throw pillows with the abstract patterns (blue and green) they are in the picture with your manuscript?? They are after the Burger pic …

    -A

    Reply

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