Thursday, December 26, 2013

Kitchen Progress and a Couch

It's been a busy few months.  Work is still steady from the shop, and my house is still in progress.  We're getting to crunch time- six month count down to moving is about ready to begin.  The kitchen is getting SO close to being finished.  I've painted all the cabinets, granite was installed (we got a great deal, so we went this way instead of our Ikea butcherblock.  We still have it though, so if someone's looking for the discontinued Oak Numerar countertops-- shoot me a message!), and I put the backsplash in this week.  I still need to grout, paint the windows, install hardware (that's why the drawers are off in the pictures), and refinish the floors...and the pantry-- that thing's become it's own separate room from all this.  It won't take much though.  A little filling, sanding, and painting, and it's done.





My biggest project before the kitchen was this couch.  It was roadkill...found on the side of the road, cushionless- and it actually wasn't all that dirty until I loaded it into my car, and left it in my garage for TWO years.  Countdown to moving- remember?  Hubby said it needed to be out, so I finally mustered up the courage to tackle it.


I took all the fabric off, and then it sat on my porch this summer for a few days until I had room in my "studio" (aka- living room) to work on it.


Then it started to rain, so I had to resort to shoving EVERYTHING into the living room, making a giant cluttered mess.

It's been a back burner project for a while, but as Christmas came closer, and the weather has become cooler, my desire to use my fireplace, and have my living room back, and cute, grew strong enough to make me push on in the couch project.

I wanted to use a fun, bright fabric.  I chose Premier Prints Ikat Domino Flamingo.


When I finally got around to the couch, I found that it had some structural damage to one of the arms, and there was a crack running along the front panel.  A little glue and a few screws and steel plates and it was sturdy again.



I found a large piece of foam at Home Depot for cushion.  It was 3" tall, and thick enough that you didn't feel the floor when you sat on it.  This couch needed a smaller cushion so it didn't look overpowering, so once it was wrapped in dacron, it was the perfect height.  


I went ahead and paid an upholsterer to sew the cushion for me for two reasons.  First- time.  I was so crunched with my house and other projects that I didn't have the time to sit and figure this one out...which leads to Two: experience.  I've sewn a lot of things, but to date I have still not sewn a zipper.  This couch was a pretty big thing and I didn't want to do all that work to mess it up with an inexperienced rush job.  Because the couch had no existing cusion to template from, a little error on sizing from me, and a little error on sizing from him, the cushion came back a little small.  I was disappointed, but solved the problem by removing the fabric on the arms and adding more dacron to them to fill the voids.




The end result was a bright, fun couch.



I'm happy with the way it turned out, and it really wasn't anymore difficult than upholstering a chair.  I would definitely do one again, but I am glad to have it finished and out of the house!  What do you think?  Would you take a project like this on?




Featured on Roadkill Rescue

Sharing at
The Dedicated House
Strut your stuff Saturday
Nap Time Creations
Homemade Ginger
Home Stories A To Z
Tip Junkie
Someday I'll Learn
My Uncommon Slice of Surburbia
Cozy Little House
Our Delightful Home
Home Coming
Skip to My Lou
Mod Vintage Life
Lily White Designs
House By Hoff
DIY Showoff
Flamingo Toes
Pink When
Classy Clutter
Your Home Based Mom
Savvy Southern Style
Domestically Speaking
Miss Mustard Seed
Rain on a Tin Roof

26 comments:

  1. uh, no! But I haven't done upholstery ever! fabulous end result!

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  2. Love the couch re-done! Great job. I, too, have never EVER re-upholstered a thing! I'm not sure where one would even begin, but I do so admire those who can do it successfully, as you have done here!

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  3. I love this couch. The colors look so good together!
    Marie @ Fort Ledbetter

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  4. The sofa makeover is simply amazing!!! I've got a 23 year old navy sofa and love seat just like it and would never have thought to do what you've done! Bravo!

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  5. I have a couch almost exactly the same that needs recovering. I'm scared to death to mess it up, but it's got be done! Yours turned out so beautiful!

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  6. I love the couch! It looks so happy and fun!
    Bonnie @ Our Secondhand House

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  7. So, so cute! I've been wanting to tackle a project like this forever now, but haven't ever done it. You've totally inspired me. Thanks so much for sharing. Happy Tuesday to you!

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  8. Cute! I love roadkill rescue. I've done a dresser and a few shelves, but tackling a sofa is another thing. You did a great job.

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  9. oh how lovely, i love the fabric choice kayla! you brave woman to tackle this project! i wonder how much do you have to pay for the upholsterer?

    thanks for sharing over at The DIY'ers, huggies♥
    rea

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    Replies
    1. Hi Rea,
      The gentleman who did the sewing for me was so reasonable-- $45 to sew the cushion. This was after I already prepped the fabric, and made the welt and provided the zipper and cushion. Money well spent with all I had to do to get my house "company ready" before Christmas!

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  10. Oh my stars! That sofa looks so amazing! Love the fun fabric with the classic style.

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  11. I am SOOO impressed with that sofa... wow! What a before and after!! I've featured it today, thanks for linking up to Create Link Inspire. come see all the other featured fabric tutorials.. EMily http://www.nap-timecreations.com/2014/01/seven-spectacular-sewing-tutorials.html

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  12. Filling the ends in from the arms is genius! I have a "bit" too smll cushion on an old sofa I love, was going to make an entire new cushion... but I like your idea better and it looks lusher too! GOOD ON ya girl!

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  13. The couch looks fabulous! I love that fun fabric!

    Navy Wifey Peters @ Submarine Sunday Link Party

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  14. Just wanted you to know, I LOVE your couch so much, I've featured you on The DIY'ers today! http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-diyers-45.html

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  15. Hi Kayla,

    So cool that your couch redo is featured on both mine & Kayla(Home Coming) top 3 favorites from last week’s The DIY’ers! Congrats! Promise, we did not talk about who we pick, and your couch was picked by both of us!!

    This project will be featured on my pinterest’s The DIY’ers Party Favorites board.

    come and link up your new projects with us again! huggies♥
    rea

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  16. hi kayla, i was trying to pin your photo on my pinterest but there's no way for me to do that from here..so i pinned it from my blog, if you have updated the pin it capability, just let me know so i can pin it from here :)

    rea

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  17. Ooh two great projects! Your kitchen looks lovely and that fabric you chose is amazing! Thanks so much for linking up at Get Your DIY On's organization month! Have a great week!

    ~Abby =)

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  18. Wow! That’s a really funky sofa right there, Kayla! I am so happy with your fabric choice as it brought life and a funky charm to the room. I’m sure you’re excited to sit on that sofa and cuddle in the warmth of the fireplace, especially as the winter is getting crazy here.
    Ian Hawkins

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  19. I think this is as cute as can be! I adore your fabric and I'm so impressed with what you created with this sofa. I'm getting ready to purchase settees/ loveseats for my sunroom and I'm scared to go with a patterned fun fabric. I love color and pattern and this is both. Very well done!

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