A Chalk- Painted Fabric French Settee!

Do you recall the struggle I had redoing my antique French settee?  If you missed it you can read about it here. Well, I am happy to say that I think I have conquered the beast!  It was a long journey to get here and there were times I faltered but in the end I am pleased to say,  IT IS FINISHED!!!

I was very tentative about many aspects of redoing the settee. First, it is an antique and I hesitated to paint and glaze the wood as I really did not want a painted look. As much as I like painted furniture, I also love beautiful wood. But, in this case, it was just too far gone. Second, I did not want to invest in reupholstering the piece so I made the big decision to paint the fabric! Third, since I was not reupholstering, I had to pry away the trim from the frame so I could paint and glaze the wood one color and then paint the trim another color without getting that paint on the frame. This ultimately proved to be the biggest challenge (mostly to my patience).

It took several coats to paint the fabric enough to get good coverage and I was literally down to maybe a tablespoon of paint left in the can, sweating out finishing as I did not want to purchase more paint (Annie Sloan Parisian Gray). I just kept thinning out the paint to stretch it. Then, there was sanding (yes, sanding) the fabric and nailing the trim back into place. Finally, since I do not sew (not much beyond a button and yes, I have tried) I had a new cover made for the seat cushion, as being down, it was too soft to paint, yet alone sand.

Here you can see the original velvet fabric which was kind of a faded yellow-green. It was stained and smelled rather musty. The cushion though still retained its shape so that was a plus. The wood had cracked in many places and would have been beyond my expertise to repair without being visible.

The trim still needs to be pulled tighter to the frame.

The painted fabric looks blotchy in the photos but it really is not.

I originally wanted to use a ticking fabric for the cushion but could not find one I liked. Then I tried a black and cream check but that also did not work. Ultimately, I ended up with this toile which worked best with the Paris Gray paint.

The fabric looks really rough but actually after sanding it is silky smooth.

Thanks to the very talented Amy Chalmers at Maison Decor for her advice on painting fabric. She gave me the confidence to try.  Amy has three shops in the Boston area plus an online shop so be sure to visit her beautiful blog!

Thanks for visiting A House Romance!