French Potential~The Big Reveal
I thought I’d give you a little break from the Paris vacation photos in order to bring you the big news that my French Sofa is now made-over & has found its perfect home in my Piano Room. And I just have one question for you: did you ever meet a sofa that made you want to cry? I can’t express how much this sofa & I were M.F.E.O. (made for each other).To read the fantastic story of how we met, click here. And just to refresh your memory, here is how I found her:
And here she is today.
She came back from the upholsterer the day we left for Paris. The upholsterer did a fabulous job with everything–including all 74 tufted buttons. 
If you remember, I had painted her before she left in a shade of white called Possibility. Well, Possibility turned out to be not one. At least not by itself. It needed more. So, when I got home, I went to work, painting again. This time, I used Sherwin Williams’ Earl Grey. I literally used my smallest artist’s brush to paint a gray wash over the white. Then, because I loved that so much, I rubbed on the tiniest hint of black here & there. 
Then I sanded again, taking some areas back down to the stain. 
And because I just couldn’t seem to stop myself, I went wild & broke out my metallic silver spray paint, sprayed it into a cup, dipped in my brush, & highlighted a few areas with that. 
And that is how I achieved the exact. look. I wanted. Tune in soon to see how I incorporated my favorite souvenir from Paris!
I’ll be linking to some of these parties. Check them out!
May 26, 2010 @ 12:05 pm
I think I always hop on here just after you finish writing a new post! I have great timing. 😉
Love love love the sofa! I think it was M.F.T.R (made for that room!)
It's stunning, can't wait to see more!
May 26, 2010 @ 1:00 pm
Wow! Love it. Some things are just meant to be.
May 26, 2010 @ 1:15 pm
Just beautiful! That is a lot of buttons and tufting!
May 26, 2010 @ 1:43 pm
Never thought to spray some spray paint into a cup and use a brush! Love that sofa!
May 26, 2010 @ 2:51 pm
Omigosh, it's just gorgeous. Oh how you must love, love, love it!
xoxo,
Kim
May 26, 2010 @ 3:25 pm
Stunning!!! Love the fabric! What a gorgeous piece of furniture!
May 26, 2010 @ 4:05 pm
That is absolutely beautiful! Found you on Blue Cricket
May 26, 2010 @ 6:27 pm
Wow! Gorgeous! I've been waiting to see how it turned out and it just makes me want to start driving up and down the streets to find one of my own!!! Beautiful!
May 27, 2010 @ 12:18 am
That looks so comfy and beautiful! I just saw your link at My Backyard Eden and it caught my eye. Love your paint job too! Sometimes you just have to go with your gut, and yours was right on!
May 27, 2010 @ 2:45 am
What a stunning piece! Thanks for sharing.
May 27, 2010 @ 2:55 am
Whoa! What beauty!! 🙂 I love the fabric you chose and the trim re-do is fantastic!
May 27, 2010 @ 3:01 am
OH wow….. that is just simply divine!!!! I totally want it! Nice job on the painting! I have a painting blog… stop in and say hello sometime!
May 27, 2010 @ 3:16 am
Oh my goodness! That is beautiful! How long did that take you? It really looks amazing!
May 27, 2010 @ 2:03 pm
FABULOUS!!!! I refinish furniture for a living, so this is right up my alley!! I think you did a marvelous job…and yes, I understand how a piece of furniture can make you want to cry! :)shaunna
May 27, 2010 @ 3:31 pm
I love your sofa. It's just BEAUTIFUL!
May 27, 2010 @ 4:16 pm
How pretty. Thanks for sharing.
May 27, 2010 @ 6:10 pm
I'm in love! Great job painting her up.
May 27, 2010 @ 10:23 pm
It is gorgeous!!! Great to hear about the painting process and amazing results!
May 27, 2010 @ 11:17 pm
What a transformation! It's gorgeous!!
Laura @ along for the ride
May 27, 2010 @ 11:43 pm
I am in ♥ with your couch. I have been looking for one for some time now. It turned out GORGEOUS!
May 28, 2010 @ 12:54 am
Just stunning! That is such a lovely piece!
May 28, 2010 @ 1:44 am
wow- that is amazing! i LOVE the painted finish you gave it. the colors are perfect. i wish i had a house big enough for a statement piece like this- beautiful!!! am about to become your newest follower. 🙂 thanks for stopping by my blog!
May 28, 2010 @ 4:51 am
That couch is just amazing! Wow – I am in love with it! Great job!
Thanks so much for linking up to the CSI Project! We really appreciate it. I hope you will come back next week for our Hardware Store challenge!
XOXO
Jen
May 28, 2010 @ 12:02 pm
Just beautiful – love the color you used on the legs.
May 28, 2010 @ 1:10 pm
fabulous! i am now going to be scouring carports everywhere. lol i love it!
May 28, 2010 @ 2:22 pm
I love it! I have an antique Duncan Phyfe antique couch in my storage untit just waiting for it's turn….. Great project!
May 29, 2010 @ 2:28 am
OMG. That couch is so gorgeous. Great job!!! 🙂
May 29, 2010 @ 4:00 am
love this transformation! thanks so much for stopping by my blog! i love yours and am your newest follower!
June 1, 2010 @ 6:10 am
Perfectly perfect! Love it…
Warm blessings,
Spencer
June 2, 2010 @ 12:46 am
It is simply stunning! I love the finish and the fabric you selected – it looks great. Thanks for linking up to Be Inspired last week.
Chelsea
June 20, 2010 @ 2:16 am
Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog. What is funny, is that you kindly left this post for me to read, and when I got over here I laughed because I remembered that I had read this post and looked at every picture of your Paris trip and felt as if I went with you! The pictures were awesome.
I thought I had left a comment on how beautiful your couch turned out, maybe I left it on a more recent post. That couch is stunning! Thanks for taking me along to Paris 🙂 I enjoyed your pictures immensely.
June 25, 2010 @ 11:05 pm
Absolutely lovely! What a stunning piece to have in your house.
Kacey (via Life in the Fun Lane)
June 26, 2010 @ 6:19 pm
WOW!!! I am in awe of the whole project! It looks like something from Versaille you might have brought home from holidays!! Thank you so much for sharing in our first Fresh Coat Friday!!
Holly
June 27, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
C'est magnifique! I love your blog! I just found you on Fresh Coat Fridays and I'm adding you to my Blog List.
🙂
December 29, 2010 @ 2:53 am
Hi! I'm stopping by from CSI. Your sofa is INCREDIBLE! I'm absolutely drooling over it. I think I would have passed on remaking the sofa based on the before photo, but I'm so glad that you had the vision to see what she could become because she is gorgeous!!
December 29, 2010 @ 12:44 pm
What a fantastic project! This is one I am tempted to recreate. Thank you for sharing.
Have a very Happy New Year!
December 29, 2010 @ 7:56 pm
love it. i have a slightly smaller version of this sofa w/o the tufting. i found it at the goodwill for $20.
i would love to get it refinished in some provencial fabric. what was the (round about) price for your upholsterey job?
thanks for the tips.
hopefully i can get it done this year.
December 29, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
thanks for following up. it may be a diy project for me. i'm committed to sticking to a budget this year and i'm not sure i can fit in another "want." i'll be sure to share pics if i get finish the sofa redo.
pax Christi – lena
March 21, 2012 @ 4:07 pm
Julie, I love it! I have one pretty much just like it. It's not refinished though. I'm just curious as to what type of fabric you used to reupholster it with. Thanks, Gail
April 23, 2013 @ 11:31 pm
I love this couch! Fabulous job! How much was it to reupholster?
April 24, 2013 @ 1:23 am
Our upholsterer charged around $350 for this one, but average range could go up to $600 for a job this size.