DIY: I Painted My Couch

Oh my gosh you guys…I painted my couch! That’s right. I did it. I knew I’d own a pink couch one day. I made my dream come true.

I DIY painted my couch upholstery and I’m going to show you how I did it and the lessons I learned along the way. Here is a picture of my couch BEFORE! I really had my heart set on a pink couch from IKEA, but when I went to buy it they were unfortunately out of stock and it had been discontinued. I found this couch on eBay for $150! It’s a vintage french provincial style sofa with a damask fabric on a solid wood frame. Can’t beat that price! The measurements were right and I bough it asap knowing I could paint/dye it.

I got this chalky paint from Lowe’s. It only comes in select colors, so I obviously got the pink. (This was before I knew you could DIY chalky paint)

MATERIALS:

Chalky Paint /Spray Bottle / Round wax brush / Fine Grit Sandpaper / Clear wax / Rhinestones / Super Adhesive Glue / Paintbrushes / Painters tape

I painted the couch by mixing the paint with water and spraying down the sofa. Chalk paint {not to be confused with chalkboard paint} soaks through the upholstery and dyes the fabric. I worked in sections making sure to get the fabric really wet and diluting the paint before I applied the paint.

{If I could go back in time I would’ve used a round waxing brush and used circular motions applying the paint because my paintbrush didn’t work very well and it took SEVERAL coats and swirling circular motions with that brush to get deep into the fabric crevices.}

After the paint dried I re-wet it and mixed more water with the paint and applied again. I repeated that process and it took me 4 coats of paint and 2 days to finish this project.

After the last coat of paint was dried I sanded the cushions lightly with fine grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface. Sanding lightly made the cushions feel soft again.

{if you’re painting on leather or vinyl you don’t need to sand}

I wiped away all the dust from sanding and then applied a wax coating to seal the paint. The wax coating enhances it so you can protect, gives it that nice velvety look to it so you can clean it, use it, etc… I applied to wax with a rag and worked that wax into the pores of the paint. Think about it as lotion for your skin. The wax won’t change the color of the paint but it will enhance it.