This cute little loveseat was going to be thrown away by my neighbors, but seeing the potential in it, I rescued it. I have been meaning to reupholster it for the last...oh, five years...but never had the guts to actually start taking it apart, for fear I couldn't put it back together. Well, about two weeks ago, I decided to take the plunge and started pulling off staples and carefully peeling away old fabric. I think whoever built the loveseat either had stock in staples, or just liked the cha-chink sound of the staple gun...either way, it took me about a week to pull out all the staples! I took pictures every time I took something apart.
The original fabric I chose to reupholster it in was a real bargain at $5.00 a yard! I really liked the neutral colors and the slight hint of sage green, which matched the green of my family room walls. Unfortunately, since it was bargain fabric, there was only a total of about 5 yards of it. I bought it anyway, hoping I would have enough...but I didn't. However, if I am successful with this loveseat, I have a chair I'm going to try next, so the fabric won't go to waste. I ended up having to purchase 10 yards of a different fabric. I went for a purely neutral color...in case I ever put it in a different room, or paint the family room a different color. I can always dress it up with colored and textured pillows.
I picked up an upholstery book in Barnes and Noble..."Simply Upholstery" by Sunset Books. It is very well illustrated and has photos as well, taking you step-by-step in taking apart and putting back together a wing back chair. This book, along with the pictures I took when taking apart the loveseat, should be a big help when I put the new fabric on. I have never done this before, and have taken no classes, so this should be a bit of an adventure! I do have to say, though, that taking apart a piece of furniture does allow you to see how it is constructed, and it is mostly "common sense" in how the fabric is applied to the frame. It's not quite as scary as it sounds.
The stain on the legs was scratched and rubbed off in a few spots, so I got out the trusty Dremel and sanded them down to the bare wood. I then restained them a slightly lighter color. Today, I began "reconstructing" the loveseat. I began with the "deck and lip" cover...so far, so good.
