Chalk Paint to the Rescue

I've been way to lax with updating the Little River house blog.  It was a long, cold, snowy winter.  We set records for how much snowfall we had and for how long it was on the ground.  Sometimes I really wondered if Spring would ever come.  Winter may have been long but I really didn't mind.  It was so beautiful here and we were cozy and warm in our new home.  But...now it's time to catch up and tell you about all the projects we have in mind.  

First up, a redo of this nice little sofa that I bought from brother and sister in law's place, Cherry Consignment Furniture, in Meridian.  I love the style and the tufting but the fabric was a green and brown swirly pattern that I didn't love.   I've always wanted to have a sofa or settee at the end of the bed that looks at the television.  We've lived in three houses since I bought the couch and it never fit where I intended it too.  Finally, it fits right where I want it but the fabric was not working at all!  I toyed with the idea of having recovered which would cost me about 450 dollars and I really had so many other things to spend the money on.

A few months ago, my friend came out to visit and see the house.  When I showed her the sofa and told her my dilemma, she said she had painted a chair in her house with chalk paint and that it had turned out so good.  I was amazed that you could paint a piece of upholstered furniture...who knew!?

I toyed around with it for awhile and finally tried a little section on the back. I figured I was pretty safe..if I didn't like it, no one would see it.  

I didn't like it.   

The color was too dark and it felt rough and stiff.  I pushed the sofa back against the bed and just didn't look at it for awhile.

You can see the dark gray color I painted first in the corner.

Fast forward to today.  I was at BiMart and saw a nice shade of light gray chalk paint and it just seemed like it was now or never.  I thought "hey, if I don't  like it for sure this time, then I'll go ahead and have it recovered.  


It went on really easily and in about an hour, I had the entire couch painted. It only took one coat and it would of been okay with me if the pattern had subtly shown through, but it didn't.  

The point of no return..

Perfect!

I loved the color!  The fabric did seem really rough at first and then I remembered my friend had told me to sand it lightly when it was completely dry.   I sanded it and it made it so much smoother.  It's certainly not the softest, cushiest couch I've ever sat on, but it's not stiff and unyielding.  It has some give and feels sort of like old leather and looks like suede.

The bottom line is that it looks 100 percent better and I can live with the stiffer feel of the fabric.  I don't think I would do this to a piece that you plan to sit on a lot or that you want to be really cozy and squishy.  I do think it's a perfect solution for occasional chairs and if you have something you don't want to spend a lot of money on.   

Thirteen dollars for a can of paint versus 450 dollars to recover....you decide.



The Master Bedroom is still a work in progress and I'll have a future post showing more of the entire room when it's complete.  I'll be blogging about some of our winter fun, the arrival of spring, and our solar panel project over the next few days and weeks.  So come on back to check in on The Little River House!