I have three pieces of overstuffed vintage mohair furniture that is in the same shape as yours, and I also love them as much as you love your sofa. Reupholstering cost big $$ if someone else does it. I went online and browsed "How to repair broken springs on furniture" for hours one night. Found some great how-to videos that made it look fairly easy if you have the right tools and patience - and the proper space to set up a workshop. I plan on giving it a try on one chair over the winter. If you really love the sofa and can afford it, I'd send it to someone to repair. However, you probably won't get it back in time for your guests. Professionals are usually swamped with orders.

I've also looked online to see what I could find, but unfortunately I didn't find much on repairing antique sofas. I do really love the sofa, but absolutely can not afford to take it to someone to have it repaired. While I was still working (before the sofa was in this condition), I checked on just having it reupholstered. I was told it would cost approximately $1000 just to recover it.

I can see why you would want to keep this sofa.

In no particular order, here are some random thoughts.

Short term:

1. Stash the sofa someplace safe and use other furniture you already have for seating when your guests come. You don't have to have a sofa, chairs will work just as well. Put the money you would have spent on a replacement towards getting the sofa fixed.

2. Stash the sofa and get an inexpensive temporary replacement, either the one you've seen or something from Ikea or the like.

3. Find instructions on fixing the springs and the rest of the seat and do the work yourself. Leave the back intact and find a coordinating fabric to recover the seat. This could end up looking great or just awful, depending on the fabric you pick. But if you could find a velvet in the right color, it might look as if it was intended to be that way.

Long term

4. Many adult education programs offer a reupholstery course. You could do the work yourself, but get experienced help in doing it. You might have to do the repair work yourself, or get someone to do it for you, though. Bear in mind that you can reupholster without the tufting--I love tufting myself, but it would be easier to do that back with just plain untufted fabric.

I got this idea because I was looking for one for our rock bench near the fireplace.

A long cushion. Do a search on "bench cushions" and you'll see a lot of variety.

I couldn't buy one because they were all too long so I simply folded a quilt and laid it on the bench.

If you could find a cushion in coordinating colors it could be a quick fix, but then you'd still have the sinking. Although you can ask your guests to excuse the sofa because it's getting ready to be reupholstered. lol.

I love it. And yes, Broyhill is good. We had a sofa from them and the only reason we got rid of it was because the material had faded and gotten worn. The stuffing was great!

We have a 20 year old solid oak bedroom set from Broyhill also in perfect shape.

As a temporary fix, could you get a 3 inch slab of foam rubber and cut it to fit on the seat of your couch. Get some coordinating fabric(coordinating with your couch cover) and wrap the foam in it or sew a pillowcase like covering. Then when you are ready....talk to an upholster to see how much it would be to just fix the springs. You may be able to upholster it yourself when you have a lot of time.

You've received some great ideas above. You didn't mention how much the Broyhill sofa at the antique store is selling for so I'm not sure of your short term budget. I would heartily second the suggestion to get something to use temporarily while you store yours in a safe place and recommend you look on Craigslist.

I'm finding today on our CL two very decent looking sofas--one an Ethan Allen and the other a Krause...both appear to be in good shape with no work required at all, but they're more the style that is not currently in vogue so they're selling for $150 for one and the other is best offer. Today many are hoping for a PB look that's quite contemporary and those who are willing to consider a floral fabric that's a bit more country or a more traditional look could find something that would work quite nicely as an inexpensive temporary solution. I'd carefully look at any pictures on CL to make sure the home looks like one that is clean...since there are some on there that will curl your hair! Also ask about non-smoking and pets since that can be a problem. Good luck.

Everyone, thank you so much for all the help and suggestions. I appreciate the help so much!! I have a lot to think about now.

I do really like the idea of getting a sofa to use and storing the one I have. I could put it in my bedroom and throw a coverlet over it or something. Maybe by the time the one I bought wore out, I could save enough to get this one repaired/reupholstered.

My children love to lounge around on the sofa watching tv and they simply can't do that with the one I have now. No one can sit on it comfortably...even when it was in good shape, it wasn't really comfortable to sit on.

I went by the antique shop today and brought home one of the sofa cushions to see how it looks in my room.

I took a photo of it laying on my sofa...you can see one of my chairs next to it. The chair is a deeper rose color than it shows in the photo.

{{!gwi}}

Here are a couple of photos of the cushion with my rug. I'm not sure the two would look good together. It's a skirted sofa, so the floral fabric would be right on top of the rug. Opinions?

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Here's photos of the rug and fabric side by side.

{{!gwi}}

I'm glad to hear Broyhill is good in case I do decide to get this one. I did look on CL, but the closest CL listings to where I live is 2 1/2 hours away. I'm basically out in the middle of nowhere!

I think the new cushion goes great with your rug and chair. But, wow, what a gorgeous piece your old sofa is!

A dear friend had a similar antique sofa and she reupholstered it in a cobalt blue moire fabric, and it was beautiful!

With kids of an age to still lounge around the sofa, the used one is a perfect solution until you save enough to reupholster. It would be a good idea to wait even if you could afford to do it now, so you can select a less child-friendly fabric later.
Dee

Dee, that's exactly what I was thinking after reading the other posts! I would love to upholster the sofa in a cream or pale pink damask and those are definitely not child-friendly fabrics. I would love to also have my two chairs upholstered at the same time. That's going to be a ton of money, especially since I'm unemployed.

This Broyhill sofa is only $190 and I didn't think that was a bad price considering how good it looks. I just couldn't decide how it looked with the rug. It does have some of the same rose color as my chairs, so that's a plus.

I think the idea of storing the beloved sofa until you can afford to have it upholstered and repaired by a pro is a great idea.

If the Broyhill is solid, the cushions are in good shape, and it is only $190, I would go for it. When you get it home, if you really don't like the total effect with the rug, get a slipcover for it, perhaps in a pretty green or cream. Washable so when the kids lay on it and eat or have dirty feet, you can wash it. Broyhill and slipcover are still hundreds less than repairing the other sofa, which deserves to be done well.

Les, I didn't even think about a slipcover for the Broyhill. Thank you for that suggestion!

I'm curious...do you think the sofa would work with the rug?

I know you asked Les about the sofa and the rug, but I think the sofa would look better on the rug if there was a solid color (rose or pale/pastel green) throw/quilt on the back. OTOH, I'm really bad about this stuff so you can ignore me. lol

You, Kirstie Alley & I have the same tastes! Did you see the topic I did about her house today? If not, go take a peek, you'd love it.

Oakleyok, I'm super bad at this stuff! That's why I can't seem to make decisions.

I had to check out the topic after you mentioned it. I could totally move into that house without changing a single thing. I love it! Of course, my husband would never live in all that pink, but I would be in heaven.

I don't think the fabric in the Broyhill goes with your rug. The pattern's too busy and has a brighter white background than your rug. I'd keep looking for a better match and make up a story about the upholsterer if I didn't find one in time. LOL

I would want to see the fabric leaning on the front side of the current couch, so that it mimicked what the skirted couch would be like. But in general, even though I agree that the colors are brighter on the Broyhill and the background is whiter than the rug, I think it can work. The colors seem to work well with the rose colored chair. I think I see lots of white woodwork peeking around the furniture in the pix, which will help the couch feel connected.

Now, if everything else in the room is warmer in tone, then the stark white of the background may be an issue. Any chance we could get a couple of shots of the whole room?

Thank you everyone for the help. Unfortunately, my husband did not like the sofa. He thought it was way too big and bulky for the space it would fit in and he didn't like the floral. I guess I'll just keep looking.

My mother had an antique wing chair with the same saggy bottom.

A local upholstery shop repaired the chair from the bottom (no reupholstery required) for about $100.
That was about 15 years ago, so I'm sure the price would be higher, but nowhere near what a complete upholstery job would cost.