Can you paint couches

It was terrible. I will definitely not be painting one anytime soon — Thanks! Other fabrics that are smooth, shiny, leather, or vinyl work well see Addicted to Decorating website. I will be painting a couch. I agree. I have used dye to spray on my velvet settee.

It changed it from an icky pea green, to a softer green. They say that if you do use dye, do it in the same color family, only darker. I tried using blue dye in order to make a teal color, but got darker green. The finish is soft after a couple of times sitting on it. How can it work on leather or vinyl?

It will definitely crack off. There is no way this works. I thought after painting it you were supposed to sand it and wax it. I wanted to paint mine with farm animals. That is how my husband would have been too! I have seen the same tutorials and wondered how a painted couch could actually be soft. Sorry it was such a big fail. One more DIY crisis averted. Thank you for having the courage to share this! Kudos to you for giving it a go! I was thisclose to painting my couch.

I was going to test it out on one of the matching pillows first, but now I know not to bother. So since the painting was a no-go, are you planning on reupholstering it? Or is it destined for the scrap heap? Just curious. I never would have thought to paint a couch and I give you credit for trying it.

The color would have been lovely though! I really do get sick of everything that is blogged being perfect and beautiful!! I always know I can turn to your trusted blog, thanks! But at least you tried:. Just curious.. Wish me luck!! Carrie, how did your white furniture piece turn out?

Lol so I am not the only one!! It was in good shape but the fabric was very faded. Then I came across a tutorial where a woman painted her chair cushion. So I went off to do it. I did it differently than you, though. I had to get the method down, but it got easier as I went. I just watered down the paint and used a cheap foam brush to apply.

In the end, it actually looked so much better but it was not soft by any means! I do have pictures of it somewhere, too! I ended up selling it on Craigslist to a woman who was going to use it in her photography studio. I have always wondered if the whole couch painting thing actually works…. Not brave enough to try it. Glad you did though, cause if it didnt work for you then everyone else MUST be lying;.

So sorry for the list time and frustration:. So sorry you had to go through all that time and effort AND end up disappointed! I have painted quite a few upholstered pieces but I use homemade chalk paint and wax. Velvet is a tricky beast but many, many fabrics turn into a soft, buttery leather-like feel. I pinky-promise. Thank you for the honest, laugh after the fact truth! I will take your advice and never paint a couch! OH what a bummer!

But thank you for sharing! Oh, dear!!! As I recall, their reaction was exactly the same as yours, at the finished product. It was a real head scratcher, for sure! I painted a chair. I read all the tutorials too, bought the fabric medium and spent hours on that chair. It is usable, a bit on the crunchy side, but not something I will ever do again!!

Thanks for sharing. O yikes. I have seen DIY about painting cushioned furniture and I could never figure how they finished product would feel soft and fabric-like. It always sounded suspect to me and you have confirmed it, sorry that you had to learn the hard way. Thanks for warning others. I missed the feathers episode but I saw the bathroom walls that she covered in fabric flowers…can you imagine?

Or the time she plastered a kitchen with wine labels and the owners did NOT drink. OMG, she was something! I used to wonder why someone would trust someone else to re-do their rooms.

I used to like to see some of the train wrecks that resulted, though there were some good reveals, too. Thank you!!!! I have two upholstered chairs that I would love to change to a different color. Oh, my I have made slip covers in less time. Nice try and thanks for sharing your experience. Bravo for sharing! How was the foam in it?

On no! If you took the fabric off now, would you still be able to reupholster? Love the green color you were going for, anyway. Cheers to your next success and may there be many more! There are some things I would never even consider—that is one off them! This too was one of my many great ideas gone bad! I finally gave up,after multiple coats still had the original color showing through.

See my full disclosure here. Spray bottle. Vacuum the piece of furniture you are planning to paint. You can even take a lint roller to the stubborn spots like dog hair. I trimmed any strings that were coming off the fabric, and I fastened on any loose spots with a stapler. Mix the chalk paint with some water and test it on a spot you will not be able to see, like the back of a chair or sofa. I used one part water to one part chalk paint.

Different fabrics may need different amounts of water. Spray the fabric down with a spray bottle in small sections. Saturate the fabric pretty thoroughly without it actually becoming a streaming mess of water. Using a paintbrush, paint on the chalk paint, rubbing it in well and getting in any crevices and around buttons.

I pulled some of the fabric up where there were pleats to get underneath. Continue spraying the fabric in sections and painting until the furniture is completely painted. Allow the fabric to dry completely, at least hours or longer between coats. The piece I did outside in the warm sun took just a few hours to completely dry, whereas the one completed inside needed a full 48 hours to dry between coats.

Apply as many coats as needed for color saturation and covering up any designs that may have been present. I ended up doing three coats. Fabric upholstery, cotton, linens, and velvet usually do great with chalk paint.

People have even had success painting leather. No, it does not. No bleeding, cracking, or staining has happened to the chair or to me, as a result of the chair.

Should you seal it? Did I seal it? No, not yet. I figured I would see how it held up with the kids, and if there was noticeable staining, then I would seal it. There are a few ways to seal it. Some people seal it with heat, using an iron or by placing it in the sun. The method I used does not cause the fabric to be crunchy. Essentially, you are dying the fabric by soaking the color into the fabric. Does the paint come off or rub off on your clothes? No, absolutely not!

Once the paint dries it is there to stay. Will the paint chip over time? The couch looks just as good as it did a year ago. No chipping and no signs of any other kind of wear. Is the couch rough after painting? If you follow the tutorial which states to sand a lot after painting then the couch is not rough. It is stiff but not rough. Have you washed the fabric since its been painted?

I did try it once to see if it would soften it. The paint got a bit splotchy though in a few places. Anyways I ended up repainting the splotchy areas. What grit sandpaper did you use and, what do you think about using a power sander? I started out with grit and then finished with grit. The super fine grit sandpaper is what really smooths it out the best.

I think you could try it but just be careful not to push too hard into the upholstery. Is the painted couch comfortable? Yes and No. It is comfortable enough to sit on but it is not cozy.

It it similar to the stiff feel of outdoor furniture. Should I use chalk paint on my favorite chair or couch? What would be the purpose of waxing it? Would waxing come before or after sanding? The purpose of waxing is to seal the paint and protect it. This would be extremely important if you want to use the furniture piece outside or if you feel the upholstered couch or chair is at risk to getting spilled on like if it was an upholstered dining room chair.

Waxing comes at the very end after sanding. Did you try spot washing the couch to get rid of stains before you started painting? The paint covered the stains without me having to do anything special to them. How bad is the paint smell, and about how long does it take to go away? Or does it not have much of an odor? How long does it take the paint to dry?

For me it took between hours. I painted mine in a basement in Ohio which tends to be somewhat humid. Can you paint leather and microfiber?

Yes, I have read that you can paint these materials. The fabric on my couch is chenille and it worked. If you are wondering about a specific fabric your best bet is to google. If your fabric has a pattern will painting it get rid of it? With enough coats you can cover a colored pattern but not a pattern created by texture variations. My couch had a texture and it still does even with coats. If you ever paint upholstery again would you do anything different? If I do it again I would like to try using my paint sprayer.

I also wonder but am not sure if it would make the fabric less stiff to spray it. When I have painted rugs the rug is less stiff if I spray it rather than if it is painted with a brush. Also, one reader recently suggested using liquid fabric softner mixed in with the chalk paint to soften the paint. I hope you have found it helpful!!