Monday, May 13, 2013

The Sofa Transformation





I admit I was really concerned when I ordered this sofa that I would ruin or break it trying to get the upholstered panels off. Hence my plea to all of you for helpful tips about how to do that.

As soon as I took it out of the box I gave it a test by picking at at the fabric on the arm with a finger nail. It just popped off. The same thing happened on the other side. I thought no way I am going to get this lucky with all these padded upholstered panels. YUP! They virtually fell off with a little light coaxing. I never used a tool just my finger nail. The glue used to put this together had about as much adhesive power as a sticky post-it note. PHEW!


I thought I would be scouring the internet or worse looking in local fabric shops to try and find something to upholster it with. Then the light dawned... I have a huge stash of fabrics from the days when I did a lot of embroidery.

I had several choices but this beautiful light gold 100% silk was perfect. Simply because it went with every wing chair I have made. I love the idea of changing things around in a dollhouse. A heavier look for fall and winter and something lighter for the warmer months. After all....If you couldn't play with it what fun would that be?










34 comments:

  1. Hi Catherine,

    Isn't that the main objective with miniatures to play?? What an amazing job of the sofa you have done, very professional, it looks like it must have been difficult with all the framing and the colour is beautiful.

    Have fun playing!
    Fi x

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  2. Great job Catherine, you make it all sound so easy and the sofa looks fabulous beside all your other gorgeous pieces

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  3. You have transformed it to perfection, it now looks a most expensive piece of furniture.....really lovely!!!

    Linda x

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  4. I'm happy for you that you solved the problem with just your fingers, but I'd like to know which technique to use next time, if the glue is more durable.however, I see that the operation was successful perfectly, but I had no doubts about your ability.the sofa is beautiful in this light, it is easy to add blankets or pillows in any color, in the next few seasons ... the fun is just that .. haha!I really like the porcelain teapot and inlaid chest of drawers, too!them along with your new sofa, are some magnificent pieces, congratulations!
    kisses
    Caterina

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    1. I the last post I asked everyone what they thought. You can read all about it there. If the glue had been stubborn I would have tried to loosen it with a hair dryer and then tried to pry off pieces with a scalpel. :-)

      Thank you Cocklerina

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  5. It is exquisite! What a beautiful, uplifting colour!

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  6. Catherine, I've reupholstered two Bespaq pieces and find it ironic that they're so easy to take apart, while cheaper brands' offerings can be surprisingly strong. I originally planned to just use fabric paint, but when one chair arrived with the fabric already peeling off, I was able to carefully pick the frame clean in 5 minutes flat!

    The sofa is much improved by your makeover - it's such a nice, sunny color!

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  7. Thank you Anna!

    Yes it took about 5 minutes to strip it clean. Weird clear brown, crusty & brittle glue all over it too. There was a ton of it for all the good it did. haha

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  8. Beautiful re-upholstery work, hope I can do as well.

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  9. Wow Catherine this is fabulous! A great job on the re-upholstering, and unbelievable
    photography :) Bear sure looks happy! And I feel as though I'm looking through a window into a beautiful room......I knew you were fretting over nothing :) :)

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  10. La couleur choisie est magnifique . Elle met en valeur tous les autres objets de votre pièce . C est un choix parfait .
    Amusez vous vien , j imagine votre plaisir .
    Biz

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  11. The sofa looks great! I am glad it turned out so easy and quick to do.

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  12. It's absolutely gorgeous Catherine, the fabric is totally perfect in every way.

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  13. What a beautiful, uplifting colour! It is very stylish, Catherine, well done!
    Hugs, Ilona

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  14. that is beautiful Catherine! A job well done and I love the fabric too! And what luck that they ran out of decent glue huh? :D

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  15. Such an improvement! It's a lovely sofa now and it matches the rest of the room perfectly.

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  16. Hello Catherine,
    I knew you would succeed! The sofa is beautiful and your reupholstry work is perfection. It looks lovely! Actually I have heard from many that Bespaq glue is not the best and I have had to fix furniture on more then one occasion. Your room is so inviting and realistic. I love it!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  17. Stunning!!! enough said I think xxxx

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  18. Perfect work. The sofa is stunning and the room is cozy and elegant.
    Bye, Faby

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  19. I love the makeover. The color is perfect and you did a fantastic job. Perfect! :)

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  20. Such a great upholstery job - the lines are so crisp and clean and there isn't a splodge of glue anywhere! Clearly I need to practice a bit more!

    And as for the colour - what can I say, it is one of my favourites. Yellow isn't very popular in general, but I find that just the right shade can go with so many things, and it is so uplifting too!

    Jonquil

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  21. You did a lovely job,Catherine!Silk is a great choice for minis-since a little goes a long way,it's very affordable.I just wonder if Bespaq automatically expects buyers to redo their products,since you apparently aren't the only one unhappy with their choices of fabric and they don't seem to be attaching it very well.I'm the oddball,cuz I like both your choice of fabric and Bespaq's!But,it would not be as elegant a setting without your choice!Thanx for sharing,Kat

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  22. Hi Catherine! We always find things when we're not looking for them! I was rolling my favourites and the tutorial by Kris for that upholstering tutorial popped up on my screen. http://www.mycdhm.com/project.php You can either go there or else google My CDHM Miniature Community and click on projects above and then go down to find the tutorial. I know you're finished with your project. However, I like how Kris works. What she did is similar to what you did, probably. I did not have time to look at it again. It doesn't hurt to look at it. I imagine you will doing more reupholstering in the future.

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    1. Thank you Lucille. I am on my way to look at that link.

      Thank you Everyone for all your help and kind comments.

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  23. FABulous! Great fabric choice, and I'm glad it wasn't too difficult to remove the 'old' upholstery. (I just re-did a simple chair seat, and I had QUITE the wrestling match with the motherf*****r, lol)! I guess you just NEVER KNOW!

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  24. You do lovely work. Kilmouski..a cat name I have never heard before. Deb (Ontario)

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  25. Thank you Deb....

    "Kill mouse ski" has never even see a real mouse. :-)

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  26. Hi Catherine,
    Your sofa is lovely,
    Martha

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    1. Thank you Martha. I am so glad you visited my blog. :-)

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  27. My dear Catherine, finally I come to comment on this (further) brilliant work. When you are asked for advice on reupholster a sofa, I knew you'd give a masterpiece :-)
    Now, I realize that the result is much better than any expectation :-)
    During this time I have a creative vacuum, so I'm not very reactive, but I can not resist your work :-)
    Lovely hugs, my friend,
    Flora

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  28. Flora... Thank you for coming in to leave me such a sweet comment.

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  29. Hello Catherine! Your sofa is so elegant and it perfectly compliments the other items in the room. I love the way the silk, picks up the gold in both the painted chest and the subtle pattern in the pink upholstery of the chair. Very discreet and yet so effective! Everything is harmonious and looks as it should. ( Your sofa looks like it is very content within the space too!) Do you plan to make any throw cushions for it or do you prefer it as is?

    elizabeth

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  30. Hi Elizabeth,

    I thought about stitching a petit point pillow. I also might make one out of the same silk. The pillows I have made for all the wing chairs look very happy on it too. I will just have to wait and see.
    Thank you for you kind comment. I really appreciate you taking your time to write it here.

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