A Very Old English Settee Rescue
$50.00
Easy
I found this great settee at a local thrift store. I felt it looked like an old English settee straight out of an old home in the English countryside (wild imagination!). However, it was absolutely filthy. The dirt didn't sway me and I grabbed it. I knew with some tlc it would look beautiful again.
The piece structurally was in good shape. The main problem was the fabric. It was really badly stained and just looked pretty nasty! The bottom (underside) fabric of the seat was falling off in places but the seat was strong to sit upon. It just took a hammer and a few nails to re-tack the fabric back onto the underside of the seat.
I tried to get a close-up of the stains on the seat.
I was hoping to save the fabric as I really loved the pattern and color but didn't have high hopes! Honestly, I thought I would have to reupholster it. I used Resolve upholstery cleaner and sprayed it liberally over the fabric. Taking a damp sponge, I scrubbed it into the seat and back and then sprayed it again and scrubbed. I let the third coat of cleaner just sit and seep in for a day and was amazed when I went to check on it. The stains were gone! I will add that the fabric is a tad darker than before but I really don't care as it is clean, smells fantastic and the stains have disappeared.
I wanted to lighten the whole piece up and applied a few coats of creamy white paint to the dark frame. I also distressed it and waxed it for a durable finish.
You can view the fabric closer in this shot and may see why I wanted to save it. It is really sweet.
The creamy paint against the fabric give the piece a real cottage vibe.
I believe the light distressing shows off the curves of the piece.
My old English settee! It is now happy in my living room!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 147 comments
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very pretty colors! Good job!
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Omg! That looks like a project my mom and I did when I was at college. Same material covering the bench, same style bench. A former roommate wanted it, sold it to her for 50 $,
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