Welcome to my first upholstery tutorial.

Disclaimer:
Do not try this at home.

Thanks to a wonderful Etsy column titled "How Tuesday", I will be featured as the resident "expert" (term used loosely) on furniture upholstery.

On October 6th (a Tuesday of course), the feature will be up with a link to my tutorial on "Emergency Upholstery Techniques"...how to not throw up when you look at your hand-me-down furniture.

Below is the sofa I have remodeled for the project.  I had hoped to post the tutorial this evening...but seeing as it's already 11pm and the wake up call comes at 5am...I will be posting it on Sunday night for a sneak preview to my loyal blog readers.  Tuesday of course, the web waves will be filled with Etsy hopefuls looking to upscale their living room.

Yes, friends, the photos below are of the same sofa.  Stay tuned for details . . . . 

Last week, I was sucked into the vacuum that goes by the name of "Thrift Store".  This particular store is NEW to Mankato and carries only furniture.

Is it just me, or every time you are about to start something new, do you for a brief moment think you will be the best at it in the world? Upholstery was my task last week and although I don't claim to have dominated the sport, I did learn a valuable lesson...you have to be the life of your own party.

Bringing a $10 (on sale from $35) davenport home from the thrift store is something of fairy tales...finding fabric I LOVE on clearance leaves me speechless...having my husband simply sigh at the many adventures of the right side of my brain is...typical.

Amidst a household of doubt, I started the week by tearing off vomit colored, plastic-like upholstery and found a beautiful diamond in the rough piece of furniture.  Not only is this sweet little LoveSeat an antique, it is also a hide-a-bed.

Spending countless hours dreaming, shopping and collecting the perfect pieces of textile for my great find, yesterday I started the process of putting it back together.

Rockin' out to some of my favorite music, I slowly decided that this couch was just for me.  Being my first larger upholstery installation, I figure no one could enjoy it as much as myself...the one who tore it limb from limb, tenderly preserved the old batting and placed many stitches by hand.  Each staple, stretch and fold was made by my fingers after dark; all while picturing the great literature I could enjoy atop it's cushion.  Perhaps I will share Narnia with Axel on this very seat.

Upholstery can be emotional...or was that the Sheryl Crow?  Late last night I hammered my last nail and received a not-so-enthusiastic "great" from Jahred.  I received a fabric critique from my mother and when I asked Jahred to help me move it upstairs, so I could clean up the staples that had missed the mark, he appeared annoyed and said, "when I'm done".  Well, thats when I figured that celebrating yourself may be the only celebration you get.

It lost a little of it's magic upon seeing it in the daylight this morning, but I still believe it's more than "great".  In the future, you can find me on my davenport...it is uniquely mine and I shall use it as a reminder to sit down and give myself a break.

As I cleaned up the kitchen this evening, I saw Jahred looking at my handy-work and then take a seat.  In his own time, he always approves.