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Reupholstering A Loveseat With Striped Fabric

Having wrestled for an unnaturally long time with our own chair upholstery project (well, I was more a bystander while my wife played the role of the wrestler), we’re that much more impressed with Erin’s redo of her great aunt’s loveseat. Here’s her letter:

A few months ago I set out to reupholster my great aunt’s old loveseat. I actually planned on hiring someone to reupholster it, as I have never done anything like this before (not even close!). But then I got to thinking “Why not try my hand at it first?” So Project Loveseat was born!

Erin Loveseat Before

It was definitely a challenge. And one that I just sort of winged. I couldn’t even write up a whole tutorial because I still have no idea what I did. But it goes to show you that projects like this one are doable for the average person (the average person with A LOT of staples). It’s not perfect but it is faaaar better than what I imagined I could do.  -Erin

Erin Loveseat After Far

Erin Loveseat After Close

Three cheers for Erin for the great pictures and the encouragement to take on another upholstery project at some point! You can see more photos of the process on her blog Olive Our House. Has anyone else taken on any upholstery projects lately? Or any other furniture, paint, fabric, or full room makeovers for that matter? You know we’re nosy and we love to check that stuff out. Just send any and all projects to [email protected].

Psst- We shared a little “Fair Fun” over on Young House Life yesterday. Check it out here.

Comments

  3. braelin says

    Wow- love it! Stripes are probably that much more difficult to do well when DIYing upholstery, huh? I’m that much more impressed.

    Reply

  5. GreenInOC says

    Wow Erin – you’ve never done this before and you not only chose stripes but it has that circled frame section making any pattern more difficult? You are one brave chica.

    The result is amazing!

    Reply

  8. Cara D says

    She did a great job, especially using large print stripes. I took an upholstery class a few months ago and have done 2 more chairs since then. So far I have learned that no project is the same and sometime you have to be creative. Her couch looks great!

    Reply

  13. Sam says

    Fantastic! The black and white stripes but a nice modern twist to a very traditional piece. I’m (slowly) working on a reupholstery project of my own and will send pics your way when/if I finish!

    Reply

  15. Emma says

    Wow! I *love* that you don’t have instructions because you have “no idea” what you did. That’s totally something I would do. Well Erin – for winging it you did amazing! And you also saved yourself at least $500. Woot!

    Reply

  18. Traci says

    I love this! It is great to see that she kept the original brown wood! I feel like it is very unexpected and most people would have painted it black or white. Nice job!

    Reply

  19. Annalea says

    Ooooo . . . bravo! The stripes are an awesome counterpoint to the curvy, ornate frame, and the nailhead trim (or just nail heads?) is crazy awesome. Hooray Erin!

    Reply

  20. Kacey says

    I am amazed that her stripes are so perfect–especially the stripes down the center, from the circular inset to the seat!! I love it.

    Reply

  23. Ellen says

    Wow that turned out amazing! And striped fabric is probably the hardest to work with since everything has to be very straight. I’m impressed!

    Reply

  29. Erika says

    WOW, is all I can say. When I first saw that thing I thought, I don’t think I’m going to like this. Then I saw the fabulous stripes and well…WOW!
    Looks amazing!
    I guess I did have some things to say after all!
    Way to go Erin!

    Reply

  35. Chelsea says

    Looks great! Is it me or does the picture above the couch look similar in style to the one you guys had done of your old house??

    Reply

  38. Preethi_oodles_of_love_from_England says

    Cor, Blimey (as we would say this side of the pond)!!! I’m so impressed, words fail me.

    Reply

  40. Manda says

    Holy cow Erin, that is amazing! I love the fabric choice and think you did a great job! These kind of projects definitely intimidate me.

    Reply

  42. HeatherM says

    The loveseat looks amazing!
    A few years ago we reupholstered our camel-back claw foot Ethan Allen couch, which was given to us as a hand-me-down because it had turned from white to blackish-grey. We were very lucky to have the help and support of my extremely knowkedgeable MIL, who reupholsters nearly all of the furniture in her living room every few years to change things up a bit. We also bought our fabric and supplies at 50% off at a professional fabric & upholstery store, and the sales people in the store were extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

    If there is one piece of advice I can give, it would be to take pictures of everything as you take it apart- to show the order of how things overlap. Take extra photos of complex details like the pleading of fabric and edging on the front of the arms of the sofa. Then reverse the order of the photos, and you will have a good starter guide of what steps to do when. When reupholstering, the order of the steps really does matter, and the details of where to staple each piece of fabric are nearly impossible to remember, so and this is the easiest technique I have found to keep track of what to do when.

    Reply

  43. Sam says

    I finally got around to taking apart a chair to re-upholster (one of two, the other will need more work as the cats decided it was a suitable scratching post). I discovered that wine and staple guns do not mix; however, the chair is looking quite nice with it’s new duds. I was motivated after seeing your office chair makeover!

    Reply

  45. Christa @ One Cheap Mama says

    No she didn’t!! I don’t know Erin, but she has given me the courage to finally do this myself. I also have *never* done something this big but I’m sure with enough staples and hair pulling I could do it too. Thanks for sharing! VERY inspirational.

    Reply

  47. Krystal says

    That is one fantastic sofa! I absolutely love the shape of it. I myself have not reupholstered anything lately, but I have spent the last month designing and creating a lamp shade for my interior design studio. It’s more like lighted art…that I made completely out of paper. It was a long journey, and I’m so happy with what I ended up with (and I just found out that it’s going to be put on display in a design gallery in Ohio!)

    Here’s my blog post about it (scroll down towards the end to see the final product):
    http://krystalwitha-k.blogspot.com/2011/10/krystal-light-designs.html

    Reply

    • Megan E says

      I reupholstered a chair a few months back and was directed towards electric staple guns (which I imagine is helpful on your hand in the long run). Unfortunately I bought a cheap-o one. Not worth the money I spent on it, but I used it anyway… and then had to hammer in EVERY staple after the gun fired them. Try them out first (if you can), and buy what you can afford.

      My tutorial: http://megeletto.blogspot.com/2011/02/reupholstering-wingback-chair.html

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