Using Chalk Paint on Fabric

I recently painted a dining set for our store which had terrific upholstered chairs and beautiful lines, but the overall look was a bit dated.

As you know, we use mostly Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to refinish furniture at Maison Decor, and that’s not just limited to painting wood surfaces. While in the process of painting the set, one of our best customers came in and bought it while still in progress. The table only had one coat of paint, the chairs were unfinished, and the seat cushions had been shipped off to Malden for my mother to reupholster.

The Saturday that we sold the dining set, I quickly got on the phone with Amy to let her know it was gone and discuss the future of the upholstery. Our clients hadn’t said one way or another what they wanted us to do with it. I later actually learned that they just assumed the chairs didn’t have seats, and that they’d have to track down their own. Being the brain that she is, my mom suggested that we just paint the fabric–using Chalk Paint–as that seems to be growing in favor.

I balked, as I often do, and wondered if the finish wouldn’t be too rough, too chalky. My mom simply instructed me to lightly sand the fabric using a 500-grit sandpaper after I was finished.

It came out awesome. To balance out the graphite colored wood, we used the neutral country grey for a clean, refined finish. I took no more than and hour or two tops, and the results were fantastic. Check it out below: