Remember back when I was trying to convince my husband that we desperately need to recover our sofa? Well, after cashing in all my Christmas/ Birthday/ Mother's day chips for the next few years, I finally got the old man to come around, and MONDAY my sofa is getting picked up, and will be returning in 7 weeks, looking better than ever!!!I could not be more excited, and I can only compare my elation with that of having a baby! Okay, okay, not quite that exciting, but let me tell you... it's close!
Going through the process, I expected convincing my husband to be the most difficult part. Turns out, that paled in comparison with the real challenge; picking a fabric. Honestly, I figured I could just call up the upholsterer and order 20 yards of navy velvet, in some sort of poly blend, with the only stipulation being that was easy to clean. Turns out I was wrong. After a few looooonnnnnggggg drives to the middle of the state to look through books until I was cross-eyed, and even more samples shipped to the house, I learned that there is WAY to much fabric out there, and what I initially wanted wasn't really what I wanted at all. This is another case of how it pays to look at everything, because what I now have coming my way is going to be so killer, I can't.even.stand.it.
Going in I was SURE that I wanted something that was formal and traditional. You know, your standard, gorgeous, navy velvet. The kind that you see all over Pinterest day in and day out.
Think your Grandma's velvet.
Turns out, what I really wanted was a lighter, more open weave, "casual" velvet. Something slightly more rock star, and with a little more texture. This first picture was what sealed the deal.
Think Mick Jagger's velvet.
After month of scouring fabric books, I was down to the sweet 16. I laid all these guys out day after day, seeing how they looked at various times in different light, and figuring out how much dust they collected. I also spilled a little bit of milk on each one, and wiped it clean to see who would stain the least.
In the end I narrowed it down to the final three. The one on the left was the most casual, and the others were more of a flat velvet. The one in the middle (which arrived last) was what I had been looking for all along.
After seeing the piece I thought I wanted, I was certain that the one on the left was the winner! In person the color is exactly like the photo above, but I took a close up so you all could see the texture. The best part is that this one was the most industrial of all (meaning it should be able to withstand the wild animals that I call children.)
I've also decided to tuft the back pillows, and add a single line of nailheads at the base of the sofa. I think it is going to look so bananas when it comes back, and I can't believe that we are able to do this for a fraction of the price of a custom sofa!
Of course, I will be sharing 100,000,001 of the after shots. I am already counting the days until it comes back! Goodbye sweet sofa, you have served us well!
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2 comments :
Hi - eeek two comments in one day?! Sooo...am intrigued by this sofa design and fabric. I live in a farmhouse that in hundreds of years old so it makes furniture choices a tad challenging as really - a farmhouse can so easily look like a grandma's house and not Mick Jagger's with one wrong interior design move. We are renovating next year and I am thinking everything should be white and clean and so only the building does the talking, so to speak. However I LURVE your navy velvet...I have sofa envy. L x
Can I ask how you go about 'recover' a sofa? I am asking because I desparately want a new sofa, but am not sure if re-upholstering is a better/cheaper option! Are you using a local vendor? Would you mind sharing some of those details? understandable if you don't want to disclose ALL of the details!!
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