Faded Velvet Upholstery

I've always loved velvet. It has the most decadent luxurious texture. Even better, as with any textile, when velvet is exposed to sun over an extended period of time it fades. This effect is usually quite awful on typical upholstery, but because velvet has such a deep nap, the fading creates the most wonderful ombre effect, so you get multiple tones on one piece of fabric. It's truly beautiful. In the last month I've bought two pieces upholstered in vintage velvet, an antique tufted sofa and an antique tufted armchair. I've been keeping an eye out for another piece to put on the front (enclosed) porch to tie it into the living room a bit more. Today I stumbled across the most gorgeous antique wing chair in my favorite shade of faded velvet chartreuse. I'll probably do the same paint finish on the legs as I did with the sofa and chair.

Here's the antique armchair I bought on New Years Day. The lady I bought it from lived in the cutest apartment and was so nice. I feel like the chair has a good vibe because it's previous owner was so lovely.

And my antique couch and chair in the living room. 

Close up of the gorgeous carving and my paint treatment on the sofa frame. It's a thin coat of white applied, then wiped off, followed by a thick coat of brown glaze applied then wiped off. 

Here's the chair I'm picking up tonight. I'll take better pics once I have it in my clutches!

I love the faded orange-y gold of this chair. It's basically the twin to my armchair too! That's just what the frame of mine looked like before I painted it. 

This sofa has the warmest most inviting shade of olive green. I like how the more modern pillows look with it too. 

This little chair is just a gem. The color of the upholstery is wonderful, somewhere between blue and gray with just a hint of yellow. 

The coziest brown velvet armchair. Looks like the perfect place to curl up with a cup of hot tea!

This is a great example of the beauty of faded velvet. Look at all the shades achieved on one chair. 

Here we find the faded velvet on a more mid century modern form. Very attractive in a casual cool way.

The deep orange color of this upholstery is beautiful. The form the chair is, if anything, even more breathtaking. 

And finally a tufted orange armchair complete with brass tacks along the arms here. 

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