The Painted Sofa

So, once upon a time I had this grey striped sofa, or settee if you will.

It was lovely and had great potential, however…

It imparted a drab feeling in every room I put it in.

It really wanted it to be bright and bold, and it sort of felt sad that it wasn't living its best life.

And so I began dreaming of it wearing pink, and I set out to find fabric. However, our family upholsterer had a family emergency so he would be out of work for a while. I put the sofa on the back burner and just left it floating here and there with no real home.

And then, on one very random jolt of inspiration recently (as I was walking by said couch), I decided I disliked it so much that I'd just paint it (right at that very moment) and could always have it reupholstered later. I looked in my paint stash and found a gallon of white flat house paint which I poured into a bowl – and then squirted in shades of red and pink acrylic craft paint to create a candy pink color I loved.

The perfect shade for a room that had a lot of blue in it.

You see, I wasn't worried because I had done this before.

What?!

Yep, I was prepared and knew what to expect.

As you may or may not recall, I had painted a sofa with white satin house paint years ago right here.

And so, I plunged.

My blue little conservatory library was really truly begging for a little pop of pink.

I decided to leave the grey stripe fabric on the sides and just paint the front pink.

I did about 3 coats and let it dry in between each coat.

Then I smeared a little gold paint over the grey wood edges.

And just like that, a little paint transformed this wee gal.

I love looking at her as I play the piano.

She feels happy and alive now.

Just what the doctor ordered.

She sure elevated my mood too, and bonus, you can change her up with…

Different pillows.

Oh and bonus, our local furniture tester was the first one up there and totally approves.

So what does the fabric feel like you ask?

The previous sofa I painted was done with a satin to glossy paint and it feels a lot like leather. It wears perfectly, is wipeable, and has never cracked. In the case of this pink sofa, I used a flat paint which I love the look of and I do not mind the feel of, but it is definitely matte to the touch and quite firm.

The fabric on this sofa was rather wavy in the seat and still has that with the paint, so it truly does retain a fabric look.

I am quite pleased with it and now we spend so much more time in this room.

I truly believe that most décor needs a little pink somewhere in whatever shade one prefers.

From candy pink, to ballet pink, to palest pink to peachy pink and beyond.

They all can impart such a wonderful little feeling.

And so, that is the story of how a pink little sofa came to be.

As I said earlier, you can click here to see my other painted sofa for more tips and tricks.

I am really so happy with how it turned out.

I can't imagine upholstering it now, with just some paint I turned a drab piece into my new favorite piece. Now every room is fighting to have this lil' sofa live in it.

A happy candy pink sure changed the entire feeling in this room.

It just made it so much light and brighter – amazing what paint can do isn't it?

Anywho, speaking of paint, I've been painting a lot in my studio.

I may not share paintings every day, but I have closets full of artwork because it is my life blood, and I just have to fling paint around a little everyday for my sanity alone. Painting emotions is as healing as anything I tell ya. Such a great way to purge with wild abandon.

Anywho, I have some new paintings coming – and also working on a superrrrrrr fun project in my country house garden.

I don't want to get too excited until it arrives but it's paid for and has some new shoes and is ready to rock and roll!

Anywho, if you fancy a go at painting fabric, try it out on some old pieces – even an old tattered chair you might have.

So much easier than you think <3 <3 <3

Welllls, off I go for now 😉

 

 

 

Ps: as a side note, the original fabric is a cross between linen & burlap. Here's a super upclose look for requests♡

 

Pps:  As I said in my last post, I'll try to post what I was listening to while I was typing this.

My entire life revolves around music, all sorts of music – major music lover here, you?

Today I was listening to the whole Bat For Lashes, The Haunted Man album.

I had a hard time finding the entire album to post here but you can find it on iTunes if you'd like to listen.