My sofa project
Sun, 1 Mar 2009I decided a little while ago that my living room sofa was not working for me. It was cute, I'll give it that. But it was NOT loungey. Definitively not wide enough for my boyfriend and I to sprawl on and watch movies. I'm hoping to find it a new home since I have no other room to put it in. I knew I'd never find a sofa that would suit my needs and my budget so my boyfriend and I built one. Since our carpentry skills are limited, I am quite surprised it turned out as well as it did. We finished building it a few days ago, and I painted it Friday.
Since I wanted something low and loungey, I figured the easiest way to get what I wanted would be to get some cushions, and basically build boxes for them. Instead of buying foam for the cushions, I went to Ikea and bought cushions from one of their sofas where they were sold separately from the frame. There were 4 cushions - 2 for the base and 2 narrower ones for the back. So working with that we built one main base that houses the 2 larger cushions and an individual base for each of the narrower ones. This is the main base before I painted it.
We used rounded fence post toppers (?) for the feet of the main section (I have pieces of furniture pads underneath them in the photos because it weighs a ton and I'm worried it's going to dent the floor), and casters for the feet of the 2 smaller sections. This way the smaller pieces could be wheeled around the living room to accommodate different seating arrangements. Because I wanted a pile of pillows along the back of the main section and I was concerned they would take up too much space, we built a ledge along the back (which you can see in the third photo) to house the majority of the pillows, leaving ample room for sprawling.
I've had a couple of chances to try out the new sofa (I'm on it as I type this) and it's incredible. It's so versatile and ridiculously comfortable. I need to make new covers for the seat cushions. I bought the covers from Ikea for them but they are a thick canvas and cat hair sticks to it in an obscene way so I need something more cat friendly. I also just threw on a bunch of pillows for the photos below, but I need to buy fabric for new pillows as well. I'm thinking of sticking with neutrals, with lots of texture, and maybe a couple pillows in jewel toned colours to work with the rest of the living room and kitchen. I'm also considering stenciling the frames, but I have to give that more thought.
Here are some photos I took of the sofa with different placement of the smaller pieces.
Reader Comments (87)
WOW! It's fabulous, as is the entire room. When you get around to recovering the cusions, please offer some tips. My last attempt failed miserably.
Love your blog - you're one talented lady.
Looks great!
I am almost positive that my skinny little sofa was the cause of the demise of my last relationship! Gotta have space to cuddle!!!
Wow! It's fantastic, as is the entire room. When you get around to making new cushion covers pls post some tips. My last attempt failed miserably.
Love your blog - you're one talented lady!
Thanks!!!
HTS, my mom will hopefully be doing the sewing since I have no clue.
LOL - michelle, my bf has already mentionned he'll be spending more time at my place instead of insisting I go to his now that I have the comfiest sofa. :)
It looks great! I love how modular it is! My favourite configuration is with the 2 smaller pieces placed ath the end so they're like super-loungey chaises. :)
Kim! You amaze me, I swear you can do anything! That looks fantastic! I love the legs - I didn't even realize they were fence posts - great idea.
I love how your look is evolving through all the experimentation you've done. I like how it's getting more ethnic, but more sleek as well. It just gets better and better (except, as you know, for the cow rug).
I adore the sofa and want one just like it! What a great idea to have a ledge for the pillows. When can you and Jeff come to Ohio?
You all did a fantastic job. I love how their are so many looks to it since you can just move it around. There is a parachute material that cat does not stick too. I will take a pic today and put it on flickr. Don't know how it would look on this couch (You've got the eye for that), but i can tell you it wears fantastic and NO CAT HAIR sticks to it!
loved your sofa idea! i feel like doing the same thing!! looks great!
bisous
This is beyond clever! I work in a custom upholstery store, www.thesofaco.com, and a lot of people have been requesting very modular designs.
If you're looking for something super custom but aren't handy with a table saw, come see me! If you design it, I can build it!
this is such a cool design and the fact that it is so versatile is fantastic!
I can see many more projects in your future! :)
phoenix, that's one of my favourite configurations too. :)
Peggy, I desperately need a vacation...to Ohio? LOL
Robin - parachute fabric eh? If it won't work for the couch I bet I could use it elsewhere!
Thank you bisous, Emily and knack!
Looks amazing! Love all your cushions too! Tracey xx
Hi there, I am new to your blog and think your new sofa is fabulous! Great job!
Love it! Don't stencil the frame...
Oh! I love it! Great job. :) I need something similar for my studio for lounging.
I wouldn't stencil the frame- it's pretty as-is!
That's really great! Very creative and definitely more comfy/functional than most sofas available on the market (especially the affordable market!)
Looks like a London Drugs lil wooden ethnic stool/table you are using as part coffee table....
going to replace I hope! Doesnt work with your large config. Long glass would be best to see your graphic animal skin (as much as I oppose slaughter of animals for decor).
Nice work y'all!
Coffee tables need to be a tad higher to unify sofa. What are you going to do for that? Always look forward to your creative diy projects! You are whimsy, very off-the-wall!
Thanks for the comments! So that's 2 votes against stenciling the frame. I thought it would add a bit of a moroccan touch. And the coffee table is staying. It took me 2 years to find a coffee table (bought it a couple months ago) and although it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, it's small and short which although isn't ideal with the sofa, it's a really small room so it works in that respect. I need to be able to pick it up easily and move it around.
Love your comfy new DIY sofa. Makes me think "long naps." I too vote against stenciling (it's so clean and versatile as is). Might I offer an idea? The outlet cover on your LOVELY mural wall would disappear if you painted it one solid color to match the mural (instead of white). I mean this only as a friendly suggestion.
Happy lounging!
Brilliant!
this is amazing!!
do you think you could put together a how-to? i'd love to make one for my own home!
Oh my god that is awesome!! I agree with the above commenter, please put together a tutorial for those of us less crafty.
You're amazing!
I'm very, very impressed. Your couch looks so cozy! Kudos!