Painting upholstery? Heck to the yeah! Reupholstering is expensive- and I am no seamstress so I have to rely on the pros for help. Every now and then I have found pieces that I LOVE and they just need a refresh. If the outdated fabric is in relatively good condition- painting is the perfect update!
the BEFORE
I’ll add the details and a tutorial in another post but I wanted to show you the dramatic effects paint can have.
She was hand carved in Indonesia. Clothed in custom upholstery that no doubt was stunning in her glory days. I liked the lines of this piece (the many legs weren’t my fav but I did like how unique they were). My plan was originally to make it a dining bench in our last house. When we decided to sell our home, I hadn’t yet painted the sofa and was pregnant with Max. My plans shifted and this was going in his nursery in the new house. I had layers of blankets and throw pillows for late night snuggles and feedings. I was so excited to revitalize the look and couldn’t wait to rest with my tiny newborn on it.
After the move I started the process of painting the sofa in our master bedroom which is adjacent to the nursery. I was very pregnant and still getting Max’ (very small) room in order. I didn’t want to move the sofa into place until I had other details completed in the nursery so as to maximize my working space.
Well that bit me in the Design Tushy.
Sorry for the lighting- this was late at night
You can see I started painting the cushion first. At this point, two coats were on one side and only one on the other. I was getting so excited to see how it was going to look in the room next door. 9 months pregnant with 2 littles running around me (climbing on the sofa while working on it)- I was beyond ready to move it into place and see how it fit into the nursery design.
Here the cushion is removed
After painting the entire sofa including both sides of the cushion, I enlisted Daniel to help me move it to the nursery. This was supposed to be the easy part. Pick it up. Walk it next door.
It didn’t fit through Max’ bedroom door.
It did.not.fit!
Nothing we did helped.
My husband is the master at using his God-given-smarts to figure out furniture jigsaw puzzles. He uses math. He uses force. Loud grunting noises. Whatever it takes- Daniel always wins these Furniture vs. the Humans duels.
Not this time.
There was nothing we could do to squeeze this gem into her rightful place.
It was laugh or cry at that point and I chose to find some semblance of humor. It wasn’t really all that funny- more ironic. Had I just decided to paint it in Max’ room, we would have figured out the little problem on day 1. I probably would have bypassed the entire project. But I’m glad I had the opportunity to finish it. There were touch-ups that needed done so I completed the entire piece.
She was exquisite!
I took a few photos inside and outside then I decided to sell it. Not because I didn’t love how it turned out but because the design didn’t fit into the other spaces in our home.
In our front living room
The painting wasn’t difficult at all. Letting it go was the hard part. I was overjoyed when a professional photographer saw my ad online and purchased it. Now many families get to enjoy the stunning looks of this sofa in their portraits. And that makes my heart smile!
In our front yard