This greenish yellow vintage sofa was screaming at me to save! I looked into having it upholstered professionally, but it would have set me back close to $1,500. A hefty price for someone wanting to resale. My next thought was painting it. Why not? The piece already had lovely bones, but the heavily stained fabric was a far cry. First, I spot cleaned the fabric and vacuumed it well. Then I taped off the wood trim. Using a bucket of 50/50 water and fabric softener I wet the fabric using a sponge. I knew General Finishes Milk Paint would be perfect because of their high pigments and since it bonds so well to everything. I custom mixed equal parts of Patina Green, Coastal Blue, and Emerald. Then I did a mixture of 50/50 milk paint to water.
I used a boar bristle brush to apply the paint. It took about 2 1/2 coats of paint with light sanding in between with a 220 grit sandpaper. I painted the wood trim with GF Antique White. I distressed then glazed the wood with GF Van Dyke Brown. I even used some of the same glaze on the fabric to create depth. After the glaze was dry, I applied Vintage Market & Design Clear Wax and buffed away after 2 hours. The couch feels like a buttery soft leather. It absolutely is not crunchy or stiff. Everyone is amazed who touches it. This was a huge project for me and pushed me a bit out of my comfort zone, but the finished product was so self gratifying. I hope you love it as much as I do!
