Growing up my best friends dad had an upholstery shop in their garage. MAN what I wouldn’t give to be able to go back in time and actually pay attention to what he was doing! On one particular occasion I remember asking why someone would one have an old couch reupholstered (because at that point in my life I couldn’t fathom that someone wouldn’t want something new from RC Willey). His response was “Because they like it so much they would pay for it again.”
For months I hunted for the perfect slouchy retro couch and came up short. I even enlisted the help of a professional furniture hunter (@domfasano he is in Phoenix and always finds the most amazing things!) but pickins were scarce and the reality is that it wasn’t going to be cheap. I was 87% convinced that I was going to have to make a couch. That was a daunting situation given the time frame that I had to turn the living room around in.
That is when I stumbled upon the black couch. I found it on KSL (a online classified in Utah) for $150. It was about 4 hours away but I was headed up north anyway so it wasn’t a big deal to take the truck instead of my car.
I was holding out the best kind of hope that it would be perfection, that not a thing would need to be done to it.
I was wrong.
The black naugahyde was bad. Real bad.
But the shape was so great. It was exactly what I wanted.
I hemmed and hawed over what to do and decided that I was not going to find a couch style that I liked more than this one. Buying vintage is awesome, but the fact of the matter is that you are buying something 40+ years old and sometimes it needs a little work done to be able to last another 40.
I called my friend Mark Luke that did the cushions for The Nugget to see if this was a project he wanted to tackle. (Luke’s Custom Upholstery for those in St. George. I cant recommend him enough!!) He said it would be no problem, and told me how much fabric I would need. A project this size, with as much detail as this couch has (the entire thing is one cushion, the seat cushions are not removable) I knew that it was not something that I would be able to tackle. Simple reupholstery? All day. This? It would have been a freaking disaster.
I kind of went back and forth about using real leather, and vinyl for a little bit. I ultimately decided on real because I am planning on having this thing forever and I want it to get better with age.
The leather that I ended up with is from Leather Hide Store. It’s a new line that they have called Restorations and the color is Wicker. This leather seems like it is supposed to distress over time. There is a slightly shiny coating on it and when you wrinkle it, it lightens where the folds are.
This little situation works great in my case because I want it to distress in places that it naturally would. (If you are looking for something that doesn’t distress, they have a really pretty camel that I was also looking at.) We haven’t had to clean it yet, and it’s only lived with us for about a week, but I will keep you guys updated on how it wears!
To celebrate the reuphlstery option, Leather Hide Store is running an exclusive promo for VR readers. If you use the code Restoration10, you will get an additional 10% off their already fantastic prices on the Restoration line. The coupon code is good for 30 days from today (and just a side note, the Restorations line is pretty popular, so shipping may be delayed for a few weeks if it goes into backorder)
The last bit of changes we made were the awful legs that were on the poor thing. Back in the early days of Vintage Revivals I would have spray painted, and glazed them :). A few months ago I bought a pair of chairs off of CL. They weren’t anything amazing or specials, but they had really good MCM legs and were so cheap. Fast forward to last week, the legs were the exact height that I needed and because I bought 2 chairs, I had enough for all 5 legs. Love it when that happens!!
When I came to grips with the reality that I probably wasn’t going to find my dream couch at the thrift store this time (sad!!) I figured out what I had in the budget for a couch. Court was all over spending more to get something that was comfortable, and that I loved (because he hated the orange couch so much.)
Looking on 1st dibs, and Ebay the reality of the situation was that, even if I could find a couch to buy, it was going to be at least $3k. The Hamilton from West Elm was going to be over $2k. I figured out the total cost for reupholstery, and it came in at just under $1500.00 (including the couch). That still sounds INSANE. $1500 is not nothing, but a dream couch, in real leather was totally worth it! Especially when I was still coming in lower than I was planning on.
I feel like with this couch saga my eyes were opened to what “They like it so much they would buy it again” really meant. If I found this couch online exactly the way that it is now, would I buy it? Not only that, but would I be over the moon excited about it?! That answer is a yes in the most serious Morgan Freeman voice I can muster. (Things always seem to hold so much more weight when he says them, right?!)
Would I do it again? Morgan Freeman Yes. I will totally keep you guys updated on how the leather is wearing once we start breaking it in!
I hear ya on the upholstery costs. I just went through this a few months ago. I bought a CL couch for $200 and then bought fabric at $250 and then re-upholstery was $1200..so I know it hurts. But its one-of-a-kind and totally special. And seriously its a show-stopper!! Like anyone that walks in your house is going to go, “whooooahhhh THAT COUCH!!” It’s awesome and you totally deserve it.
I get it. That couch is amazing, and you did the right thing.
It looks fantastic. Emily Henderson is always having the most amazing things reupholstered in the most amazing fabrics. Even though she’s given lots of tips, it still looks totally daunting. It’s encouraging that you did it and lived to tell the tale. Your whole living room looks so good!
I love this! That leather is absolute perfection. And the chair leg repurpose? Brilliant.
Thanks for sharing!
LOVE the reveal! Especially…everything!!! Inspired by you!
It’s lovely. You are going to be enjoying that thing for the rest of your life. It will be tough choice: do I sit on it – or sit over here where I can LOOK at it. Sweet!
oh it awful VR and I mean real leather!!! – let me take it off your hands for you 🙂 totally jelly as usual VR you were totally born under a lucky star
Thank you for choosing to have the couch professionally recovered. I’m all for a DIY, but honestly, when bloggers take on something so CLEARLY above their skill level, it makes me lose respect for them. Let’s learn new skills (and jump in head first while doing it!), but let’s also be honest that there are professionals for a reason. They have years of experience, training, equipment and resources that we do not.
All of that to say: wise choice. I applaud your new living room!
I love it and agree it’s totally worth it. Who knew Morgan Freeman is an adjective now!? Lol
Morgan Freeman fantastic!! 🙂
The couch looks amazing like I knew it would! Kudos to your for getting it reupholstered. Now, on to more important things…if you haven’t seen True Facts about Morgan Freeman, you must do so immediately!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch5MEJk5ZCQ
That made my whole night!!
The couch is GORGEOUS!
You bet I voted for you! Best of luck!
Hey Mandi
What a nice surprise I had when scrolling through our national newspaper today here in New Zealand https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/67492668/decorating-tips-for-a-shoestring-budget
Still love the orange couch…. *sigh*
Deborah
Thanks for sharing Deborah!! So cool!!
xo
m
How long is the couch and how much leather did you need? I’m noticing that the leather hide store sells it in square feet? Is that correct? I bought a 1960’s couch off Craigslist months ago and it’s been sitting in my basement waiting to get reupholstered. I’ve had a hard time deciding on leather or bonded leather and finding the exact color I want. But the restoration gold is gorgeous!! Best color I’ve seen yet.
Hey Natalie!
My couch is about 7 feet long and we used (I think) 2.5 hides. Hope this helps!
Okay, one more question. So the hide you have draped over the couch as a visual, that’s just ONE hide? So you still used 1.5 more than what is shown draped on the couch? Just making sure I get it right.
Natalie – if you know how many yards of fabric your sofa will take, you just multiply that number by 18 to get the square feet you will need to recover. Do NOT buy bonded leather by any means, horrible stuff – only buy genuine leather or vinyl.
Impeccable!
I think the room and the couch looks beautiful, but would have gone with a really nice faux leather myself. Skin always looks better on the animal it belongs to rather than simply being used for something “pretty” for us to look at. I don’t believe anyone should have to lose their life for something so fleeting.
Beautiful job! Reupholstering sounds so complicated, but you make it seem like something attainable. I just love how the end result looks – that color looks so great in your home!
Beautiful- and so versatile as well. The few legs are such a huge improvement as well. That couch could sell for $4K or more so well done!
That sofa elicited a sensory (sensuous?) Mmmmmmmm… when I first peeked. Well done young woman!
Sounding uninformed..but… where might I get more info on that spectacularly linear-graphic-textural, nuanced artwork hanging above the magnificent sofa-DIY?
Awesome!!! I will definitely be using this website. Do you by any chance know somewhere I could get material for plush curtains. Or even just used curtains. I’m grasping here. It’s quite a predicament when you love beautiful leather couches, and curtains, and…., but your budget not so much.
I’m so glad I came across this post bc I picked up the EXACT same couch on Craigslist this year and I’m struggling with what I should do with it. My cushions seem quite flat; there is really no give to the couch. Did you add any material to your cushions before reupholstering?
Cheers,
Jess