Yup. I spray painted chairs. Upholstered chairs. Dude, I’m the first to admit it’s weird. And it’s definitely not the answer if you’re sane. But when you’re a desperate woman with nothing to lose, well… stuff happens.
Remember these Craigslist chairs we found last March? They were originally from an old hotel (with faded and stained eighties fabric to prove it) but we got them for $25 a pop.
Then I tried to paint them a soft apple green color like a tutorial I’d seen, but didn’t have as much luck (read more on that hot-mess here).
We were set on green for a while (not this neon of course) until we realized it’s a ton of chairs in a room, so you don’t want them all screaming for attention and stealing thunder from things like our patterned curtains and the boldly painted built-ins. That’s when I got $20 off-white slipcovers for them from World Market (which clashed with the white trim and accessories everywhere – but were cheaper than buying fabric and making my own), so I dyed them brown.
But the slipcovers were a little schlumpy. After they came out of the dryer they were nice and tight, but over time they got droopy and sad. They just looked a little loosey goosey and messy. Sure, I could wash them again to get them looking nice for another week, but that’s a whole lotta work for something that should be low maintenance. Here in this pic from our House Tour page you can see the slipcovers looking a little baggy on the sides – and that’s from far away.
So I decided since I already painted one chair (and it works just as well as the others with the slipcover on it – it’s literally impossible to tell which one is painted when it’s covered) I figured I had nothing to lose by painting the rest of them (I could just cover them up again if they were blotchy and gross). And instead of using craft paint and textile medium (read more on why that didn’t work out for me here) I woke up one morning and decided I wanted to spray paint them with this old friend:
Who does that? $herdog does that. Beware of a woman with nothing to lose (and eight slipcovers to hide any potential disasters).
First I donned my trusty spray painting socks. Can your brain even comprehend this hotness?
I must really love you guys to share such glamorous shots of my life, huh? I just hate potentially getting my shoes or my flip flops all sticky/painted, so my painting socks do the trick (with the bottoms of my sweatpants tucked into them, so I don’t get stickiness on the bottom of my pants).
I started off slow. Really light light coats on just one chair. Nothing thick or drippy. Here’s a shot of things when I was just getting started. I was biting. my. nails.
I expected a total disaster, but after a few more light coats applied pretty much one after the other (maybe four total?) my first chair was looking pretty good. I was kind of shocked, actually because I expected to just do one and hate it and toss the cover back on. You still see the pattern in the fabric since that’s a texture thing that paint can’t change (the actual fabric itself has those patterns sort of embossed into it), but instead of being a riot of crazy stained/faded/eighties swirls…
… it’s all one color. A pretty gunmetal charcoal color. Almost the exact same color as Karl the Sectional actually. Which is funny because we have an avocado green kitchen between two rooms with soft gray walls (the living room and the dining room) both of which now have charcoal upholstery. Hooray for a little accidental house-wide balance. The funniest thing about the whole charcoal color result is that ORB is usually a dark brown color, but on upholstered chairs I guess things can get crazy. Imagine that. Ha. So I was expecting a dark brown look but I got a nice Karl-ish color instead. Which was a nice surprise. It’s like hoping to find a half-eaten box of raisins in the bottom of your purse when you’re starving and finding a granola bar instead. Cha-ching.
As for the spraying specifics (you know, for any other nuts out there with nothing to lose and thrill seeking spray painting tendencies), here’s a post with my general spray painting tips (like buy the good stuff, mist things to avoid drips, keep your hand moving, etc). There’s a slight metallic sheen when the light hits the fabric just right thanks to the type of spray paint we used (Rustoleum Universal Metallic in Oil-Rubbed Bronze), but they don’t look like Liberace chairs. It’s more of a subtle thing at the right angle, but most of the time they just look like charcoal gray fabric. Also, from certain angles in certain lighting you can hardly see the pattern in the fabric and other times it’s more obvious, but it’s much less offensive now that it’s all one color. The pattern is actually more noticeable in some of these pics than in real life (must be how light bounces off of them into the camera or something? No idea).
I spray painted the slightly-banged-up-formerly-more-reddish legs as well, which turned out a lot more like the typical ORB color (dark chocolate with a bit of metallic sheen). They’re our favorite part, because whether we decide to add the slipcovers back on or even reupholster these babies down the line, those sexy ORB legs will always be around.
Here’s a slightly inaccurate long shot of them in the room. Haha. They look darker and more patterned in this photo than in real life. We can’t wait to add a giant chandelier over that 70″ table and bring in a nice large rug to break up all the wood (wood floor, wood legs, wood table). And of course it looks less like a black hole with a colorful runner and some dishes on the table. We’ll eventually refinish the floors to be the same color as the one in the kitchen, so the future rug (perhaps something big and jute?) will be lighter and should help the darker legs/table and floor pop while keeping them all from blending together in one big mocha-wood-fest. Someday…
The big question is probably “what do they feel like?” I went into it thinking that a few coats of spray paint might make them feel rough like burlap or thick like leather, but they feel pretty much exactly like the original durable-hotel-upholstery fabric felt beforehand (which was always firm and not too soft, but not crunchy or anything). It’s kind of hilarious that they didn’t really change. The only way I can explain this phenomenon is that I’ve noticed when I get spray paint on a pair of painting pants, for example, they still feel the same (just as soft in that spot, but they’re a different color). Maybe it just goes on thinner than paint applied with a brush or roller so it’s less obvious on some types of fabric?
Update: A reader (thanks Krystie!) cracked the code by reminding me that the reason it worked so well on these chairs might have been because the hotel fabric is a Crypton (which means it’s coated in a protection to keep anything from penetrating – so the spray is sitting on top and not soaking in and getting crunchy/blotchy).
But let’s be clear. I never (inamillllllionyears) would have had the confidence to give this a try if we didn’t already:
- paint one chair green and know that it worked just as well as the other unpainted ones once the slipcover was on it
- already have slipcovers to hide my little paint job if it went bad (not much to lose there since they can be covered)
Remember, I was a woman with nothing to lose and a deep love of spray paint. I have no idea how other fabric would do, but these chairs were made out of thick upholstery grade fabric, so it wasn’t as soft as cashmere to begin with. But if you’re dealing with something like velvet or silk, the spray paint could very well make it crunchy and hard. I’m 100% certain that different fabric or even more thickly applied spray paint (or a different brand/type) could yield different results. Maybe you can find similar fabric to the item of furniture you’re thinking about spraying and just apply a few light and even coats of spray paint on your test fabric to see how it works out first?
Another question might be “if someone sits in them, can they rub off on their clothes?” After allowing them to dry a while (we left them outside for four days after making sure there was no rain in the forecast) they’re all cured up and don’t smell like spray paint. And just like dried spray paint that gets on painting clothes, they shouldn’t rub off (I wash mine and they remain ORBed and don’t bleed on other clothes – even when they’re wet in the washer). If someone spilled water on the chair it shouldn’t rub off since it’s oil-based paint. I even rubbed a wet white rag on them to make sure nothing transferred.
As for how we feel, we’re still sort of on the fence. They’re definitely better (muuch better) than the green painted chair debacle. And in person we think they’re marginally better than the baggy slipcovers. But we’ll probably recover or replace them someday down the line – so I think the verdict is “fine for now.” We still have the brown slipcovers so we can always throw those back on or somehow tailor them someday? No idea. It would be cool to learn how to reupholster them or sew better slipcovers but with eight chairs it’s too big of a job for right now, so we’re happy to live with what we have. Who’s on Team Gray? Any Team Brown folks? Anyone care to join us on the fence? I don’t think there are any Team Greens out there, are there?
There’s probably a lesson in here somewhere about how $25 craigslist chairs might not always be the answer if they have a crazy pattern and don’t fit typical store-bought slipcovers. Ah well, live and learn. At least they’ve served us well for the past year and will seat our sweet family whenever they come over until we figure out what we want down the road. Has anyone else reached the end of their rope and spray painted something in an act of defiance and desperation? Can you believe I’ve painted, slipcovered, dyed, and re-painted these guys? One thing’s for sure, I’m a stubborn gal and I just can’t leave things well enough alone.
Tirsa says
Oh, $herdog, I usually love what you do, but I’m not feeling this one. About five years ago I bought slipcovers on Amazon. They are a stretchy polyester fabric and cost $10 a piece. The best money I ever spent. No sagging! I know what you mean about sagging slipcovers. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find them anywhere – wanted to give you the link.
Anywho, I’ve learned to wait and see how you tweak things as you go along. There’s always such a lovely result in the end.
Kathleen says
My head just exploded. You literally can ORB anything. Who knew?
Sarah says
Is it just me, or can you still see some of the original colors through the spray paint? In some of the close-up pics it looks like I can still see the blues/greens. But maybe that’s just because I know they are there underneath! Do the original colors show through in person? If not, I think they’re a great temp solution, but would love to see them reupholstered someday! My sister and I love your blog and read it every day!
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe it’s a monitor thing? In person they’re 100% covered. All charcoal gray. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
PatC says
I really like them too Sherry. Very nice and they look great in your overall color scheme.
BTW – I’ve made quite a few slipcovers and you may want to think about (not sure how to explain this) putting an extra stitch on top of the seams already in the cover. This adds some heft to the seams and makes it almost look like it has piping. Another take on this would be to pull up the seams, pinching it all along the seam line and pinning as you go. Sew this new seam, and it creates a raised edge along the seams which again add some structure and heft much like piping. Both these techniques would be stitched from the outside of the slipcover. Just some shortcut tricks to altering slipcovers without a lot of time investment. Hope this helps.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tips Pat!
xo,
s
PatC says
By the way, I love the fact that you can still see the swirls and pattern of the fabric of the painted chairs, even through the coat of paint.
Anna says
I adore the spray painted chairs – it makes the pattern subtle and interesting and I’m all for the Karl color. I think it’s so much better than the slipcovers and I can totally tell how the whole room is going to tie together with those sexy chairs. Way to take a risk! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks Anna!
xo,
s
bachsbythebeach says
wow, nice job! I think they came out great and look great in the dinning room!
Vicki says
This is why I love your blog. You aren’t afraid to take risks and try things completely out of the ordinary and share it with the world! Think of how many people are going to try spray painting their chairs or doing something else that they were a little afraid to do because of you! Rock on!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Vicki! It’s probably best saved for a last-ditch-effort nothing-to-lose kind of thing, but you’re sweet to say that!
xo,
s
Erin M says
I’ve been looking at upholstery fabric spray paint (seems like a safer bet for more varieties of fabrics), like this: http://www.amazon.com/Upholstery-Fabric-Spray-Paint-Black/dp/B000Z0GUMC. Looking for a chair to put in the nursery, can’t really afford to buy new, so thinking about a possible paint job.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I’m sure that would be better for certain fabrics! We played around with spray fabric spray for some book projects and the only con is that the cans we got from JoAnn were really small (so they would cover a pillow instead of an entire chair). I bet they have to sell larger cans somewhere though!
xo,
s
Olivia says
This had me chuckling :) My quirky and glitzy great-grandmother spray painted the already ornately shaped couch and loveseat in our family’s “parlor”- and she spraypainted them a metallic GOLD. The gold paint-job sealed the deal on a room which had already been decked out to the nines with old-world italian marble coffee tables, gold carpeting, drop-crystal light fixtures and sculptures of cherubs. The couches, and the whole parlor in general, were a beloved laugh for the whole family for years. Your chairs are a much more well thought-out production, and look better for it!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I kind of love your great grandmother! Haha. She’s like a DIY Trump!
xo,
s
Patricia says
Thanks for the idea. My dining room chairs just have the seats covered, but,like the upholstery on your chairs, they have a nice design on the fabric. So I stole your idea, and took one seat off to paint it and see how it turned out. I like it! So now the rest are done.
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo, so glad it turned out well!
xo,
s
Geno says
Love it! much better than the slip covers :)
Stacey H says
i kind of love them, though i’m on a charcoal binge right now. i never did love the brown slip covers. and honestly, i thought the green was awesome. so team green or grey for me!
nicole m says
I like the spray painted chairs much better! Wasn’t a fan of the brown slipcovers…they looked too blah for your dining room.
I recently got a chair (for free!) that i will have to reupholster one day. Maybe I will get the motivation around the same time as you (if you decide to reupholster your chairs) so i can show you my progress!
YoungHouseLove says
Would love to see your progress!
xo,
s
Alisha says
Love it! So glad I happened up your blog…your projects are great and I am totally stealing some of your ideas!!
David C says
I won’t judge the painted fabric-I can imagine how different they must look in person. I just unloaded a leather couch and loveseat on Craigs and took a few photos that made the leather look murky, translucent, and the shade of guacamole after it’s started to brown. The real color was more like dark roasted coffee beans. Needless to say, the funny pics didn’t make it online.
I do have a suggestion, though. The slipcovers you already have might really work if you take advantage of the excess fabric. I get a little obsessive with some ideas that are not really all I’ve cracked them up to be, so don’t take me too seriously. When I saw the brown color, I liked it, and the first thing that came to mind was lacing up the back of each cover with a contrasting cord ( or even some leather ). 7 or 8 rivets up the sides of the cover , put it on the chair damp, lace it up from behind, use upholstery pins through the slipcover into the existing upholstery before pulling it tight to keep the back panel from bunching (or just let it bunch). The laces might look really interesting. If you do it with damp fabric, you’ll get more stretch. When the fabric dries, cinch it up again to take in the slack. Then, outside for some scotch guard on the seating surfaces so you’re not doing this all over again in 3 months.
Anybody like it?
YoungHouseLove says
That could definitely be another possibility! Thanks for the idea David!
xo,
s
Jackie B says
Unbelievable!!! I think they look awesome “for now.” Easily reupholstered in the future — or not. I am new to your blogs, love them, loved hearing you at Haven and wish I’d introduced myself. I am going to attack my gold hardware on my sliding glass door (loved the door, hated the hardware so bought it anyway) with my ORB. I spray everything with it and don’t know why I didn’t think to do that door hardware sooner. I once had a bad can and my hand ended up looking like Mr. Deeds’ foot. It was VERY hard getting the paint off my hand. It felt like a glove and was very pliable. So weird!
Annie says
After a double take and a few “nuh-uh’s” I read through this and decided I’m going to give it a whirl. I have a hand-me-down dining set that I adore but with yucky, dated upholstered chair seats. I planned on reupholstering them anyway. What’s the worse thing that can happen… A wasted afternoon? Thanks for the crazy (literally) inspiration!
pam says
Another spray paint junkie! I once spray painted a large patch of dead grass on my lawn a nice healthy green the night before my foster son’s wedding in my back yard The workmen who were buiding our new shop deposited a pile of siding on the lawn about a month before the wedding and kept saying they were going to put it up “today”. I finally threatened dire things so they moved it about 10 days before the wedding, but alas it was too late for the grass to have a chance to recover. The kids thought I was insane but it looked pretty good and didn’t hurt the grass which did eventually come back.
I like your chairs, at least in the pictures. The pattern showing through the solid color looks really neat. I’m looking around the house with a new eye-now where did I put that can of gold paint???
Erin A says
I just spray painted a metal filing cabinet…it did NOT go well. Super drippy, my arm is exhausted, my fingers had to be physically straightened out! That being said, the front faces of the drawers are super splotchy – almost like air bubbles. Any thoughts? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmmm, I’d sand everything down until it’s smooth and try to use a small foam roller to apply primer and paint instead. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Erin A says
Hi Sherry! You would sand it down even though it’s metal? Do I have to have a special sander or do I just use regular sand paper?
Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, sandpaper will help take the drips out and smooth things out. I’d go with something high grit like 200 and you should be all good.
xo
s
Foxie says
I have a question about spray painting the chairs .. I want to try this as it would work for my free chairs but I want to be sure I am doing it right.. did you have to wet the chairs as you sprayed or was it straight spray on dry fabric?
I am going to paint these 2 hotel club chairs I have no matter what… I got them for free and now think spray painting them would be so much easier than brush paint with textile medium and water and paint mix and cheaper ! I will try anything once ..
Thank you for any advice you can give ..
Foxie
YoungHouseLove says
It was straight spray on the fabric, just thin and even coats, and that specific stuff (not sure how other types of spray paint would hold up). Good luck!
xo
s
Foxie says
Thanks! I am on my way to walmart to get my rustoleum .. I am so excited to make these ugly club chairs something more than they are. I am excited!.. I will link in my finished chairs soon as I am done.. Mine have a woven in pattern as well I think the weave will make them interesting like your’s are with s subtle “almost” pattern ..
Oh and to sit on how do your chairs feel? like plastic or more like the heavy fabric upholstery ? Just curious now as no matter what these chairs are going to get painted .. I have throws if the “feel” isnt right..
Foxie
YoungHouseLove says
They’re somewhat firm but not super sharp or crispy or anything. Sort of like if you get paint on your shirt while painting that blob feel thicker and more firm, but it’s not hard and scratchy.
xo
s