A Couch Extravaganza! (Days 1 & 2)

My sister, Kathleen, is moving out of her studio apartment - & she is going to have a living room in her new place!

More square-footage inspired a search for a new couch - & she found an antique one that she loves!

Unfortunately, her "dream" couch wasn't in tip-top condition. In fact, the last two days, we've had to rip, tear, lysol, vacuum, sew, and staple - But the transformation of her new-Antique couch is pretty sweet!

There's still more to come, but this is what we've accomplished in the last two days:

Before any of the recovering could begin, we went fabric shopping...

The decision was hard with so many fun choices, but we decided on a golden-yellow with small spirals - it's a bright, cheerful fabric, but still simple and versatile. (Well, as versatile as bright yellow can be!)

Day 1...


Before the work began... My aunt's cat, Annie, wasn't quite sure what to think!


First things first - Lysol, and lots of it! We ended up using the entire can...


Next, we got rid of the old piping.


Not long into the restoration process, the thought of a slip cover was seeming awfully nice! A fitted sheet should do the trick, right?

We had to cover the original pattern with white so that the old pattern wouldn't show through. However, by the time we got ready to begin stapling, we realized I had bought "heavy duty" staples for our "light duty" staple gun -this dilemma called for a midnight run to Wal-Mart --- and, of course some Ben & Jerry's!



The end of the first day resulted in a fairly cute - & most importantly, very clean! - ensemble. I actually had to convince my sister that she didn't want to leave it looking like this!

Day 2...

I woke up and finished covering the arms in white while my sister was at work...


...and the fun started when she got home!

Very, very tedious! But the outcome was so worth it!


This picture shows all the layers - greenish-blue on the bottom, covered with white, and finally the yellow!

My handiwork...and I never even stapled my finger.


And so at the end of the second day:


Unfortunately I had to come back to Springfield, so the couch renovations will be put on hold for the next few days. I'll post more pictures once they're complete!

In the meantime, here are some decorating inspirations for yellow couches - Enjoy!

Cute, cute, cute. Especially the blue vase.

This one has a fun bookcase & wood stove, oh, and a cute couch.

Pillows are one of my favorite accents. How cute are all of these?

Perhaps my favorite of them all.

Yellow really can go with anything. Brown (look at the beautiful sliding doors), black, or pink!