Thursday, April 12, 2012

Flying by the Seat of my Sofa: Re-Upholstery: Before & After

You wouldn't think it would be possible to forget about a giant sofa that is sitting in one's living room, but evidently, it is. This sofa, has been an embarrassingly long time coming. But, if the length of the wait is indicative of the satisfaction one has when a project is finished, then this reveal is unbelievably satisfying. I imagine it's like what an elephant feels after a 22 month pregnancy.

I have never re-upholstered anything, ever. And so this was a pretty huge learn-from-experience project. Maybe I shouldn't have started with a sofa. The actual amount of time put into it was not an unusual amount. But, staying motivated and finding time to use a staple gun and hot glue gun without toddler hands "trying to help" is very limited. It was a little laborious, and at times frustrating. But oh the satisfaction....

So in case you've forgotten my hideous sofa that my sister-in-law wrangled at Goodwill for $65, here is the before:
aww, and our sweet Sookie kitten.

and AFTER:








oh, happy day.

So, details.

- removed fabric and trim that was lumpy, left any fabric that was smooth and just put new fabric over it.
-painted wood white
- stapled the new fabric where I could (around edges and the wooden parts).
- used a hot glue gun to cover the staples with a matching trim
-a circular needle helped me to hand sew the parts that could not be stapled
 -someone else sewed the bottom cushions, which I bought and cut new cushions for.

-total cost: $65 + $300 in supplies
-all supplies came from Hancocks.
-tools used: tack remover, staple gun, circular needle, hot glue gun, sewing machine

I am also taking a beginning sewing class, which is so much fun. I have been sewing for a while, but have never been officially taught, and so it's nice to gain some confidence by practicing the basics. Our first project was a pillow, and that's when I sewed the two that appear in the above photos.

Questions? Shoot them my way. But I may or may not have an answer. I really flew by the seat of my sofa on this one.




I linked up to The Weekend Wrap-Up!

2 comments:

Mama Gone Green said...

woohoo! awesome! one of our dogs pulled the upholstery off of a really nice love seat we had. I really did want to reupholster it, but kept putting it off, and finally my husband got rid of the chair b/c it looked so terrible! I am glad you were able to finally get it done.

Suzana said...

Somehow, it looks more comfortable now! :)