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.

1. Antique Sofa Paint Makeover
2. Chalk Finish Paint and Upholstered Antique Chair Makeovers
3. Upholstered Antique Chairs Makeover
4. Chest of Drawers Chalk Finish Paint Makeover
5. Antique Desk Chair Makeover
6. Buffet Table Chalk Paint Makeover
7. 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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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 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.

As you can see, another beautiful before and after! 

Upholstered Antique Chairs Makeover

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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. 

Antique Desk Chair Makeover

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

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.

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.

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, 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. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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 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.

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