HENRIKSDAL Chair Spray Paint Update

Just about everyone is familiar with the Ikea HENRIKSDAL dining chair. These simple slip covered chairs are probably sold everyday by the thousands and while they have a great look they are a little generic. I only have one HENRIKSDAL chair that I use at my desk which means all you ever see is the back of the chair. I figured this was a blank canvas in need of some art.

I wanted to do a geometric design on the back and since I have the short slipcover add a dipped look to the legs of the chair. I knew spray paint would work best for the legs and I wanted them to match the slipcover. I got the bright idea to paint my slipcover right on the chair using the same spray paint.  YES, you can use spray paint on fabric. Better yet, since its fast drying and goes on in light layers it will not bleed out on the fabric. It will also not bleed through so you can paint the slipcover while it is still on the chair.

I started off by masking the back of the chair off with painter’s tape in the design I desired. The options are endless here just remember what you tape off will remain white while what is exposed will be the paint color you choose. If you have not tried the green Frog Tape yet I highly recommend it over the blue painters tape for a project like this. It has much better adhesion and for use on fabric you will need that.

Once you have taped off your design you will need to mask of the rest of the chair.  Make sure you tape off everything. Spray paint is fine and will squeeze through even the tiniest crack. I used a plastic garbage bag for the large areas and more tape to finish off the legs and chair. You also want to go over all the tape in your design making sure it is smooth and secure.

Now your ready for paint. I used Krylon ColorMaster in Watermelon. I found upside down is best way to paint this chairs, This allows you to  get all angles of the legs and a good flat surface for spraying the back.  To paint the fabric you use the same technique as you would for spray painting anything else, thin even coats. The fabric may take a few more coats since it absorbs the paint but be patient and you will get good even coverage. Take extra care at the edges to get good coverage this will make for a crisp design when you remove the tape.

Give the chair some dry time and then remove the tape and masking to reveal the results. This is my favorite part!

Be careful of your hand on this step. The spray paint will leave a dust on the the tape, you don’t want to get this all over you white slipcover so wipe your hands before you handle the slipcover.

Now for about $10 I have a chair with some impact, no more blank canvas…