BEFORE & AFTER MID CENTURY COUCH MAKEOVER

Mid century couch…swoon!!  I searched on craigslist for months before I found this beauty at the right price.  I was a woman on a mission. But this one turned up and I didn’t waste a moment! I snapped it up! ( Just as an aside…I LOVE Craigslist. Like really, really LOVE!!) Anyways, back on topic.

Here’s the couch when I started. It’s nice, but just not what I wanted.  I needed a lighter fabric to fit the decor in the room better.

Now I didn’t LOVE the green upholstery fabric but I didn’t hate it either, so it stayed green for about 8 months until I decided that I wanted to keep the finishes and fabrics in this room light and bright and the green just was not going to work. I found a great oatmeal colored fabric at Hobby Lobby that would do the job just right.  BUT!  Before I can redo the upholstery fabric and make it pretty, I needed to do some “invisible” structural repairs to this lovely piece of seating.

When you remove the cusions, here’s what you’re left with.  Wood and webbing.  The wood and finish on this couch were both in excellent vintage condition.  The Pirelli webbing that supports the cushions…not so much. It was dried and sagging and essentially hanging from the bottom like a droopy diaper.  So that was just not going to do.

Unfortunately I found out that replacing Pirelli webbing is not cheap. (FYI- There’s other options besides Pirelli webbing, but I felt that being a purist in this case was justified. )

I am nothing if not resourceful, and I now had a new mission…finding new webbing for as cheaply as possible.  I lucked out and got just enough on eBay at a great price, so I ordered, and within a week I was ready to go to work.

Here’s a closeup of the top of the couch where the webbing pulls through the slatted openings.  It was literally crunchy with age.

Here’s the underside of the couch.  The webbing is stapled to the underside of the cross pieces.  Each end of the webbing had 4-5 staples, so I was busy for over an hour just pulling staples. I really underestimated how long this project was going to take but in the end it was worth it. TOTALLY worth it.  🙂 🙂

Did I mention there were a LOT of staples to remove??

Here’s my replacement webbing.  It’s hard to describe, but it’s like a rubberized cloth.  But a really, really thick cloth.  There’s fibers in it, and it’s like they were layered with rubber.  Unusual stuff, but it’s tough and stretchy, but no too stretchy.

Here’s a close-up of the underside with the staples removed and the old webbing pulled out.  Pulling the staples really dinged up the wood, but it’s the bottom of the couch and no one is ever going to look there, so no biggie.

Whew!  FINALLY! I’ve got all the old, crunchy webbing off!!  Time for a short break!

Here’s a shot of the new webbing stapled in place.  Also a TON of work, but it’s gonna look SOOOOOO good when it’s done, and I am on a roll!

Staple, pull, staple, cut. Repeat. Staple, pull, staple, cut.  Repeat. Staple, pull, staple, cut. Just do this about 15 times and wah lah!  You’re finished!

On to the reupholstery job.  Now we make it pretty! 🙂

I removed the two long cushions and laid them out to take some measurements.

I measured and cut the fabric for each of the two cushions, and got everything pinned in place and ready to stitch up on the sewing machine.

 

 

Here’s the finished product!  After lots of cutting, pinning and sewing, this couch has a new outfit. 🙂 I’m happy with the new, updated look, and the color works so much better in the room.  On to the next DIY project!