I stumbled across painted couches a few years ago and was immediately intrigued. I’ve painted vanities and dressers, chairs and even a countertop. But actual couches. Like fabric couches. No way?!
I mentioned it to Mike and he shut it down immediately. He didn’t believe there was any way that it would work, and we didn’t really have any that we could test it out on anyway, so I dropped it..
Until now..
My mother in law was thrift shopping one day and sent us a picture of this..
I actually wasn’t too offended by it at all. It’s not our typical go to style but it was for the screen porch and it was a place to sit, for somewhere around $10 I think.
So we we jumped on it and the next day we were proud owners of this beauty.
We had it for several months before it dawned on me that this could be our trial piece to paint.
I hemmed and hawed over it for a while, but finally decided to just give it a go!
I used my tried and true Rustoleum CHALKED paint in the color Aged Gray.
After reading a million tutorials I decided to water the chalk paint down 1 part paint to 2 parts water.
So basically you can make your own measurements depending on how much you need. But it would be something like 1/2 cup paint, 1 cup water. Or 1/4 cup paint, 1/2 cup water, etc.
I also read that you should keep your fabric wet during the painting process so it helps the fabric absorb the paint.
I started on a Saturday thinking I would spend the whole day on it and then possibly the whole day Sunday and then I’d be done and good to go!
WRONG!
The first coat takes FOREVER to dry!
I probably could have sped the process up by blow drying it but that’s just not my jam. 😉 Slow and steady wins the race right!?
This is what it looked like after just one coat of paint.
You can see how much the fabric soaks into the paint.
You could barely tell there was any change if you weren’t holding it next to the original cushion.
After the paint is completely dry (for me this was about day 3; haha totally kidding) I took a sanding sponge and very very lightly sanded the dry paint. This helped to take that dried out paint feeling away and kept the fabric feeling like fabric.
Once I sanded it, I would wipe any dust off with a towel and spray the whole thing down lightly with water before adding the next coat.
This was after 3 coats, still soaking it up pretty good but you could definitely start seeing a change.
All of those tutorials I mentioned reading, swore that the fabric texture would barely change at all.
If I wasn’t covering up such a bright floral design, I might actually have the same outcome. However, the fabric did indeed change in texture.
BUT, not until about coat 5.
These particular cushions do have removable covers, so I think that since I was painting them while they were still on the cushion, the paint and water was soaking into the cushion which caused a bit of a texture issue for me.
This story does have a happy ending though, so keep reading!! 🙂
So even though I was noticing a slight change, it wasn’t a bad change.
A friend of mine had told me she once painted a couch and felt like the texture changed to feel more like faux leather, and I think that is the perfect way to describe it.
For me, it felt exactly like a faux leather, or outdoor/weather proof kind of fabric.
I lost count after coat 6, I’m pretty sure I ended up with like 9 coats!
Mostly because there was a lot of trial and error involved. If I put the paint on too thick it would leave big time streaks, so once that dried I would have to sand down the best I could and correct it.
I did decide after coat 6 or 7 to go over it with a foam paint roller just to kind of smooth it out and completely eliminate the lines. It really gave it that smooth finished look.
I would also recommend going in with a very small paintbrush to make sure the creases and corners are getting full coverage.
So my overall completly honest opinion is that YES you can paint fabric furniture.
Remember though not all fabric is created equal, I think that every single piece of furniture will have a slightly different outcome.
I LOVE how this sofa turned out, it looks nice and simple out on the porch, if you were riding by on a horse you would see NO flaws whatsoever (anyone else ever heard that phrase? My mom said her dad used it all the time) Its so true though.
I could point out a hudred “imperfections”, but someone passing by wont even notice them.
We’ve had a few people over since they’ve been painted and no one could even tell!
I DID NOT use a wax seal, though I did read several tutorials that opted for one.
I was worried that would change the fabric even more and I didn’t like that.
Instead, after the final coat dried, I wiped it down really well and let it cure for several days, then tested it out with my trusty black leggings.
No paint came off.
I’m SUPER impressed with the final product and would 100% try this out again. We actually snagged a free set of wing back chairs from our older neighbors when they were moving out, so I’m pretty sure they’ll end up painted as well.
I mean does this picture not completely blow your mind?!
My non believing husband is now a believer y’all!
If you don’t already have this on your DIY bucket list, I would add it right away! It’s so much fun to see peoples reactions when they hear that its painted.
