French Sofa deconstructed…
28March 11, 2014 by Terry
( This post featured on Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday )
I bought a sofa off of craig’s list this past fall…..it was super ugly but super, super cheap!!! Like $25.00 cheap!!! :0) It was definitely worth the 45 minute drive to get it!
Here is what she looked like when I brought her home…
ORANGE!!!!????? REALLY??? WHO in the world thought that this fabric belonged on a pretty french style sofa??????
You poor, poor thing….. I’m crying for you!!
Pretty curvy back, seat, arms and legs…I like that it has four instead of the usual three even though there are only 3 seats…
Okay….lets get rid of that ugly dress!! I started to rip it apart and soon realized that there were HUNDREDS of staples! Whoever redid this sofa not only used way toooooo many staples, but they sewed every seam before stapling it on … they also did not remove the original staples, some were just hammered into the wood…
That black spot on the underside of the seat is actually cat hair! Ewwwee! Every little hole in the wood housed a staple….soooo many staples!!!
See that blue fabric? One of the original fabrics that this sofa was covered in….I say “one” because this is the other layer of fabric that I found after the blue…
This poor little sofa! Once stripped down to the bare cushions I realized that there would be no reusing anything from this sofa…the foam had decayed so badly that it turned to powder in my hands. Very crumbly! Soooooooo gross!!!!
So disgusting! I had powder everywhere!
Did I mention the million staples??? My poor hands are sore with blisters, cuts and scrapes…
So now after 16 full hours of pulling staples and tearing fabric…4 band aids and some (okay A lot!) of whining…here she is almost completely naked!!! Now we are getting to the fun part…..Putting her back together!!
I am in love with Restoration Hardware’s Deconstructed Furniture…
This is my vision for my little frenchy!!!! I also have a wing back chair that I plan to match to the one above. The settee above is about $2900.00 … mine will be less than $500.00.
Inspiration!
…. $3065.00…..
I even have the small metal castors to add to the sofa, they come off an antique table I found. I can hardly wait to get at the wood and give it that sort of driftwood type finish…..
$3065.00 OR Under $500.00? I’m hoping it looks like $3065.00 in the end!
It’s going to be a couple more weeks before she’s completed, I do have to show up for work this next week :0) But stay tuned for updates on her progress!
Have a great week!
Smiles!
Terry
Linking up to A Stroll Thru Life: Inspire-me-Tuesday
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The Curators Collection 
Wow! That’s a lot of work, but she’s looking fabulous!! Great job seeing past the ugly fabric…looks like a great quality piece of furniture under all that ickiness. :) I can’t wait to see the finished product.
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Thank you! Icky is an understatement :0)!!!
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I couldn’t wait to hear your vision for this as you were writing. I can see it now! We will all be jealous . Looking forward to the after.
Deb
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I can’t wait either…wish I didn’t have to work this week so I can play! :0)
Smiles!
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Oh my, this is such a fabulous settee. I love it. Can’t wait to see it all done. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
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Thank you Marty for hosting and for the nice comments! :0)
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Oh do hurry! I love your deconstructed idea!! I even like how it looks naked. Great eye you have for nabbing that one
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I can’t wait to see the finished product. I love that deconstructed look! Very cool!!!
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Me too!!! I’m excited to get started on the putting it back together!!! Thank you for visiting!
Terry
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I agree! What were they thinking putting that fabric on that french sofa?! Cannot wait to see how it turns out!
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Thank you for visiting :0) !
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Oh, I’m so excited to see how this turn out…because I just brought home the sister sofa, orange tones and all!…I haven’t started deconstruction, but now you’ve made me curious. I’m going to ‘pin’ one of your pictures onto my “I wanna do this to furniture.” board…if you want me to take it down just let me know…Thanks again for your inspiration….Coreen @ 58 Vintage Faire
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Hi Coreen! Thank you for the visit! I hope your sofa doesn’t have as many staples as mine did…my hands are still healing from blisters and scrapes! :0)
Take care! :0)
Terry
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I am super impressed with your skills Terry! I have taken on a french settee and chair, but never a whole sofa. I know it will look amazing, and I hope you walk us through your process so we can learn. And yes, taking out staples is a beast :) Have a great weekend!
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Thank you for the visit and the nice compliments! I am hoping to do a step by step share as I go, I hope you come by again!
Smiles!
Terry
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Wow what a great job tearing it apart. I am sure your hard work is going to pay off. Can’t wait for the reveal.
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Thank you for the visit! Hope you stop by again to see how it turns out!
Smiles!
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[…] from The Curator’s Collection was able to look past the 1970′s brown floral fabric and crumbling foam of this sofa to see […]
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This is going to be so beautiful. I can’t wait to see the finished project. Take lots of pictures to share, please.
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Thank you for the visit Becky! I can’t wait to have some time off from work so I can make it pretty!
Take care!
Terry
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Awesome. I can’t wait to see it finished!!! Then we can use it!!! Yaaaaaay!!
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Looks awesome! You have a lot of patience, but what I see, it is worth it!
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Can’t wait to see it finished, You definitely have talent and patience.
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Thank you Debbie for the visit and taking the time to comment. It took so much work to deconstruct so I thought I’d take a break on it for a bit… bad choice…other things for other people have crept in and stolen my time and I haven’t quite gotten back to it yet. Good thing the bones of it are pretty as it is sitting in my den with my patio cushions on it (which don’t look too bad actually!) :0) Ahhhh… someday I will return to it!
Thanks for the visit!
Smiles!
Terry
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[…] Now I’m in the mood to keep going… Remember this sofa I stripped a year ago? (view that post here)… […]
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[…] The underside is all springs and straw and original everything! The woodwork needs much loving but that’s not an issue for me. The fabric is in good shape and it doesn’t smell but I’m going to give it a little shabby chic dress! And NO, this one will not sit naked for 2 years in my garage like the other one ;) […]
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Did you ever post a reveal? Can’t seem to find it finished?
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Oh sarah … sadly not! It is still awaiting the perfect finish! I have put other’s projects before my own. Someday….. Thank you for the reminder of promises not kept though …eek! lol I hope you have a fantastic day!
Smiles!
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