The Painted Settee

So I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was plotting to paint the upholstery on an antique Duncan Phyfe settee that I picked up on craigslist. I got the piece for a good price, and it has beautiful lines, so classic, but the upholstery was...well, horrifying. I had read a couple how-tos on painting upholstery and decided to give it a whirl. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Versailles for the color. I mixed the paint, water, and ceramcoat textile medium in equal parts. The paint mixture is pretty soupy, which is important so the upholstery will absorb it. The textile medium it to help keep the paint from getting too stiff. I put on three coats. The first took forever to apply and I was worried I would run out of paint, but the second and third coat went quicker and took a lot less paint. When the last coat was dry, I waxed and buffed upholstery, which made it more supple. The fabric has the feel of canvas cloth, or leather now. I then painted the frame and upholstery tacks in gold to give the piece the decadent feel it deserves. I'm planning to restyle the porch around the piece now, so I'll share some updated pictures of the whole room once I get around to carrying the heavy furniture up from my basement. All in all, the process was amusing, straight forward, and the results were great.