How To Paint Leather

Refresh your leather media boxes with a fresh burst of color!

Posted by Kayla J.

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Transform your dated media storage boxes with a fresh coat of paint, bringing the piece into an updated color palette of your home!

Our brown leather boxes no longer worked with our decor, so with one simple project, we brought them up-to-date.

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You Will Need (6 things)

  • Paint
  • Paint Brush
  • Water
  • Tray
  • Sand Paper
  • Painters Tape

Steps (4 steps, 180 minutes)

  1. 1

    Clean off your leather, then roughen it up with some sandpaper or a foam sander. Paint will soak in and stick better if the surface isn't so smooth.

  2. 2

    Dillute your paint in water. I went with about a 50/50 mixture with regular wall paint I had laying around the house. It doesn't need to be an exact science, but you need the paint extra liquidy so it will soak into the leather.

    Depending on your color choices, you'll need a couple of layers of the liquid paint, not allowing it to fully dry between coats. I used three coats with my yellow, two with my gray.

  3. 3

    After letting your liquid coats dry, apply undiluted paint. You'll likely need a couple of coats.

  4. 4

    (Optional): Depending on the design that you chose, feel free to tape over any painted areas for layers after it has dried for at least 24 hours. Don't worry, the tape won't peel off any paint!