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)
Awesome!!! I'm going to have to show hubby now, as this is just what we need. I love all the ways you have to set it up. Thanks for sharing. Am glad Kirsten from Simply Grove had a link to you blog. Will definitely be back!
It looks terrific! I love all the different configurations.
Kim - here's my two cents. No to the stenciling. Stop now you're done, except for the pillows. (I sometimes wish people would tell me that with a painting).
And yes to the coffee tables. I love that they are small. I sometimes think large coffee tables intrude in a room. And you definately need to be able to move them easily.
I am soooooo excited to see this! My husband and I have been talking about how we were going to make our own sofas. We have a mish mash of random sofas and we need something sharp and comfy. It is way out of budget to buy ( at least for what we would want). Yours look amazing! I like the Ikea cushions, I was debating what I would do for that. I will send you pictures once we get ours made. Thanks for posting this and keep up the good work.
This is genious - truly. Can you provide "how-to" instructions? I think you have inspired a lot of us out there to try and DIY the perfect couch! I'd be interested to know how you got the wooden slats to stay put in the frame, etc.
Thanks so much!
Well done. Love its coziness.
:) thanks again y'all for the nice comments about my sofa. whiskeydrinkstudio, do send photos! Peggy, I'll stay away from stenciling for now. I'll get it all done up with proper fabrics then see how it looks.
For those asking for instructions, I will ask my boyfriend to put together something and I'll put it at the end of this post. He was chief architect and builder so he'll know how to explain it properly. ;)
Inspiring! The sofa came out great and the cats seem to like it.
Fantastic! I had no idea you could buy Ikea sofa cushions separately.
this is a fantastic idea!!
LONDON DRUGS!!! I fancy that small Moroccan inspired teak table. Like $20!!! (way too small for this overpowering diy sectional)
For the record, we don't have London Drugs this part 'o Canada, but I'm wishing we did if they sell cool stools like that! (I got it at the Third World Bazaar). Stools/tables stay - nothing larger will fit in there. My house is 12" wide and the living room is that wide, and also acts as a hallway from the front door to upstairs. So I am stuck using small accent furniture.
The cats LUUUUUUUUV the new sofa, as much as I do I think!
Ikea sells anything that comes apart separately. Those cushions obviously aren't attached to the sofa frame they are made for, so they're sold separately.
I'll bring the popcorn.
That looks so great. I am inspired to draw this.
The cat and the cowhide are graphically appointed.
luv it.
Kim,
Well done! Brilliant! Etc.
Don’t, I repeat DON’T stencil the sofa. It is fabulous the way it is.
The fence post topper things are called finials (Fin-e-alls).
Love the cats.
YES - finials. Thank you.(DUH)
And nooooooo, I won't stencil the sofa. (Although in my head it looks REALLY good).
kim!!!! it's gorgeous! i'm so happy that now you have a totally gorgeous, slouchy lounge that LOOKS GOOD TOO! (i have a slouchy lounge that doesn't look so hot)
i giggle everytime i see a cat or two in your photos. they really get themselves comfortable in whatever new piece you bring home!
xoxx drey
So fantastic! You two are super talented! I was wondering about the tulip side table. I've been looking for exactly that table. Where did you get it? Does anyone know of a good source for less expensive tulip table bases?
thanks drey! the cats love the new couch - especially the piece under the window. I put it there just for them to sit and look out and so they could bug Oscar who is always sitting on the other side looking in.
stesha, the "tulip table" is something I got from my parent's house. They've had it for a long time. I think it was made by someone on the Italian side of the family who worked with marble. There seem to be alot of places that sell knock-off tulip tables, but not sure who sells bases.
my cats wanna come over! It's perfect, i want one.
The couch is amazing! I am moving into my boyfriend's place soon, and have been redecorating it in my head for a while. The couch he has right now feels like its previous owners were the Flintstones, and its BRIGHT RED. Not conducive for all the laying down that happens on it. I love how you can smush the pieces together and have a make-shift bed. It is SO much better than the over-priced, under-styled pieces I have been looking at.
What a perfect idea, and I am so glad I found it. What are the dimensions of it?
And as far as the stenciling goes, I am glad you are holding off on it. The mural you have behind the couch is so great, it would be a shame to throw something else in there and take away from the GREAT effect it has. You're making this re-planted nor*cal girl miss the redwoods!
Thanks brandy and Caroline! The main piece is about 3' deep and 6.5' long. Each side piece is about 20" deep and 3.5' long.
I'm a bit behind on commenting here, but the sofa looks great! What a smart and impressive DIY-- I can't wait to see what you decide to do for the new covers and pillows. And I love how at home your cats already look on it!
Oh please please post exactly what you've done - this is *precisely what I would love to build for my small-ish place.
Am planning a trip to ikea and would much rather buy the cushions and make my own than buy a couch.
Plus - what a great conversation piece.
Do you know which couch cushions you bought? Or at least could you post the dimensions of everything so I can muddle through trying to re-create?
Looks amazing - wonderful job, and I love the mural behind it!
Thanks closetangel! This post gives detailed instructions: http://www.desiretoinspire.net/blog/2009/3/25/kims-komfy-kouch.html
this is pretty amazing! i am out of college and getting my first real apartment (well..with a roommate). funds are tight and i came across this on flickr. I think this would be a great project for me and my dad! I really love comfy sectionals but they're all out of my price range right now. This is a good compromise I think! Question, is it better without a back, or using the wall as the back of the couch? we might want to put it in the center of our living room and then I am not quite sure what to do..