Happy Hour : Paint Your Upholstery ?

If you're like me, your living room ottoman gets a lot of use. Wear and tear has led mine to go through a number of iterations over the last 27 years. Five years ago, I made a radical decision that has proved durable while remaining stylish. Let take a look.

I can count on a new visitor to rub their hand over the shiny surface and ask what it is. When I tell them I painted it with a paint brush, I get fun reactions. Let's take a look on how I got there.

(From July, 2021)

For this Happy Hour, I tried painting upholstery. I know, that sounds so weird. But there are products that apparently work and while it will take more than 60-minutes (as each coat needs time to dry), it's completely satisfying. Just wondering. Do you have a piece of furniture that could use a refresh? Our 1999 Ballard Designs ottoman started out in a faded cheetah pattern fabric which eventually wore out. Then P&I recovered in a linen which also wore out. At least ten years ago, about 2010, I moved it from our living room (pictured above with our old furniture) to my study.

Over the years, I thought of slipcovering with an old white Matalasse bedspread. I thought of reupholstering with this cowhide rug but that was going to cost hundreds of dollars. When I discovered the FF Frosch paint supplement, I thought, "Why not paint it?" As P said, the worst that could happen was that I can reupholster later.

Here's the before photo. Yikes.

Using a powder additive to regular old house paint, the first coat soaked right in.

2nd coat looked only a bit better.

The third (and final) coat has a pretty shine and all the stains are covered.

After it dried thoroughly, I applied a coat of clear wax. It really looks no different but it will protect the fabric from spills.

For this project, I treated myself to some brushes and bought BB Frosch paint transformer and clear wax. I used a salad jar to mix paint. The ottoman took about 24 oz of paint. I just used latex semi-enamel off-white interior house paint, leftover from painting our primary bathroom trim and added the paint transformer.

All done in maybe a Happy Hour & a half. I'm not sure I would paint an upholstered chair that gets used every day, but for an occasional chair or this ottoman, I'm all for it. If you do paint something, please let me know how it turns out - just add to the comment field below. In the meantime, enjoy your Sunday!

supplies

Amazon : five-piece brush set, $25, item # B07Q84Q5PJ

BB Frosch.com : paint transformer ($34 for gallon)

BB Frosch.com : wax (clear) : ($17 for 220 ml)

first published : 7.18.2021