Boy, I sure hope this is a possibility--I can't find anyone to upholster my armchair/ottoman...this would be much, much easier.

It's hard for me to wrap my mind about because I just keep thinking it would come off on clothes when sitting in it. But obviously if it's on the market, it must have been tested for that.

It'd be great for redesigning the home to just change the color of that chair instead of reupholstering or buying new furniture. Or if there was a bad stain, it could be saved by repainting it.

It's a strange concept for fabric furniture, but if it works, I'd be all for it.

And I say it would be great for changing the color of furniture because I absolutely hate fabric slipcovers. I think they're tacky and unsightly. But then again, so are stained clothes from sitting in painted chairs. :)

I could just imagine a guest sitting on that chair and having the color rub off on their clothing - No, Thanks.

I would have to read the instructions very carefully. If there were no chances for drips, I think I would probably do it. Actually, I have a velveteen chair I have been wanting to redo, and this might be the perfect solution!

I guess it makes sense.... you can dye garments, so why not put the dye in an aerosol can and spray it? Fabric is fabric, after all. I agree with s2k that I'd be concerned about it rubbing off onto clothing, and would hope the manufacturers took that into consideration.

For those of us who don't love slipcovers, or who are dealing with a piece of furniture that would lose its charm if slipcovered, this could be a fun option. And just imagine the psychedelic possibilities with more than one color spray per chair!

I haven't tried upholstery, but I did spray paint a shirt once. It was only slightly crunchy for about 10 minutes, then it softened up. It wasn't very durable though, most of the color came out after a couple washes, so I'd worry about it coming off of the upholstery and onto your clothes. :S

^^^ and hey... I've been wondering about quick and easy options for customizing remnant carpets into something more interesting, more graphic; I love the great patterns I see in rugs on AT, but they are so completely out of my budget. Wonder if this spray might be the answer to my prayers! Thoughts, anyone?

I spray painted an old prom dress red once for a halloween costume (jessica rabbit) and it came out great! Since then i've been thinking about painting other things so this looks really cool.

If it also puts torn bits back together I'm all for it LOL.

But my major concern would be for my pets (cats) that love to chew fabric. My male loves cotton for some reason.

My cat loves wool, Joan52. Chews anything and everything. Yup. Would certainly want to know how pet-friendly this is.

But for something unlikely to get a lot of rubbing against expensive clothing (footstool, throw pillow or maybe ljbmonkey's idea of using it for carpet art), I could see this being a useful way to revive rather than replace.

If it's more like a dye than a paint, I'd try it. Paint would be way too crunchy.

I'm sure this is a product with a lot of fine print... for instance, I can't imagine it working on velveteen like AprilAries hopes it will. It's probably only intended for really flat weaves with little texture- how could it coat a thick velvet or corduroy evenly?

Anyway, I'd love to see a before and after... but I'm not daring enough to try it myself!

I think draperies, upholstered cornices, or perhaps the rug idea above would be great uses for this. I share everyone's concerns about the flaking for things like upholstered furniture though. Not to mention that seems like it wouldn't feel very comfortable to the touch.

and deprive myself of a reason to go to the fabric store????

perish the thought!!!!

Here's the real question: let's assume you get your hands on a fabric paint that looks good and doesn't rub off on other people. How do you get it to smell good?

Please... PLEASE... post a test of this! I would thank my lucky stars if this stuff actually worked! And if it was good enough to cover patterns on fabric? I just might cry.

I bought a Klippan sofa off Craigslist for $25. It was very stained and would not get cleaned. I started doing some research and decided to paint it.

I went to Michael's and bought 3 cans of spray fabric paint (and later realized they weren't upholstery grade). I sprayed 1 can in the back of the couch to try it out anyway; the results were less than desirable. The paint was dripping, and I realized that I would need way, way more than 3 cans of spray paint.

Then I did a little more research and came across an article on HGTV of a woman who had painted her two wingback chairs with regular latex paint (the kind with which you paint your walls). I headed to Lowe's and bought a quart of interior satin latex paint (orange) and bought a couple tubes of textile medium from Wal-Mart since I read that would keep the fabric soft.

I started painting thinking to myself that the couch couldn't get any worse than it already was. I got a brush, mixed the textile medium into the fabric and went to work. I went through the whole quart and ran out of paint, so I bought a gallon this time and didn't bother to buy textile medium.

The couch required two coats of long even strokes to keep the sheen even throughout the cushions. I applied the two coats (without sanding in between) and when I was done I used 220 grit sandpaper to get the burrs out VERY CAREFULLY just to achieve a smooth finish. I dusted the couch off and used a tack cloth to pick up any loose debris and finished off going through the entire surface with a damp cloth to pick up any remaining dust.

The couch now looks like vinyl, and I could not be happier. I've sat on it many times and the paint does not come off on my clothes. I'm going to put it in my office when I'm done painting it. Here are a few pictures (forgive the quality; I couldn't find my camera, so I used my cell phone).

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j163/mariob_1998/c.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j163/mariob_1998/b.jpg

i'm with farmhouse, wouldn't the paint get hard and crunchy? though like s2k said, if it's on the market, they probably tested for that. i'd give it a shot. i have this old couch im gonna get rid of soon, maybe i'll pick some of this stuff up to play with on one of the cushions.

wow...mariob_1998, the couch looks great! Was the couch white before? Nice job...i never would've thought that would work.

I'd be hesitant to cover an entire piece of furniture (mostly because I have a hard time keeping regular spray paint even), but it would be pretty cool for stencils on fabric. Just one bold graphic on the back of a chair would be pretty cool . . .

GOD YES! I'm sooo sick of my tan ultra-suede couch. Need to go to gray.

Wary Meyes does this sort of thing all the time, applying amazing custom patterns to chairs with INCREDIBLE results. here's a few of their best:
http://warymeyers.com/Resources/TimeOutCover.jpg
http://warymeyers.com/Resources/B%26B2.jpg

This one explains how they did it: http://warymeyers.com/Resources/salvage1.jpg

I am so looking forward to finding a flea market chair & painting something amazing on it.

Sorry, that's Wary Meyers.

I've seen this done on home improvement shows..with little success.

I just finished doing what mariob did, and I'm thrilled! I have a gorgeous pair of antique French clubchairs with intricate white, carved wooden frames, with upholstery recovered in an ugly (and stained and slightly damaged) peachy fabric. I painted the fabric charcoal grey, using regular acrylic house paint in semigloss (three coats with a foam brush, VERY carefully with a tiny art brush along the edges of the wood), and then topped with a coat of paste wax. They look and feel like distressed leather or waxed canvas now, and I love them! Like mariob, I thought I had nothing to lose. They were horrible before, and I can always recover. But I love the result.

Wow, that couch looks great - very sexy.

Wary Meyers is the one with the brilliant radiator painting, no?

I hate slip covers too.

Joan52 and ThatGrrl, your cats don't happen to be part/full Siamese do they? Cotton and wool eating/sucking are very characteristic of Siamese cats, as is pica in general and being jerks.

Hey folks. I've spoken to some reps for SimplySpray, a company that makes non-toxic upholstery spray paint. They assure me that it stays soft and pliable if you apply it correctly. They even sent me some samples. I'm working on a project to post as a tutorial to see if it really works. If it's hard, crackly and rubs off, I'll definitely let you know. They also said it really works well on lampshades. What a miracle if it really looks and feels good on upholstery. Could it really be true?

Don't knock what you haven't tried based on lack of knowledge. Welcome to the 21st century. Textile paints are not like the paint you bought at Home Depot.

ModHomeEcTeacher- We can't wait to hear how you like it! You're a tough judge to win approval from!

-Sarahrae

There's a before and after pic of spraypainted benches with details at http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2009/03/spray-painting-upholstered-furniture.html

Have a look at Anna's (D16) upholstered Eames shell chair that she painted ~ damn fine!

http://www.doorsixteen.com/2009/03/19/see-im-not-afraid-to-paint-anything/

I did this! With regular spraypaint and an old chair that I didn't care about too much. It went from light yellow to purple just fine. The color was a little darker and less vibrant than the usual paint color, and it turned the worn parts of the chair a little scratchy by coating the fuzzy fibers in paint, but other than that, success! The fabric I used it on was a smooth, almost shiny fabric, I would not try this on a softer fabric because I imagine it would soak up a lot of paint, and you would end up with a scratchyness issue. I would also use a matte paint instead of the gloss that I used, I'm not sure, but I think it would cover a little easier. I had a small amount of flaking at first, but never any real issues with the paint coming off on anything.

I painted the seats in my husbands Mazda mini truck. We also own a Ford Harley Davidson f150 truck that is just blacked w/ leather interior and is just REALLY nice. So when we decided to get a commuter, it was hard for him to go from such a beautiful truck to this grey interior economy thingy. In the middle of November in Seattle, and I decided to make his truck a "mini-me" of his Harley truck and replaced the gray carpets w/ black, new wheels to match the harley truck, painted all the interior plastic and pleather, and even painted fabric seats black. I know quite a lot about the interior of a car now, it's pretty funny. LOL Anyhow, I used that Simply Spray fabric paint and it went on really well. The smell isn't bad at all and it doesn't make the fabric stiff like spray paint might. Really super cool stuff.

I have a whole box left and have been searching for something else to use it on. I've been lucky enough to have bought exactly the furniture I wanted w/in the last few years. But if I were still decorating with upholstered thrift store finds, I wouldn't hesitate at all to use it on a sofa or any chair. It doesn't come off on fabric at all.

here's a link to the stuff.

http://www.simplyspray.com/

about 6 yrs ago i received a hand-me-down love seat that was really awful. the fabric was dingy/ugly, but i couldn't afford anything new.

i figured that painting it couldn't make it worse, so....

like mariob, i just used latex house paint -- no medium, though. foam brush. i was too chicken to try it on the softer parts of the couch, so i only painted the frame. also like mariob's -- the result was vinyl-like.

for the 'slipcovers', i used the cheapest white fabric i could find. i didn't know how to sew, so i got one of those as-seen-on-tv handheld sewing machines. i left the slipcovers open at the backs of the cushions (like pillowcases) so that i could take them on and off for washing.

for such a novice (at both painting and sewing) i was very pleased with the result. the photo is not so great -- i just snapped it with my camera phone as it was on its way out to the curb. i posted it as a free item on the san diego craigslist.

if the new owner happens to read this....contact me! my name is the same on myspace. i'd love to know if you cherish my little DIY as much as i did!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/taffypeterson/Misc/greencouch.jpg

It's nice to think that I could actually paint my preferred graphics onto the upholstery.
Depends on the final results though. Would the upholstery smell like paint afterwards? Would it rub off to those that come in contact with it? Would it make the fabric rough?

ooooh, i was just thinking 15 minutes ago. shit. i hate my chair, but i cant afford to get it fixed. and here is the answer! yay!

THANKS!

I'm not sure this would work real well for heavy use (kids jumping on the cushions, for example) or for fabrics with a lot of texture. Latex and acrylic paints usually give a leather/vinyl type surface, so that would have to be a look you could live with and that would work with the furniture.

But as long as the paint was PERFECTLY dry, it shouldn't transfer. If heavily applied, that could take days, though, so be sure it's really dry before testing!

I haven't heard of any special dye that could be used on velvets or other textured fabrics, but if you worked outdoors with a spray bottle of a dark dye that would cover the existing color, taped off the wood and metal bits, and prayed heartily, MAYBE regular tie-dye from a craft store would work!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVwgQYKFeAo&feature=channel_page
spray paint is not at all the same as fabric paint...I've used this paint on a small vanity chair i had in my daughter's room.
she sits on it every day and it doesn't rub off. it feels really soft and when i painted it, it didn't smell like regular spray paint....

When I used the Simply Spray there was no smell at all even when spraying. It does stay soft and does not come off on clothing. I couldn't find the upholstery version in stores but did find it online www.fabricspraypaint.com. I called them and they told me that the regular version is for clothing and not upholstery. You have to read the and follow the directions. It does take a little getting used to spraying.

Mariob_1998 - that orange sofa is gorgeous!!!! In not using the textile medium, is the sofa fabric stiff or did it stay soft?

hi there, i am a newbie on the site.
i am working as a retailer agent for the SIMPLY SPRAY paint in the uk(it is very new to our country). I have used hundreds of these cans in my workshop and rate it 100%. I am a textile designer and have tested many other fabric paints over the last 20 years, including car spray paint!!
It really does do what it says! go for it, spray your old furniture and bring a bit of colour into your apartment! We have lots of students purchasing this in the uk at the moment as they are all moving into student accomodation with granny's old sofa etc. A great way to upcyle!!

I started painting my 2 extra large club chairs yesterday, i m only using acrylic paint , I m looking for ideas on what to paint on them , i m just starting with white as a base , then may be a huge flower ? or black leaves ?

I ll post a picture when i m done :)

Have you ever tried to removed dried on latex paint from any fabric be it precious or a rag? Doesn't happen so I'm sure that house paint would be safe but I would be concerned about any dyes because you have to rinse died fabrics in a water vat and till they rinse clean. I would truly be concerned about spills and anything damp picking up the die and making blotches as well as getting on any fabric in contact with the damp areas.What about using an eggshell finish? Not as shiny....any fabric painted would be more like a canvas when dried. Worth trying to me .......

Check out how I painted a wing back chair.

http://hypheninteriors.blogspot.com/2011/03/painted-upholstery-process-revealed.html

I used latex and acrylic, but you may be able to just use acrylic. See the tutorial.