DIY Sit Stay Porch Chairs

Snow, rain, and sun faded the outdoor fabric I used to recover on my porch chairs. I took the opportunity to look for replacement chairs that are a little more plush and inviting.

Unfortunately all the outdoor chairs I like are too big for the space.

Time for a revamp!

I want something that will look decent during post summer but not quite time to decorate for Fall and Halloween. I didn’t have much luck finding replacement outdoor fabric to recover the seat and chair back. I figure the chairs can't be much worse as they are and experimented with spray painting the fabric instead of replacing it.

Yup. You can spray paint fabric. The fabric will be a bit stiff but it won’t fade as easily in the weather as my fabric. It will get me through until next year when I have a whole season to look for new outdoor fabric.
Lacey is the inspiration for this makeover.

What can I say? We are a Dog House.

How to Spray Paint Fabric

I’m doing this the hard way by leaving the fabric on the chair. It would have been easier if I painted and decorated a piece of fabric first and used it to cover the chair seat and back.

You will need:

Chair
Screwdriver
Painter’s tape
Spray paint (I used Valspar Paint + Primer to cut down on the number of coats to cover the design in a light color.)
Sizzix Big Shot
Mac ‘n Cheese alphabet die set
Recycled plastic bottle shopping bags or outdoor fabric
Mod Podge Outdoor
Paint brushes
Dog stencil clip art
pencil
Freezer paper
Craft knife/scissors
Iron
Craft paint
Stencil pouncer

Make it:

1. Use the screwdriver to unscrew the chair seat and back if applicable from the chair.

2. Use the masking tape to mask off any part of the chair you cannot detach and do not want to paint.

3. Cover the seat and seat back with the spray paint. Remember several light coats of paint will drip less than one coat of thick spray paint.

4. Use the Sizzix Big Shot and dies to cut the words “sit” and “stay” from the shopping bag/outdoor fabric. I think a thicker font might look a bit better but I’m using what I have on hand first. You can stencil or freehand paint the words on the seat with craft paint if you like. I wanted to try this to see if it works – it does!

5. Use the Mod Podge Outdoor and paint brush to attach the word “sit” to the chair back and the word “stay" to the seat.

6. Use the pencil to trace the dog stencil clip art on the freezer paper shiny side down.

7. Use the craft knife/scissors to cut the stencil from the freezer paper.

8. Place the stencil on the seat/fabric shiny side down. Use a dry, hot iron to attach the freezer paper to the seat/fabric.

9. Use the stencil pouncer to paint the stencil with the craft paint.

Paint the puppy!

10. Remove the freezer paper stencil from the seat/fabric while the craft paint is still wet. Allow the craft paint to dry.

11. Use the paint brush to seal the craft paint with a coat of Mod Podge Outdoor and allow it to dry.

12. Put the chair on the porch and sit on it!

Have a seat!

A tip from me to you: You want to use Mod Podge Outdoor for this project. Mod Podge Outdoor will seal and protect the letters and craft paint from the elements. I had my doubts when I used Mod Podge Outdoor to seal the craft paint on my LOL cat drop cloth grill cover (get the tutorial here.)  I figured Mod Podge Outdoor wasn’t different from regular Mod Podge.

You can see where this is going, don’t you?

Two winters later the craft paint on my grill cover looks just like it did when I painted it. All this from a nontoxic outdoor glue and sealer! I’m happy to be wrong on this one.

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