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Chalk Finish Paint Makeovers | 7 Easy Before & After Furniture Flips You Can Do | Amitha Verma

I am finally sharing the secret designer superpower of combining upholstery with chalk finish paint makeovers.

You might be thinking an upholstery project sounds huge and scary. Luckily, after reading this blog you’ll find that it’s not as daunting as it seems.

I will take you through my favorite transformations and explain how I did them. That way, you can pick the perfect project for you.

Antique Sofa Paint Makeover
Chalk Finish Paint and Upholstered Antique Chair Makeovers
Upholstered Antique Chairs Makeover
Chest of Drawers Chalk Finish Paint Makeover
Antique Desk Chair Makeover
Buffet Table Chalk Paint Makeover
Settee Chalk Finish Paint and Fabric Makeovers

Antique Sofa Paint Makeover

The first of my Chalk Finish Paint makeovers is one of my favorites of all time, an antique sofa.

Before Amitha Verma gave her antique cane back sofa a chalk finish paint makeover, it had a damaged cane back and red velvet fabric.

It started off as a less-to-be-desired dark wood and orange cushioned eye sore. However, it also had gorgeous carved details and a cane back. I could see the potential for an upholstery and chalk finish paint makeover.

Amitha Verma covered the brown wood of her antique sofa with Belgian Blue and French Gray chalk finish paint.

I covered the brown wood with one of our most popular colors called Belgian Blue. Then I brought in a second color called French Gray.

Amitha Verma Chalk Finish Paint in French Gray and Belgian Blue were used on an antique cane back sofa makeover. It was topped with Protect sealer and Enhance antiquing glaze.

To end it off, I added a coat of sealer and our brown antiquing glaze. This brought back some warmth to the piece.

To change out the velvet cushion that it came with, I simply replaced it with cotton ticking.

Before and after of an Amitha Verma chalk finish paint makeover and upholstery project on an antique cane back sofa.

And there you go! You can see that this before turned into an incredible French country style piece of furniture.

Chalk Finish Paint and Upholstered Antique Chair Makeovers

The next of my Chalk Finish Paint makeovers was a set of chair frames.

Before Amitha Verma completed the upholstery and chalk finish paint makeover on a set of antique chairs, they had no cushion at all.

They were very neglected and actually didn’t contain any of the upholstery at all.

On these chairs, I actually used this same color palette as my previous project. On the details I painted with Belgian blue layered in with French gray all throughout these chairs.

To accent the carving details on the antique chair frames, Amitha Verma highlighted them with Belgian Blue and French Gray chalk finish paint.

I especially paid attention to the areas that had the carvings and used my paint to bring out those details.

Once I add chalk finish paint, I add our protect sealer and then antiquing glaze to give a patina.

I also took on the upholstery because, if you remember, there was nothing on these chairs to begin with.

On chairs that have a wood frame, one of Amitha Verma’s favorite things to do is mix two different fabrics. On the front, she uses a simple cotton linen.

On chairs that have a wood frame, one of my favorite things to do is mix two different fabrics. I decided to keep it neutral on the front and use a very simple cotton linen. On the back side, I added a neutral checkered patterned fabric.

Before and after chalk finish paint makeovers on a set of antique chair frames by Amitha Verma.

As you can see, another beautiful before and after!

Upholstered Antique Chairs Makeover

I did another project just like this in my office furniture.

Before Amitha Verma changed the upholstery on her officer foyer chairs, they had a bright yellow fabric on all cushioned areas.

These chairs are not actually part of my Chalk Finish Paint makeovers. Instead, it’s simply an upholstered transformation.

I stumbled upon these chairs and they definitely caught my eye. They were covered in this bright yellow fabric. I took these chairs and simply really holstered them to match the color scheme of my four year design.

So, I simply replaced this yellow fabric with a natural blue linen fabric.

To makeover the yellow antique chairs in Amitha Verma’s office foyer, she replaced the original fabric with a natural blue linen one.

This chair also already had a beautiful wood frame. I used that as an opportunity to bring a designer fabric in on the backside.

Amitha Verma adds designer fabric to the backside of chairs with wooden frames.

Just by changing the fabric alone, it completely altered the style and personality of these chairs.

Next time you’re looking at a piece of furniture, consider giving it a chalk finish paint makeover, reupholstering, or combining the two.

A dramatic before and after of an Amitha Verma chair upholstery makeover from yellow to French blue.

Chest of Drawers Chalk Finish Paint Makeover

This next one is the opposite, and it is a complete Chalk Finish Paint makeover.

I turned an unsightly, textured, muddy brown chest of drawers into a beautiful accent piece. Now, I love to look at it.

Before Amitha Verma completed her chest of drawers chalk finish paint makeover, it was a muddy brown color with texture along the wood.

What drew me to this furniture was the carving details and the hardware. These are very hard to find in furniture today.

The details that Amitha Verma looks out for in antique furniture is the carvings and hardware.

So, I brought it home over to my office and then gave it a chalk finish paint makeover.

This too, has the French gray, Belgian blue, protect clear sealer and enhanced antiquing glaze. This tried and true combo highlights any piece and gives it a new form of patina.

The finished chest of drawers chalk finish paint makeover by Amitha Verma includes French gray, Belgian blue, protect clear sealer and enhanced antiquing glaze.

Antique Desk Chair Makeover

Another Chalk Finish Paint makeover that I want to share is my personal desk chair at my home office.

Before Amitha Verma gave her antique desk chair a chalk finish paint makeover, it was not comfortable to sit in, the wood was damaged, and the caning needed to be replaced.

I love this chair so much, and knew it would be the perfect addition for my secretary. However, it didn’t quite match and was actually not very comfortable for a desk chair.

Amitha Verma touched up her antique desk chair with a little bit of chantilly white and stone gray chalk finish paint.

So, I applied both of these two project principles to this chair using our paints. I first touched it up with a little bit of white and gray paint. Then, I had a lot of fun while I was designing how I was going to reupholster it.

After the chalk finish paint makeover of her antique desk chair, Amitha Verma strengthened her seat deck with cushion and a soft blue, gray linen fabric.

I started with my seat deck. Then I added a loose cushion. On the inside of my seat, I used soft blue gray linen and natural fabric.

On the back side of her antique desk chair, Amitha Verma added a blue and white checkered pattern. She also used it as a contrasting welt on her seat cushion.

On the back side, I added a blue and white checkered pattern. I loved this design so much, I used it as a contrasting well on my seat cushion.

Lastly, I ended up filling my seat cushion with down. This made it soft and comfortable so I could use it for a long period of time.

A before and after of Amitha Verma’s antique desk upholstery and chair chalk finish paint makeover.

Buffet Table Chalk Paint Makeover

Moving on to this buffet that had a wood base and a marble stone top. The wood was not in very good shape.

Before Amitha Verma gave her buffet table a chalk finish paint makeover, the natural wood was not in good shape, but it had a beautiful marble stone top that inspired the colors for the transformation.

I painted this buffet a dark color because of its marble top. The shades inspired me to darken this piece and make the marble top really stand out.

To accomplish this, I layered a couple of different colors. We started with Noir Black on the bottom coat and some of the carvings on the front of the buffet.

Amitha Verma started her antique buffet chalk finish paint makeover with Noir Black chalk finish paint on the bottom coat and some of the carvings on the front of the buffet.

I then went over that lightly with a dry brush technique using the color Stone Gray. This was the main color that I used throughout this buffet.

After that, I went in with a lighter color to bring out the rose and floral carving details.

Amitha Verma went the body of her buffet table with a dry brush technique using the color Stone Gray. After that, I went in with a lighter color to bring out the rose and floral carving details.

I sealed it and added antiquing glaze to bring the patina back to this beautiful buffet.

You can see the before and then the beautiful after that tied all of the colors of this buffet together.

A chalk finish paint before and after makeover of an antique buffet designed by Amitha Verma.

Settee Chalk Finish Paint and Fabric Makeovers

Last, I have a couple Chalk Finish Paint makeovers and upholstery projects that I worked on with a client.

Amitha Verma upholstery and Chalk Finish Paint makeovers that she completed for a client on a settee and dining chairs.

These transformations address questions that you may be having as you’re watching these projects.

She was worried about several things:

Would they get dirty?
Will they hold up?
Would they show stains a week after being in the home?

On the settee for her living room, I followed the paint and upholstery principles that I always do. However, I did one thing differently.

After Amitha Verma chalk finish painted her client’s settee, she applied the patterned fabrics on the back. Then she used a performance fabric on the areas where people would be sitting, curling up, or putting their feet on.

After we chalk finish painted the settee, we applied the special fabrics that she loved on the back. We saved these for this area where I knew she would get less wear and tear.

Then we used what I call a “performance fabric“. This is perfect in the areas where people would be sitting, curling up, or putting their feet on.

This is a type of fabric that’s going to hold up for your everyday usage and wear and tear.

Amitha Verma uses performance fabric on upholstered furniture projects to protect surfaces with high traffic.

I also used the same type of fabric on the dining chairs for this project.

7 Easy Before & After Furniture Flips You Can Do

After watching this episode, I hope you take on a chalk finish paint makeover or an upholstery project.

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Keep using your amazing design gifts to create heart in your home,

Amitha

P.S. You can find all of these early fall decorating items at our retail store, Village Antiques in Houston.

Please stop by and check out our collections! We have farmhouse-style furniture, french country home decor, antiques, vintage, chalk finish paints, and more.

We are open Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

You can also reach us at (713) 468 – 3931