I know - the thought of it sounds horrible! A painted sofa? That’s just crazy… but that is what one of our fearless clients let us do and it turned out better than we could ever have expected.
Over the years I have heard stories of Fusion Mineral paint being used on all kinds of unusual items - bathtubs, shoes (guilty!), handbags, vases (guilty again), the inside of a car (yes, really!)… and I’ve even painted the fabric seats of dining chairs.
But a sofa? And not just any sofa (or more accurately, two sofas), but ones that are going to be used in a commercial event space - a suite that would be used by brides getting ready for their wedding. No pressure here…
We were helping our beloved friends at Belcroft Estate pull one of their bridal suites together with final details. There were two older Ikea sofas that the client wanted to replace - their white vinyl had seen better days and they weren’t worth recovering - but I suggested painting them instead. The client was a little nervous, but what did we have to lose?
So here’s the lovely white vinyl sofa we started with.
I wanted a rich dark charcoal for the finished space, so we selected Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash - one of my all time favourites. Armed with our largest Staalmeester paint brush (it’s a big sofa to paint!), we got started.
I have to admit, after the first coat (see below), even I was little nervous. But it was important not to use too much paint on the brush and really work it into the vinyl - I liken it to a scratch coat when you’re icing a cake.
The minute I started to apply the second (and last) coat, I knew it was going to be amazing.
The most surprising thing about this experience? The fact that the painted sofas look like they’ve been re-upholstered in expensive leather. The paint has bonded to the vinyl and has improved the texture of the fabric. And one thing I know from my own wardrobe - there is no danger of the paint transferring to anything else or coming off the vinyl. And I’m so confident about that fact that we had brides taking pictures on these sofas just weeks after they were painted.
For more information and instruction on painting fabric with Fusion Mineral Paint, check out the video we've posted on our website. You'll be amazed!
