How To Chalk Paint Furniture – 2 Years On!

How to chalk paint furniture – 2 years on!

This is my post on how to chalk paint furniture. If you can’t see the full version and video, click here.

Youtube hit

A couple of years ago I painted a fabric armchair my nanna was planning to throw out. The video has been pretty popular with about 100,000 hits on Youtube so far.

I had looked into getting it reupholstered, as it was beyond my upholstery skills. I discovered though that it would cost more than the chair did originally!

Painting it was incredibly satisfying. It did take a while as you have to wait for each coat to dry, but it was definitely worth it.

The chair now takes pride of place in my bedroom.

Two years later…

One thing you all seem to want to know though is how it’s bearing up after two years of general wear and tear. So, I thought I’d do a little bit of an update for you.

So this is the chair in question. I’ve added a nice colourful cushion I made as well and as you can see it’s in pretty good order.

Now bear in mind that my daughter uses this as a playground pretty much every day. She jumps on it, slides on it, scratches the surface. So really, considering all that, it’s done pretty well.

Unsurprisingly, there are a couple of scuff marks. My plan is to just paint over them when the monkey grows up and actually learns how to sit on her bottom.

If I’d reupholstered it in pale grey fabric it would have been severely marked and probably stained and would need redoing already.

Chalky bottom anyone?

One thing everyone asks is does it leave chalk on my bottom? Imagine how precious I’d have to be about people not sitting on it in dark clothes!

The wax I used at the end stopped any chalky excess and also sealed it.

Now this does mean that for some the look is a little too like leather. Actually although it’s not soft like fabric, I still think it looks inviting.

Painting over the cracks

If you have any tears on the fabric before you paint it you’re obviously not going to be able to hide these.

This chair had some damage on one of the arms, I think where my nanna’s cat had nibbled it, and although I’ve obviously painted over that, it is visible. I feel it’s less noticeable than before though.

So the chair is doing well, meanwhile the creases on my face from dealing with a toddler the past two years… not so much!

What I love about how successful the video has been is that there will be many armchairs out there given a new lease of life, rather than being sent to landfill.

If this has inspired you to do the same, and you want to know how to chalk paint furniture, check out my tips in the original post here.

There are some amusing outtakes you can watch as well!

If you want to have a go at reupholstering something instead – how about a chaise longue?

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