Easy DIY Save for a Tired Old Sofa

Rita and Cane
by Rita and Cane
We had a tired old sofa, but we didn't want to get rid of her. She had good bones, super-comfortable down-filled seat cushions, and solid construction. We wondered if we could save her.
Let's cut right to the chase: YES!


For less than $80 and a little bit of easy DIY, we gave our sofa a new lease on life.
Phase I: Find a solution for those saggy back cushions. The inserts were too broken-down to save.
Four 26"x26" Ikea down-pillow inserts (only $9 each) gave us a new set of back cushions. To make covers for the cushions, we found a fabric on sale that coordinated with the sofa's existing fabric and our braided wool rug...
Then, we decided to use the fabric from the original cushion covers for the backing fabric. This helps tie the new covers to the rest of the sofa.
The remains of the original covers.
We sewed a simple pillow cover that closes with buttons in the back. No piping or other tricky sewing.
A view of the cushion backs.
Phase II: Ditch the skirt. We weren't able to remove it, so we simply folded it under the frame and stapled it down. The step required nothing more than 20 minutes and a staple gun. Super-easy!
We love the new look of our sofa. Now, we've got both comfort and style--without shelling out money for a brand-new piece of furniture.
To see more details and photos, please click on through to our blog post on the project.
Rita and Cane
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Diana Diana on Sep 30, 2018

    The renovated sofa looks great. What did you do to revive the two cushions you sit on?

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  • Brendaplank Brendaplank on Aug 08, 2016
    Good idea! Thanks, I was wondering if I could do this to a similar sofa set. I once was in need of new carpet, but couldn't afford it in that one room.. I made sure it was shampooed well, then used liquid Rit Dye mixed 2 pts dye to 1 pt water, filled my clean shampooer with the colored water, and used as if I were cleaning the carpet, but didn't remove the water for about 30-45 mins.. It was a huge room and I was tired and decided to try a quart size spray bottle, It worked equally as weil, but was easier on my back since I only had to go across the floor once with the shampooer. Easier on the back, tougher on the hands. I went from a dull mauve to a deep burgandy and it looked nice. If anyone tries this, make sure your feet are well waterproofed.
  • Barb Barb on Apr 21, 2018

    WOW You did a fantastic job of making it look like a total new sofa! LOVE the color choice for the pillows and how you blended them in with the rug and the room . You have great taste and will power to save ! I Bet you will hear about a lot of people doing your Idea now .

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