Before & After: The Sofa

The following is a rather belated posting of a late summer project (as should be fairly obvious, as it's currently December, and the project is being done outdoors, in shorts & a tank top.)

 
After experiencing great success with my first reupholstery project earlier in the year, I was ready to tackle the sofa.

The plan was solid, and the was fabric chosen. Once JoAnn Fabrics published their coupons & end of summer sale, I was ready!

 Before. Old, tattered, saggy, dirty, stinky. (The sofa, not Miss Leia!)

 This is an example of the level of wear on some portions of the fabric.

After skinning, a healthy dousing with Lysol is imperative!

 Worn out spring straps are replaced.

Detailed plans are very important when working with $65 a yard fabric!

No fabric cutting ever goes unattended.

It gets really exciting when the 2 major pieces are finally covered with the new fabric!

Now back in the living room, the reupholstered arms are reattached, and the new stained legs are attached. The same new legs were also used on the reupholstered chair, for unity.

One last look at the internal framework before the final back panel is attached.

Levi approved!

 Penny says, "I really am the final accent that perfects the new sofa!"

A Note About The Fabric: I chose to use Crypton brand upholstery fabric. Read up on it here at their website: Crypton At Home.  It was an absolute DREAM to work with, looks gorgeous, and, so far, is unbelieveably durable. If you are looking to reupholster a piece that has a sturdy frame which will last for years, using the Crypton fabric is worth every penny!



Yours truly-
Tigerlily

Before & After: The Chair

Late Winter/Early Spring found me looking around the house for an inexpensive project to tackle.
The poor, unsuspecting living room chair had no idea what I had planned for it.

A few trips to Joann Fabrics, a run to Home Depot, and an afternoon in the IKEA fabric by-the-yard department supplied me with everything I needed for this fantastic reupholstery project.

I loved this chair when I bought it and the matching couch at a flea market 11 years ago.

While the fabric was faded, filthy, and falling apart, the structure

was still in fine shape, so I didn't want to part with it entirely.

The "skinning" process was high on the gross-meter.

The vacuum was essential, as was a dust mask.

Some interesting artifacts were found between the fabric & frame:

a shopping list, a recipe for getting rid of aphids from your roses,

and an offer for life insurance that expired in 1981.

The foam padding in the seat cushion had completely disintegrated to yellow dust.

I didn't even bother to unzip this until I was outside by the garbage can.

After a thorough vacuuming and dousing with Lysol, the entire chair got fresh batting and interfacing.

 Our long finished basement was quite useful for fabric cutting.

I used all of the old fabric as pattern pieces for the new fabric.

The white paper tags indicate where the piece came from on the chair, as well as the order in which they were removed.

 It was really exciting to finally get the sewing machine & staple gun rolling!

Just like Lieutenant Dan, she got new legs.

I picked these unfinished wood legs up at Home Depot.

 Management Approved!

Before and After

This was such a rewarding project to work on- I can't wait to get my hands on our couch!

Yours truly- Tigerlily