I think this deserves a place in the record books as our first-ever reader submission showing a furniture makeover in video form (the photo transformation is equally impressive). If you haven’t seen Susan’s couch upholstery time-lapse yet, you should definitely watch it:
I’ve long admired your blog and work. Recently my husband and I reupholstered our eight-and-a-half-foot couch. The frame uses 8-way hand-tied springs and is solid wood. We adjusted the shape slightly to better suit our taste and recorded the whole process as a time-lapse during a nine-day, two-hour-per-day upholstery class. – Susan at Freshly Picked
Here’s what it looked like before:
And after:
We’re not sure whether to feel amazed or exhausted—Susan, this is an incredible transformation. The finished couch looks stunning, and it’s clear a lot of careful work went into every step. It’s especially inspiring that you learned the skills in a hands-on class and applied them to a piece with a traditional, high-quality construction.
If you’re thinking about attempting a similar project, a few things to keep in mind: inspect the frame and springs first to confirm they’re worth saving, plan the new silhouette before you start removing old fabric, and allow time to learn techniques like eight-way hand-tying and proper padding. Taking a class can be a great way to gain confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
What do you readers think? Is anyone tempted to tackle major reupholstery after watching this? Maybe sign up for a local workshop and give it a try? We’re curious if there are classes like this in other cities—we’d love to hear about your experiences or recommendations.