Before and After: This Sofa Makeover Took 10 Minutes and $20 of Spray Paint
This beast of a sofa was left behind in an apartment, but it wasn’t quite what the new tenant had in mind. With $20 worth of spray paint, and an enviable abundance of confidence, the tenant gave this old piece a fresh new face.
While most of us haven’t made over a whole couch, I’m sure many of us have found random furniture in our homes—and it probably needs at least a little work.
We’re here to be amazed by the couch, but I’m amazed by it all. I love the drama of the black wall and the way it makes the newly brown couch pop almost as if it’s orange. I will always love fussy furniture painted in a solid color, and that glossy black coffee table is one of the best versions out there. The rug is a fabulous anchor to a primarily black-and-white room. The molded chair is the perfect combination of black, white, and wood, and it enhances the mid-century modern appeal of the sofa.
And that sofa—it looks amazing. The unexpected color has a nice rosiness to it; we see more cool- and gray-toned browns these days so it’s a nice change. Meri Defferrari—@merideffe2 on Instagram—is an artist in Argentina who had the confidence and vision needed to dive into painting a major piece like this, and that boldness has paid off quite handsomely.
We asked Meri for details about this sofa upgrade, and this is what she said (in haiku-inspired form):
It took 10 minutes.
20 dollars.
I did it alone.
It worked better than I thought.
I’ve sat on it and the paint wasn’t removed.
I love the new look.
If you’d like to recreate this look exactly, the paint used was Montana Colors’ Greyhound Brown, but you could also use spray paint specially formulated for painting vinyl (pleather) and fabric. I know from experience that it works great. And if any of you do start spray painting your furniture, be sure to tell us all about it!
Meri leaves us with these wise words of advice that apply to projects large and small: “Wear a mask when you spray paint.”
Thank you, Meri Defferrari!