Stenciling An Upholstered Chair

Paint and Stencils Can Refresh An Old Upholstered Chair

Good morning, my DIY friends. Are you looking to uncover the hidden charm of a cast-off piece with just a bit of creative thinking and elbow grease? Then Cutting Edge Stencils has the perfect idea for you!  Whether you have an old upholstered chair just laying around your house or you spotted one at a local flea market, this creative stencil idea is super easy and will totally transform the look of your throwaway item.

We’d like to introduce you to Nancy, the awesome DIYer behind the blog Artsy Chicks Rule. She’s constantly dreaming up new DIY projects.  Recently, while she was shopping at the Habitat Re-store, she came across this “throwaway” chair.

Yikes!  We can see why it was labeled as a throwaway.  The good news is that it was rescued by Nancy.  Although it was dated and worn, it had potential in her eyes.  Nancy decided to paint both the fabric and the wood.  She said, “I wanted to keep it bright and cheery. It’s going into my study/office/craft room.”  First she painted the chair legs pure white.  Then she painted the fabric using Pure White and Duck Egg Blue Chalk Paint.  For the step by step tutorial on painting fabric, be sure to check out her post here.

Once the paint was dry, Nancy went back and added the final decorative touches. She painted all of the trim/cording in white to help it pop.  Then she stepped back and thought hmm, how could she make this super stylish?  A stencil was the answer! Nancy had our Gabrielle Damask pattern laying around from another project. If you’re trying to recreate this, pour your paint onto a plate or paint tray.   Nancy used Pure White Chalk Paint for the pattern but you could use an all purpose craft paint.  Dip your stencil brush into the paint.  Brush off the excess paint onto your folded paper towel until the brush looks almost dry. The key to stenciling is using as little paint as possible.  Too much paint will cause the design to bleed and smudge.  Use painters tape to adhere the stencil to the chair.  Next you will paint the design onto the chair using the stencil brush.

Once the stencil was complete, Nancy went over the chair with very fine sand paper to soften the paint and give it a distressed look.  The project was completed with a coat of Annie Sloan Clear wax. Presto chango, bet you would never guess this was the same chair!

Nancy had this to say about her stencil project, “I love how feminine, soft and sweet it looks with the pale blue, white and stencil.”

Tell us: What do you think of this upholstered chair transformation? Leave us a comment below!

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Thanks for reading, and happy stenciling!
Michelle and the Cutting Edge Stencils Crew