5 Ways to Give a Sofa New Life

Buying furniture is one of the most expensive parts of decorating a living room. Once bought, a good quality sofa can last for years but what happens when a few years later; you get bored of looking at the same furniture. Most of us don’t have the options of buying a new sofa everyday but you can still make your old sofa look new with a few simple design tips.

Move the Sofa

The look of a sofa is defined not only by itself but also by everything around it. The first step to refreshing an old sofa is to move the sofa to another section of the room. If your sofa sits against a wall, consider framing it against a window or placing it at an angle in the corner. If moving the sofa isn’t an option, play with the sizes and number of cushions on the sofa. Change the artwork above the sofa or add a palm to frame one side of the sofa.

Reupholster

A change of upholstery on a sofa instantly gives it a new life. There are two ways of going about this. You could either tailor a slip cover for the sofa or completely reupholster it. Slip covers today aren’t as shapeless as they were earlier and can now be fitted to perfectly match the sofa’s contours. The advantage of having a slip cover for a sofa is that it can be washed regularly and it’s comparative low cost makes it budget friendly. However, if the sofa is sagging, slip covers aren’t an option and the sofa will need to be reupholstered with a change in foam.

Trim It 

Sometimes all you need are a few trims to refresh the look of your sofa. A nailhead border or a few buttons in the sofa back to give it a tufted appearance can make your sofa look completely different. You could also add details to the sofa like a skirt in a contrasting fabric.

Change Finishes

Polished wood is a classic finish with which you can never go wrong but to give your sofa a fresh look consider painting or gilding the wooden elements of the sofa. With paint, choose not only between colours but also between matt and glossy finishes. Leafing furniture is a little more expensive but if your interior style says classic, a gilded sofa is the statement piece you need.

Change the Legs

Often with upholstered sofas, the legs of the sofa are not part of the sofa framework. Thus, it is possible to change the legs of the sofa with just a few screws. Alternatively consider asking a carpenter to build a false inset skirt for the sofa. This will give any sofa a fresh contemporary look.