buckeyepie Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I have some ugly upholstered furniture and was wondering if I can paint it instead of recovering? If so how Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I remember seeing a tutorial somewhere about that. The person painted her sofa with a couple coats of thick paint and the sofa turned out looking like leather. It looked pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Give it all a coat of gesso to prime it and then proceed as Grazhe suggests with the paint. You might want to think about removing those pleated skirts first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I think I'd leave the pleated skirts in place and paint them as well if you want to keep the illusion of cloth upholstery; I'd take them off if you're going for a leather look.. And I'm not sure it would be necessary to use gesso if you're going for a cloth look.. The paint (I'm assuming craft acrylics) will stick to the cloth just fine,although it may take more than one coat if it soaks in. If you do use gesso & want a cloth look, thin it down so the texture of the fabric will show through, much like the texture/weave of an artist's canvas can be seen under the overlying painting. I think the secret to success will be several thin coats of paint rather than trying to cover it in one heavy coat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kat57 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 (edited) Stacey recently painted an upholstered chair. I tried to make a link to it but it won't cooperate with me and I gotta get going soon. But it's in her gallery-a blue armchair painted black. Also,there's a RL tutorial or two on the web-they used spray paint and maybe even one product specifically made for this. Edited December 6, 2013 by kat57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgansmith Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I must have terrible taste or something because the thought of painting that furniture makes me cringe. I love it, as is, and if I saw it on ebay, I'd probably bid. What about starting over, with a different set? That being said... They make paint for fabric. It's sold right alongside regular acrylic paint at the craft store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 If you have a different fabric you love, you can also take the stuff you hate apart and use the pieces as patterns to make new upholstery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 The furniture as is might fit well in a chintz-laden English cottage or 1940s house, but I suspect Lindsey has a different setting for it. The fabric paint would probably work well, but to keep down cost and use what's at hand, acrylics will work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Thanks for asking about this. I have a Lee's Line sofa in a checkered pattern that I've never liked. I searched Google for "painting upholstered furniture" and found several posts and before and after photos. People do this in real life, why not in mini! I think I'm going to try it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyepie Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Thank u everyone, I think I am going to give it a try and see what happens 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie2 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I never thought of painting fabric wouldn't it be all stiff and uneven? I would love to see how that turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Minis Dollhouses Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I am terrible at furniture so don't take anything I say seriously but I had a similar set to the one in the picture and I needed to change its color so it would match my decor. I decided to paint it as well, since I can't even imagine reupholstering something like that. To make a long story short, painting it turned out horrible. It could be because I may not have done it correctly or something but I was horrified by the results. In the end I actually reupholstered it by glueing fabric to each area separately and using lace trim to cover the joined edges. Another, not so nice turn out but I could live with it for awhile. There are pictures of it in my Westville Dollhouse album. I thought the fabric I chose was nice until I applied it to the furniture. I wasn't very thrilled with it after that. It looked way too pink after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kat57 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Furniture makeover Here's Stacey's painted chair,if the link works this time! Well,phooey,I can't get that one right no matter how many times I try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey6163 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I used acrylic craft paint on the chair and painted the matching sofa also . They were old and the fabric was stained and icky , they look like a brand new set now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoey Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Wow, they look great Stacey. The set of sofa and chairs I have is a really cheap one and the seat and back stuffing is almost nil, don't think even painting them would help, but I'm afraid to take them apart to reupholster. Suggestions on what I could do to make them look better? I also have an unrelated question about tape wire, if anyone can help. I bought a tape wire kit many, many, many years ago and today I opened it and started to install it in my BH. To cut a long story short, nothing was working, tested everything and found out it's the tape wire that's no good. Does tape wire have a shelf life? I know all the other stuff, transformer, lead wire, tester all work because I had a new roll of tape wire that I tried and everything worked. So has to be the old tape wire. Anyone heard of tape wire being too old?? It's not torn, cracked or discolored, was still in box all these years. I've emailed cir-kit, but haven't heard back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoey Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Hi, Buckeye, I love that floral set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mygrommi Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I just painted this sofa that was originally an ugly floral print. I followed directions on a website where someone painted real life furniture. They suggest to add a paint medium to your paint. It comes in larger containers at Home Centers, but you can buy small amounts at craft stores. I bought a 2 oz bottle at Hobby Lobby. I don't remember the ratio of paint medium to paint right now, but can look it up. I needed a sofa to match a chair kit I made using silk Dupioni. Took a scrap of my chair fabric to Lowes and they matched the paint. I bought a sample jar of paint. Painting the sofa saved the day for me. I once took a sofa apart and re-upholstered it, but just did not want to do that much work on this one and I am pleased with the way it turned out. I will post a photo of the roombox with the sofa in it when the box is finished. Renea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 W...ow, they look great Stacey. The set of sofa and chairs I have is a really cheap one and the seat and back stuffing is almost nil, don't think even painting them would help, but I'm afraid to take them apart to reupholster... If the set is so bad as you describe, why are you afraid to take the upholstery apart? Use the pieces to make patterns for pretty new upholstery, cutting the pieces a bit larger so you can better pad them with foam sheets and a bit of fiberfill; you can duplicatte the back and arms in lightweight card, glue your stuffing to it, and glue the upholstery for the back to the back of the card, thread a nice sharp needle with quilting thread and "tuft" the back, if you want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey6163 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Thanks Silvia , if you didn't want to try Holly's idea , maybe cut the new material a little bigger add some quilt batting and take the glue gun to it. Renea , your paint job turned out great ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kat57 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I love the painted upholstery idea and have an ugly old red armchair that I'll be painting a rich green soon. But,that being said,I have to agree with Holly,if painting isn't the option,reupholstery is pretty easy,especially on the cheaper pieces!(If it isn't well done,anything you can do to it will be an improvement!) I took a cheapy red velvet Victorian sofa (you can see them on Ebay all the time,for too high a price!) and gently pulled the cloth and cushioning off,sanded and painted over the brown ugly stain finish with off white and sanded it to distress it in spots. I used the old cloth parts and padding to cut out and glue on pieces of a tiny floral with off white background. I used tacky glue,but a glue gun is great,too. I took a Dollar Tree 'bentwood' rocking chair,sanded and painted it to match and added padded back and seat cushions in the same floral fabric. These now reside in my ongoing project of a sunroom in a wood and glass panel terrarium container. I am glad you brought this topic up,Lindsey,as it gives another option to re-upholstery that looks pretty good,from the examples here!! ^_^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 And not everyone enjoys upholstering as much as I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyckedWood Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Im with Morgan I like it the way it is! I love tea staining or even bleaching to get different effects on fabric. Ive also painted fabric with good results but the fabric was silk and I used the same color of paint that the silk was, I was just refreshing the color. Best of luck...I would gesso it first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 If she wants the leather look, remove the pleated skirts and gesso prime it; if she wants to retain the fabric, prime and paint with thinned coats of paint; sounds like a plan, either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoey Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Hi Holly, thanks for reply. I'm not afraid of ruing the cheap set, it's just that any time I've tried upholstering anything it's turned out terrible. I think it's the fabric I've used. Maybe I'll give it another go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Silvia, try it with a solid color first on a single chair, to see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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