How I Transformed a Yard Sale Sofa With Chalk Paint! Part 2

In Part 1, I shared how I almost walked away from this yard sale reject! I'm sure glad I didn't though-- as is often the case with cast off pieces, this diamond in the rough had hidden potential. Here's how it looked BEFORE! I'll continue where I left off in the process... {See Part 1 http://www.hometalk.com/11741463/how-i-transf...}

Pretty much everything I read stressed the importance of allowing the paint to dry 24 hours and sanding with 220 grit sandpaper in between coats. I know it sounds weird to sand upholstery, but it works! If your fabric does not have a pattern or is closer to the paint color you choose, you may only need two coats. Of course, I chose a light shade to cover a dark pattern so I needed three! After the first coat, the paint and water mixture is half and half and I also found I did not need to mist the fabric first.





I wanted to show a close up after the third coat. It doesn't appear to be painted--it just looks like fabric and is also not hard or stiff to the touch! I have read other tutorials where it mentioned painted fabric feeling "crunchy." Mine really doesn't! The chintz like fabric may be part of the reason but I also attribute the desired texture to adequate thinning with water, drying and sanding. This shade Mineral, by Waverly looked much lighter before it dried and almost caused a panic(!) but the dried color was perfect.





For the wood trim, I used Waverly White and lightly distressed it.





Since this was my first experience with painted upholstery, I planned to recover the seat cushions with fabric--just to make sure they would be comfy. Did you notice I chose not to use the back cushions? I wanted a similar look to my other vintage sofa, Rosie. { http://www.hometalk.com/5629163/how-to-style-...}
Also, I sewed one long seat cover rather than sewing three separate cushions for the same reason. No more throwback from the eighties!





Continue to my blog and don't miss a thing!
http://mythriftstoreaddiction.blogspot.com/2015/09/painted-sofa-reveal.html






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/11743047/transformed-a-yard-sale-sofa-with-chalk-paint site