Hey Good Lookin'

Is it weird to cat call furniture?  If so, I may be in trouble.  It's just that my sofa looks so good!

Following the advice of John and Sherry Petersik from Young House Love, I decided to give my sofa a little spray-tan makeover.  The couch came with the standard IKEA birch legs.  They're fine and I probably would have left them if I hadn't seen what a difference paint can make.

First step was to take the legs off the couch.  That meant we were chilling on this for about a week:

Next, I set up shop in my woodworking studio (a.k.a. home decor shop, a.k.a. conservatory).  I laid down a plastic tarp and got to work sanding the birch legs to remove the clear varnish on them.  This step helps the spray paint stick better.  I used 80 grit and sanded by hand.  It only took about 30 minutes to do 8 of them.

Then came the fun part...spray painting.  I get really nervous before I paint.  I know that's crazy, but I guess I'm worried that I'll mess it up and it will be a waste of time and money.  I give myself little pep talks to remind myself that it can all be undone with a little more sanding.

I went with the same spray paint that the Petersiks did and followed their advice of doing thin, even coats.  I chose Rust-Oleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze because I liked the idea of having a dark leg that also had a little bit of shimmer.  It's nothing too noticeable, but in the right light it gives the legs a little more depth.

Very thin first coat

I let the legs cure for about 48 hours.  The can says it only needs 24, but I would rather wait a little longer and make sure they are really dry before putting them back on the couch.

After 3 thin coats

Just to remind you, here's what it looked like before the legs were painted:

Couch legs before

And here's the final product:

I think it makes such a difference.  I love the way it looks and I feel proud that I did it on my own...even if it is a relatively small project.  It's hopefully the first of many!