Need imput about our sofa

19 years ago

I have a sort of odd problem and can't decide what would be the best course of action, so I thought I'd get some imput from people more knowledgable than myself.

About 8 years ago, my husband and I were in college and bought a couch (and other things) from a neighbor who had graduated and didn't want to haul his furniture back home. I think the couch was from his parents, so it was fairly old when we got it, but was in good condition.

Fast forward to now and I'm sick of this couch. It seems to be pretty sturdy, but the springs are "worn" or whatever the term is. It sags in the middle. Beyond that, the frame is in good condition, but the material is falling apart and I'm incredibly sick of the color/pattern.

The obvious answer would be to buy a new couch, but there's a problem. We can't afford anything for at least a year and at that point, we would probably only be able to afford something around $1000, if that.

After reading the boards here for a bit, I've gathered that what we'd be able to spend wouldn't be good quality, so I'm hesitant to spend money on something that wouldn't last. We are fairly hard on our sofa and have two dogs that hang out there often, so it gets a ton of use.

What I've been thinking about doing is to see if it would be possible to repair the sofa we currently own and recover it (possibly a slipcover) to stretch out its use until we can save up enough money to get a nice sofa.

I'm not sure what would be the best thing to do in this situation. Any imput?

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Comments (2)

dcollie
19 years ago
mogater is in the biz and can tell you better than I, but in my experience you will probably spend every bit of $ 1,000 in 'fixing up' that sofa and at the end of the day still have one that is old.

Typically if this is a standard Lawson Arm type sofa, you will need about 18 to 20 yards of fabric at say $ 30 a yard for medium duty material ($ 550), the deck springs retied/replaced, new foam cushions, and the labor to reupholster (varies by region but here in Wash DC area that's about $ 700).

Junk it. Go to the stores and shop clearance items. There's not a store around that doesn't have one or two sofas with discontinued fabrics or frames that it wants to clear out. You should be able to get something decent for under $ 1,000.

Good Luck,
Duane Collie
The Keeping Room
asm198 - Zone 6a (MO)
Original Author
19 years ago
Thank you for the info, Duane. I had to look up what a Lawson Arm was and you seem to be correct, because it looks pretty similar.

Out of curiosity, I flipped it over after I posted to take a look at the construction and it wasn't too bad, but not really worth trying to fix and keep for the long term. So I think we'll just buy a slipcover at the store and purchase a new sofa next year.

My only real requirements as far as looks go is something in a darker neutral that doesn't hold onto pet hair, so hopefully I'll be able to find something decently made with that color/type of fabric.

Thanks again!
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