Wednesday, August 12, 2009

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR OLD FURNITURE




You have an old loveseat that is in perfectly good condition but it is seriously out of date. Your friends chide you about it and you are embarassed. You could have it recovered but the shape is wrong and the feet are wrong and really it is kind of ugly. The worst part is you paid quite a bit for it.
It has the scroll arms and foam dacron cushion, so 80's.
You could through it out and buy a new one, but it was a Bernhardt Sofa and has a good frame, what to do.
First, find a good upholsterer who makes furniture and not meary recovers.
A good upholsterer can change the feet and change the arms and back by changing the wood frame.
In this case, I changed the feet to solid wood elliptical feet and made them taller. I wrapped the foam cushion in down and made the back cushion in down with buttons and attached it to the back.
I also cut off the scroll and made the arms lower and the back 1 inch higher. Lastly, I chose a comfortable chenille fabric and upholstered it without self welts for a clean lined look.


Here is the result afterwards, less expensive than buying it new, you cannot tell it is the same frame with the same springs, it sits up higher, is more comfortable and has a timeless design that will last another 20 years.
And, our landfills have less, created work here in the U.S. and saved money!
I have another one of these stories coming up in case studies where furniture is restored and redeployed or repurposed.
Keep you posted!
MWS
MWS Design SF