Over the weekend I tried my hand at painting upholstery for the first time. It was a great experience, and today I’m here to share all the details with you!
Years ago I saw an artsy painted couch in the dressing room of a retail store. From a distance, I could tell it was painted and was immediately curious about both the process and the finished result. When I touched the couch, it was hard as a rock. When I sat on it, it was stiff and made a crinkly sound—as if I were sitting on plastic. As cute as it was, I realized that it wasn’t something I’d want in my own home, and from a comfort standpoint, the couch was ruined.
That little experience has lived in the back of my mind ever since, and every time I come across an upholstery painting tutorial online, I cringe a little and feel like the article is trying to “catfish” me.
So you might be wondering what changed my mind.
I was 100% sure that these tutorials suggesting to paint uphostery with wall paint were bogus. I mean, it would probably end up looking good, but would it be functional? That’s kinda important, right? After I read a few more extensive tutorials (this being the best one) about combining fabric medium with latex paint, I decided it was worth a try!
Before we begin, it’s important to note that the couch I chose to paint was damaged. Jeremy acquired it when we had our vintage store and he worked in the space above. It had some major staining that we tried all our tricks to remove unsuccessfully. When he was preparing to move to his new studio, he was planning to donate this, and I told him I wanted to try painting upholstery, so we kept it just for this project.
This is not a tutorial that I would recommend for a brand new couch. Reupholstering would obviously be the first choice for a lot of furniture, but since this is a small bench (i.e., not large enough to be a functional living room couch) with damaged caning (another super expensive thing to fix professionally), and it lives in the sunroom of his studio (not super high traffic), we had nothing to lose. So, we went for it!
1. You’ll need a stained or ugly colored piece of furniture with lightly textured upholstery (you wouldn’t want to try this method on a fuzzy, vinyl, or leather piece).
2. Supplies needed: flat latex paint (I bought one quart and had some leftover), fabric/textile medium and paint brushes (you can see here that I started out with a foam brush, but I quickly switched—see below).
3. Mix fabric medium and latex paint. You’ll need 1 part fabric medium and 2 parts paint. Don’t freak out if it looks crazy at first (see above); it takes a bit to mix in!
4. When the paint and medium are completely combined, you are ready to paint.
Before you begin painting, use a spray bottle or damp rag to get the fabric just a little bit damp (but not very wet).
5. If you have a fear of painting the fabric, go ahead and mess it up real good like I did. Commit yourself! 😉
6. You can see here that with thin coats of paint the fabric’s texture is completely maintained.
7-8. You’re probably curious about how long this process took me: Only about 3 1/2 hours, with a break for drying in between (for a couple hours with a fan facing the couch). I completed this, start to finish, in just one afternoon. First, go over the entire couch quickly. If you have a lot of tufts, like I did, save them for last. Then go over the piece once more, checking for missed spots. Then let your first coat dry for several hours. Mine dried enough for coat two in about 2-3 hours. Thin coats dry faster. It’s also important for the coats to be fairly thin because that will ultimately make your coach more comfortable and less stiff.
9. Halfway through the first coat, I switched to this 1 1/2″ paint brush instead of the foam brushes. The foam brushes were okay, but this was much better for getting into the creases and tufting.
10. After the second coat it’s time to do the edging. I used a double-folded piece of paper (cardstock or very thin cardboard would be perfect!) because I will basically do anything to avoid taping things off if I can. This worked great! I only had one or two mess-ups on the wood, and I immediately wiped them off with a wet paper towel. This was the most tedious part of the project, but it only took about 30-45 minutes.
After checking the piece over for missed spots, I let it dry overnight. (Insert nerves here!)
The finished result is AWESOME! I am really glad we went for it. The color is gorgeous, and it looks so much more clean and fresh than it did before.
How does it feel? Good question. I will be COMPLETELY honest with you!
It feels like a couch painted with matte fabric paint (not the sticky stuff). It is not stiff, crinkly, or cracking, but it no longer has the same texture as fabric. It’s like it has a rubbery film over the top. For that reason I wouldn’t do this for a main couch that you sit on every day to watch television. However, for a cute side chair or a decorative bench like this, it’s totally fine! It’s not that it’s uncomfortable to sit on; I just wouldn’t lie on it to take a nap, if you know what I mean.
My conclusion: It’s not a miracle, and I wouldn’t do it on EVERY piece of furniture, but it’s also awesome, and I will most definitely be doing it again for my own home!
A little tip—If you have tufted fabric, it’s pretty hard to get every single crease. I thought I did awesome, but I’m not a perfectionist, and as you can see here, I did miss some spots.
Save some of the extra paint mixture in a Tupperware for touch-ups!
Thanks for letting me share this fun project! If you decide to try it yourself, I’d love to see photos! xx. Elsie
Credits // Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Photos edited with Stella from The Signature Collection.
Like it! In other videos that I saw use fabric softener; in the process!!
This is great! I just suggested this to a great client and then found your post.
Love it!
Wow. This turned out beautifully! I’d love to give this a try one day.
That looks beautiful! I love the color green you chose. And thanks for an honest and informative tutorial.
You can use Annie Sloan Chalk paint on any surface including leather and fabric with fantastic results….you just need a thin coat of Annie Sloan Soft Wax on top to seal….I think you ladies would love the paint!
Love the colors! Where are the pillows from?
The color is amazing. I appreciate that you were honest with your results. I used to have a bright vinyl couch in college and I think it probably felt like what that looked like. It was okay to sit on but not ideal for a nap. But it is bright and fun and a conversation starter. Great job!
I read a tutorial that did everything you did PLUS one more step… she SANDED the painted upholstery after it was dry, which, apparently, gives it the appearance of soft leather — so soft and supple that you can’t even tell it’s painted fabric. The photos looked great. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I read it and I didn’t save the link (a consequence of binge-reading. LOL!)
That chair rocks! It has such Great Bones so I can see why you saved it from the landfill and now you are saving the earth too.
How to do it even better with waste products http://goo.gl/h8h6WN
LOVE the vibrant green color – so pretty and just POW!!! nobody asked about the fabulous blue and white pillow, so maybe you have already talked about that somewhere else? it is OMG gorgeous!!! both pillows are awesome, but the one in the lead photo is amazing – where’d you find that beauty? great job on the sofa, love the idea in the comments about a shower curtain too!!pinning,to add to my ridiuclously long to do list!!! thanks for sharing your results!!
I’ve never even heard of doing this!! What an amazing update! The color is stunning.
I bought a hunter green armchair at a yardsale and tried painting it dark gray with some spray on fabric paint I ordered online. It did not cover at all, even after several coats. I tried painting it with gray wall paint, and even then it wasn’t covering enough! I finally said screw it and had my mom sew a canvas slipcover for it. (That was a whole separate nightmare for her). Just all around not worth it.
Your bench looks cute though!
So in love with this green! This turned out looking amazing!
Need to redo a white couch. It is a piece we do use however it has removable pillows and 1 large seat cushion that I would not paint. I’m hesitant because this is the main couch in the room. Can I ask for opinions?
,
I just posted about my upholstered bed makeover! Admittedly, it’s been months since the makeover (oops! 🙂 ), but I’m still loving it. The couch looks fabulous, especially with those pillows!
xx
Tess
tollieandash.com
http://www.tollieandash.com/2014/06/painting-upholstery-bed-makeover.html
I always wanted to paint a couch, but never thought I could do it or quite picture how it would turn out! Thanks for the tutorial!
Ashley
electriceelfashion.com
Do you think this process would work best for outdoor pieces too? Possibly the result’s texture could protect against rain and mold?
Thank you Jessica!
-Elsie
Hi Grace!
We’ll definitely try more paint/dye projects in the future!
With hair dye or fabric dye it needs to be rinsed out REALLY well in order to now stain your clothes/skin when you sit on it. For that reason I probably wouldn’t do it on something like this that isn’t washable. It’s kinda a “spot clean only” thing, you know?
We’re always on the lookout for something new to try!
xx- Elsie