Chalk Paint® on Fabric Chairs

One of my clients needed immediate help making her two vintage chairs presentable for houseguests coming to stay with her in a week.  She did not want the expense of reupholstering the chairs and she did not have the time to get it done before the houseguests arrived.  

I suggested she try painting the fabric on the chairs with Chalk Paint®, so she hired me to come out and give it a try! 

She found these solid, well-built chairs at an antique shop. She loved the size and shape, but had always planned on replacing the fabric, which was a heavily stained, pale yellow linen.  

I used Old White on thechair fabric and Pure White on the legs. The Chalk Paint® covered the fabric, making the chairs look brand new!

You can even see the texture of the linen through the paint.

It was a time consuming process, but definitely worth it in the end.  I painted the first coat with Old Ochre Chalk Paint®, but after I got it on the chairs, my client decided she wanted the fabric to be lighter, so I painted the next two coats of paint with Old White. I applied a total of three coats of Chalk Paint® sanding the entire chair with 220 grit sandpaper, on a sanding block, between each coat.  I used a damp cloth to remove all the dust from sanding between coats.  The sanding made the fabric feel smooth and soft and removed any crusty areas. After the third coat of paint dried, I applied a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax to seal and protect the fabric.  

It does not look like the fabric is painted and it feels soft and durable.