Fixin my couch

I bought my couch 2 years ago off of craigs list, and it was not even a year old. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for. After having it for a while I realized that the top cushions were over stuffed and the bottom back cushions were under stuffed. Not ideal for someone with back issues.

Then a couple months ago Mark laid down on it. He just kind of plopped on the couch, not hard at all, and we heard this snap, and then something was protruding out of the back of the couch. Luckily not through the fabric. So I vowed to fix it. Oh, also it didn't have feet, I have wanted to put feet on it since we bought it.

So A while back I flipped it over and pulled out most of the staples on the lining and flopped it over so I could take a look in the couch. I could see the problem and I thought I could fix it, but when I tried It just didn't work. So I flipped the couch back over, pondering how in the world to fix it. For about 2 month the back rest of the couch leaned towards the back, not the front of the couch, and it was so uncomfortable to sit on.

My mom just reupholstered my sisters couch for her birthday last month. Her couch had amazing structure, but the fabric was ripped and quite worn.  My mom did a beautiful job.

(Marisa will insert a picture of her couch here) J

 So I got to thinking, my upholstery is great, but my structure is crap, so All I need to do if reinforce the structure. So then OFF came the back of the couch.

I love taking things apart, learning how the work and putting them back together.

So with the back off I could see the problem. The couch was build with freakin 1x2’s stapled together. WHO DOES THAT?!?!  You can see my little red arrows, these were some of the problem areas. The top one is pointing at a board that was supposed to be attached. That is what was sticking out of the back of my couch for months. 

So I used cardboard to create a pattern for 2 supports for the middle,  I used my cardboard pattern and cut 2 supports out of plywood. The structure is MUCH more solid with just a few simple changes. And I was happy cause I got to play with my power tools AND, they were a perfect fit. woot woot! J 

and then I braced and glued the broken piece back together.

(my random upside down pic)

That alone wouldnt be enough, but I'm hoping with the added braces that I made it will have enough support. 

Now on to the cushions. I need good support for my lower back. Someone got smart and put a ZIPPER on the lower cushions on the inside. SO easy to add the stuffing. BUUUT, the top cushions (which were WAY over stuffed) had no zipper. FACE PALM. So I got out the old seam ripper and ripped a hole in my couch. I pulled the stuffing out of the top, and added it to the bottom.  All the while flipping my couch right side up to sit on it and test it.

At one point when I was flipping the couch back down the tack strip caught my ear and nearly ripped it out of my head! (ok, maybe that was a little dramatic, but I did get cut, and it bleed a lot)

I also ended up making some feet for the couch.  It was just too short. Which is great for short people. I got nothing against short people. Infact, a lot of my friends are short people….it’s just not my thing. I would have seriously loved to make it SO high that MY feet dangled. How cool would that be!  But I would have had to make the feet like 8 inched tall, and at that point the become more like stilts then feet. But I still made them tall, they are 5 inches tall. I spent like $7 on a 4x4, and 2 on the special screws. I cut it, sanded them, stained them (I already had the stain) and I used my fancy drill press to get nice straight holes. So $9 for 4 feet, as apposed to $8 for one already made foot. See, and THIS is why I do it my self. :)

another sideways picture. 

 D wanted a picture of him, so I took his picture, then i realized this shows how tall the feet are :) 

Today my mom brought over the awesome upholstery staple gun. I put the feet together, and after the kids went to bed I turned on the air compressor and went to town. I tacked everything back down, screwed in my nice new TALL feet, and flipped that puppy over.

I FREAKIN LOVE MY COUCH! 

It’s tall, comfy, and has the back support that I need. And to all of my short friends, maybe I can make you a step stool J

When I started this project I thought I might like to actually make a couch some day…but now, I can say that making a couch is officially OFF the bucket list. BUT NOW I want to make a big cushy ottoman to match. If I ever  find the same fabric as my couch I’m totally going to buy it.