Sometimes things don't go as you plan them. Mmm, wait they usually never go as per plan and each new changing plan is a challenge that the universe throws at you to see where you are choosing to dig your heels and when you are planning to go with the flow.
I know these words almost seem cryptic so in short I had good intentions to post every single day of this July month but I decided to go with the flow rather than taming my mind and keeping it under control. I still have a few topics that are still relevant and intend to post them ... sometime.
Sharing my Sofa project here:
In the series of first still relevant topic is my newly upholstered sofa. Its unknown origin dates back into the 1940s -50s as guessed based on its construction style, internet research and my upholsterer's experience. I found this beauty on Craig's list and dragged it 30+ miles in the middle of a snow storm, of course with the help of my DH. It needed some TLC, may be 'some' is an understatement :)
I started out with removing the trim and the nail heads. O! Wait, before that something important comes to mind. It sat in the garage for almost 5 months with the good intention of tackling the whole project by myself. Then, I decided to divide and conquer and checked around for good and reasonably priced upholsterers.
My friend who owns a similar sofa came to rescue again and found me a good local upholsterer through Angie's list and he is everything that the reviews had raved about. He came to my home and gave me a quote, suggested some samples that I can buy from him and then upon discussing my design further recommended shops where I can find the fabric of my choice without breaking the bank.
He also recommended that I keep the horse hair cushions wrapped in cotton intact and that is exactly what I wanted, the newer foam materials are not as long lasting as natural products used in the last century and also revamping this sofa was my attempt to go green.
After removing the sharp nails and the trim, I pulled the fabric and underneath cotton back exposing a major portion of the wood structure. Regular office clips came in handy to keep fabric in place away from the wet tip of the brush. A coat of latex based primer 'Kilz' followed by a spray can coat of Heirloom white gave me the product that was ready for upholstery.
The next important task was to find the perfect fabric from my mind's image. I won't say this is the exact fabric that I had imagined but yes its perfect. DH and I went to a fabric outlet close to his work (40 miles from my work) and after going through numerous bolts, DH came upon this particular one and it was an instant 'like'.
I know these words almost seem cryptic so in short I had good intentions to post every single day of this July month but I decided to go with the flow rather than taming my mind and keeping it under control. I still have a few topics that are still relevant and intend to post them ... sometime.
Sharing my Sofa project here:
In the series of first still relevant topic is my newly upholstered sofa. Its unknown origin dates back into the 1940s -50s as guessed based on its construction style, internet research and my upholsterer's experience. I found this beauty on Craig's list and dragged it 30+ miles in the middle of a snow storm, of course with the help of my DH. It needed some TLC, may be 'some' is an understatement :)
Before I talk about transformation let me talk about inspiration.
One of my friend's has a sofa like this in her 1920s home with warm wood trim and red velvet upholstery totally suiting the style of her home. I fell in love with the lines and started scheming how it can fit into my 2010 home. She is an absolute wonderful resource and helped me guide about the fabrics and upholstery styles and gave me those keys words after which I entrusted the much raved about 'Google Search Button'. :-)
And as they say rest is history...
My friend who owns a similar sofa came to rescue again and found me a good local upholsterer through Angie's list and he is everything that the reviews had raved about. He came to my home and gave me a quote, suggested some samples that I can buy from him and then upon discussing my design further recommended shops where I can find the fabric of my choice without breaking the bank.
He also recommended that I keep the horse hair cushions wrapped in cotton intact and that is exactly what I wanted, the newer foam materials are not as long lasting as natural products used in the last century and also revamping this sofa was my attempt to go green.
After removing the sharp nails and the trim, I pulled the fabric and underneath cotton back exposing a major portion of the wood structure. Regular office clips came in handy to keep fabric in place away from the wet tip of the brush. A coat of latex based primer 'Kilz' followed by a spray can coat of Heirloom white gave me the product that was ready for upholstery.
The next important task was to find the perfect fabric from my mind's image. I won't say this is the exact fabric that I had imagined but yes its perfect. DH and I went to a fabric outlet close to his work (40 miles from my work) and after going through numerous bolts, DH came upon this particular one and it was an instant 'like'.
At this point I let the upholsterer take over and in about 5 weeks I had my sofa back. Initially I insisted that I should have it back by my daughter's birthday party but when it didn't make the date, I was glad that it escaped the chocolate finger tip treatment that the living room walls got. :-)
You can see it is well loved in this household and I am glad that it looks like a new piece of furniture and not an antique that we are trying to hang on to despite the end of its functional life.
This is sofa sitting against the collage that I created for my daughter's 4th birthday party and I plan to share the pictures of the Mariposa birthday soon.
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