I have been itching to take more than a iphone photo of this sofa for a few weeks, but we had VMD in NW AR and then 2 days after that we went to Florida for a family vacation and got back late Friday night. I had my gallery wall sitting on the floor for about 2 weeks prior to leaving on vacay, but I didn’t get it put up until after we got back. Most of the frames are empty and I’m still deciding whether to leave them that way or to fill them with art….
But I digress! I’m really here to talk about the green sofa!
It was so much fun working on something that I knew I would keep!
I did tons of research on all the different methods of painting fabric and felt confident using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
I used Antibes Green with a splash of Aubusson Blue to tone down the brightness a bit. Then I mixed in a bunch of water (about a 50/50 mix) and started painting. The whole sofa took 3 coats and I used a little over 1 can of Antibes and about 1/4 can of Aubusson.
I made sure each coat was completely dry, so I waited at least 24 hours in between coats. After all that was done, I lightly sanded the fabric with 220 grit sandpaper. The reason I did that, was because the dried paint on the fabric made it pretty stiff. Sanding it lightly brought back the feel of fabric. Coarser grit would have caused fuzzies to develop and would have taken off too much paint on the raised floral pattern.
Lastly I waxed the entire thing with Annie Sloan Clear Furniture Wax. I think I used almost a whole can of clear wax, since I did some areas twice. The wax made the fabric, slightly more stiff (but not much) and gave it a sorta plastic/vinyl feel. After we’ve had in in our front room for a couple weeks and have been sitting on it more, the fabric has gotten softer. It isn’t as smooth as leather, but it also has a raised pattern, so that makes a difference. I was worried it would stay pretty stiff, but the seat cushions are already so much more pliable.
Are wondering if this bright green color rubs off or leaves any kind of dusty marks?
The answer is: NO! Absolutely not! The green paint actually dyes the fabric and the clear wax seals the paint completely and makes it water resistant even!
This sofa is available for local photographers to rent! Look how awesome it looks in these photo shoots by Jillian Farnsworth Photography! If you are interested in renting this sofa, please visit the Shop & Photography Prop Rental tab above for rates.
To jog your memory, this is what the before looked like:
And the after:
I also stained the frame using General Finishes Gel Stain in Java, which was pretty easy. It made such a difference in the overall finished look and it only took me a couple hours.
So, what do you think? Have any questions? Ask away!
I might do a demo/tutorial on the process with the sofa’s matching chair, if there is an interest, so let me know!
Linking Up With:
Linking Up With:
I think that is one absolutely gorgeous sofa!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I love the gallery wall too – a pretty mix! The paint brush is especially fun!
Girl, you never cease to amaze me! You rock … and so does this sofa! So gorgeous!!
Amazing! Yes, do a demo with the chair & I’d love to hear what you think of General Finishes gel stain. Haven’t used before.
Amazing! Yes, do a demo with the chair & I’d love to hear what you think of General Finishes gel stain. Haven’t used before.
Beautiful sofa, great work, and fantastic makeover! I only wonder how the painted sofa will look like after using it some time – could you make an update to show? I think about painting fabrics with AS paint 🙂 regards!
Since I only finished it about a month ago and right now it looks no different, I will do an update in about 6 months… Sound good? 🙂 thanks for the love!
Love this! I especially love that you didn’t shy away from color. Some local rental companies seem nervous to incorporate “too much” color into their inventory. Jillian’s pictures prove that color adds great support. I bet you’ll rent this a bunch! Any thoughts on painting over velvet?
Velvet absorbs muuuuuch more paint but I’ve heard similar results are achievable! I have a velvet chair I’m going to try it on. But not with a light color! Light colors require more coats as it is!
Gorgeous! Thanks for the sandpaper tip!
Stacy
http://www.anygirlcandoit.com
It’s beautiful! I’m curious as to what type of fabric is on the sofa. My sisal area rug has a very faded binding–this may be an option to spiff it up! Did you need to pre-treat the fabric before painting?
This is just regular upholstery grade thick cotton-poly I think? Wih a silky floral pattern woven in. I would DEFINITELY paint your sisal rug! I think it would work great, as long as you water down the chalk paint! I also didn’t pre-treat the fabric and I don’t think you would need to either, with this method.
YES!! Please do a tutorial on how you did this. My sister has a set that includes a sofa, loveseat and chair that is almost identical to yours. She got it off craigs list. It is in excellent condition but the very light ivory colored upholstery is dingy and a little dirty. Neither of us knows how to reupholster so this would be the way to go. I love the color you chose but she is not so much into green. The hard part would be for her to decide on a color that she coud live with. Love your gallery wall, too! I love the look of empty frames.
Wow, this is absolutely amazing and I LOVE the color you chose too! Thanks for sharing at The Makers, pinned 🙂
oh, wow! look at that! what an amazing transformation! I’m going to have to try this painting upholstery thing one of these days 🙂
Wow…. I mean really… wow! I am in awe of how beautiful that sofa looks now! I’m pinning!
Tania
I have a similar sofa that I am dying to do something with, but never thought about painting the fabric. Mine has a light blue brocade fabric. Don’t know how old it is; was left in our house by previous owner. I liked it, so kept it! A question about the wax….does the wax get on clothing? I assume not or you would have mentioned, but it just seems like it would and I also assume you used a wax without odor. Do you think I could do the same thing with dye and perhaps apply with foam brushes or foam rollers? Just want you to know, I love all the things you do!
I went back and read about the wax. You did use AS wax, which I have not tried, but definitely will. I have been using Johnsons Paste Wax, but I have lupus and the chemicals always flare up my lupus, so will try the AS wax on my other projects and will definitely try this idea on a small project before doing anything to the brocade fabric on sofa.
Once the wax is dry, it won’t rub off. It’s completely absorbed by the fabric. I know you could use fabric dye, but since I haven’t personally done that, check out the blog, Chronicles of Home. She recently spruced up a navy Ballard Sofa with fabric dye and gives great tips!
That is amazing! I did not know you could literally paint a sofa and I’m so impressed with the outcome. Love it and it is an amazing photo prop! Wish I lived closer so I could use it. Thanks for sharing your talent at The Makers this week. So glad to see you back 🙂
Corey @ TinySidekick.com
Your sofa is so amazing that it’s being featured over at The Makers Link Party this week! Thanks for partying with us and I hope you will stop by to grab a button! 🙂
~Katie
It looks amazing!! All that hard work paid off, and I love the new stain and the green! Beautiful! Oh, and I love your rug, I have the exact same one! 🙂
It is gorgeous! Found you through The Makers and so glad I did. You may just have inspired me to finally do something about my own similar thrifted sofa. I was thinking of going gray – but I may just go bold instead. And I love your gallery wall – so sweet. Off to check out some of your other projects!
I LOVE it! Such a statement piece now. I just finished my second chair that I painted the fabric back but upholstered the seat and back. You will have to check it out sometime. Love your work. http://foreverdecorating.blogspot.com/2014/06/another-painted-fabric-chair.html
Your sofa is beautiful! Love, love, LOVE the color! You said you used Annie Sloan furniture wax? is that different than the soft wax? I wish I had saved my moms old sofa and done something like this instead of giving it away 🙁
Thanks so much for sharing,
Patti
Love the sofa and have painted a few armchairs myself with ASCP and it turns out great. My question is with the staining of the armchair timber. Did you have to strip off all the original varnish or does that gel stain go over the original finish. cheers fiona
I did not strip all the varnish. I just sanded lightly and the gel stain goes over it nicely. Just brush on with a small paint brush and lightly wipe off excess and then let dry. That was it! It is so easy!
Adorable!
Did you paint the cushion covers with the cushions inside, or remove them? Wondering if the paint absorbing through to the inserts is a problem to dry. Thank you.
Bridget, I painted them with the cushions inside. The paint, I’m sure went through to the inserts, but I waited 24 hours between each coat to ensure it was completely dry before adding a coat. I also let the cushions (with fabric) dry separately, rather than sitting on the couch. Hope that helps and sorry of the delayed reply!
I am so glad I found this project… I found an almost identical sofa at a thrift store today and really fell in love with it, except the upholstery is stained and sad. You are making me consider going back and buying it – your sofa is gorgeous!!
Great tutorial! I’ve been researching painting upholstery and most everyone mixes the paint (acrylic/latex) with fabric medium. Any reason you didn’t?