Tips for Reviving an Old Couch

The couch is usually the focal point of a living room. However, after years of use, the couch can become saggy, sunken, stained or out of fashion. These reasons might urge you to buy a brand new replacement. The problem is, new sofas can be very pricey, and sometimes it is out of the budget. The best thing to do is to upgrade and revive it without needing to buy a new one.

Taking your old couch to the upholstery shop might be an obvious solution, but there are other transformative solutions you can do yourself to revive your old and less-than-beautiful couch.

1. Remove the skirt.

An old sofa may have a skirt, which makes it look classic but outdated. If you have a modern interior, the skirt has to go. Raise the skirt up and you may find out that it has been obscuring your sofa’s good legs that can be shown off. Remove the staples holding the skirt using a tack puller and pair of pliers. After detaching the skirt, tuck the remaining fabric under the couch to create a clean line along the bottom. Showing off a bit of the frame of the sofa gives it a modernized look.

2. Fix saggy cushions.

A couch may look saggy after surviving tons of movie marathons and binge-watching series. To prevent a sunken, saggy look, regularly flip and fluff your cushions. But if it’s already saggy, there’s a solution for that: stuff them. Check your sofa’s seat and back cushions if there are zippers (usually they do), remove the stuffing and replace them with feather-wrapped foam. Or better yet, use Poly-Fil and Poly-Fil quilt batting as a replacement. It’s a lot cheaper than getting a new couch or new couch cushion.

3. Replace the legs.

Want to make your sofa look different? Just install new legs. If you have a sofa with round, oak bun feet, try replacing them with square-shaped ones for a more modern revamp. If you have a standard-looking sofa, make it look custom-made by checking out unique legs from furniture showrooms. Yes, replacement sofa legs are purchasable, and they are available in different styles and sizes.

4. Add tufting.

If you want a new look for your saggy couch, add tufts on the back cushions instead of stuffing them. With the help of an upholstery needle, twine, and fabric-covered buttons, you can work out this mess-free couch makeover. It’s easy; you just have to measure the cushions, place some pins to mark where you would add the buttons, and then start sewing the buttons on both sides. It’s a simple task it but creates a dramatic effect.

5. Place a slipcover.

Perhaps the easiest way to revive an old couch is to add a slipcover. You can find a slipcover that can cover your couch and if necessary, you can just make little sewing adjustments to make it more fitting. If your sofa is bought from a popular furniture shop, you may find a custom-fit one since they sell slipcovers that can exactly fit their sofa models.

If you can’t find one that can fit your couch, you can find a seamstress that can give it a tailored look. Or better yet, do it yourself if you know how to measure and use a sewing machine. If you are making your own, you are going to save a lot of bucks and you can choose any fabric material and color you want. You can even make two or more for replacement whenever a slipcover needs washing.

6. Use throw blankets.

Perhaps you got bored of your old sofa. Give it some texture and style upgrades for a new look. A plain old couch will look cozier and be inviting with a sheepskin throw. A flattened seat cushion can be made more comfortable by adding a soft throw. It’s your choice if you want to stick with solid colors or add a new pattern for impact. Throw blankets are also great for protecting white couches from spills.

7. Cover with pillows.

7. Cover with pillows.

If you already fell out of love with your couch, cover it with adorable pillows. Forget those matching pillows that came with your sofa and experiment with bright colors and patterns. You may pick a theme to create a unified look, even if no single pillow would be exactly alike. However, if you don’t want to break your muted and minimal effect, just choose a set of like pillows and arrange them neatly.

8. Paint your couch.

Paint can pretty much revive and redecorate anything, including upholstery. If you have a ruined couch with markings and stains that are extremely hard to clean, consider painting it all over. Use latex paint combined with a fabric textile medium so that paint will permanently bond to the fabric while keeping it soft, less stiff and crack-resistant. If you have a leather or faux leather couch which color you are now tired of, use leather paint to cover it with a new hue.