With the winter weather in full force, this is the best time of year to work on upholstery! It’s a great activity I can do to prepare for shows in the coming year.  Recently I came upon this settee.  Immediately, I could see that it had potential.

If I were to guess, I would say it was made in the late 1980s or early 1990s.  The existing upholstery just had to go.  I was definitely having flashbacks to my teen years just looking at the upholstery.  However, the wide and deep seat was super comfy to sit on.  The settee also was made with good quality materials and solid construction.  So, I knew that it had potential.

Here are a few more photos of how she looked when I brought her home.

 

 

The first day or so was spent removing the existing upholstery and the 5 billion staples that were used to attach the fabric to the frame of the settee.

 

 

You can see some of the old upholstery still hanging on strong to the area around the arms and legs.  That was some stubborn upholstery! After removing all the staples and fabric, I decided to replace the cotton batting underneath the upholstery to ensure the refurbished settee was fluffy and clean.  Here are some in progress photos that show the upholstery removed and the cotton batting.  The top portion with the yellow foam was completely recovered.

 

 

 

It was a great discovery to find that the arms were bolted into the frame of the settee!  This meant that they could be removed which made working on the piece much easier.  I re-attached them just temporarily so I wouldn’t misplace any of the bolts.  Obviously, the arms need to be reupholstered too.

The back of the settee will remain “deconstructed” . This basically means that you can see the wood bones of the piece. Here is a photo of how the back of the settee looks.

 

 

See those little white puffs?  Staples.  Yup.  More staples that need to be removed.

The next step is to sand down the wood on the legs and arms of the piece. That 1980s wood finish definitely needs an update! Once sanded, I want to go over the arms and legs with an antique wax.

In my stash of antique fabrics, I have some antique French mattress ticking.  It’s khaki and white stripes.  This fabric is perfect for upholstery because it has such a hefty canvas like weight and the fabric weave is very tight.  It looks very similar to the image below.

 

 

 

I also love using antique textiles when reupholstering furniture.  It gives the piece such character and a sense of history.

Anyway, check back in a few days and I will post “after” photos of the settee.  Let’s see how she looks in her new fabric and refreshed wooden legs!

Thank you for stopping by the blog today!  Hopefully you are inspired to reupholster a piece of furniture.  Just allow plenty of time to remove all the staples.