The Saggy, Baggy Sofa

Comfortable furniture pleases me.  Over the years we've had some really comfy chairs and sofas.  They might not have been the prettiest, but I kept them around because I couldn't part with them or their squishy, warm comfort they provided.

One chair was a dark floral, with fruit mixed in (!), that I cuddled our kids in for years.  When the oldest few could finally speak clearly what did they say?  "That chair is so ugly, Mom."  Yes, the blinders fell off and I had to admit it was ugly, but it surely was comfy.  And the obnoxious floral and fruit pattern camouflaged every spit up and peanut butter Ritz cracker ground into it's tapestry upholstery.

Fast forward to present day and our living room's focus wall, with the picture window to the country side view, is painted Fandango Red. A color selected from Lowe's in a snow storm after hauling our sofa cushion there and bringing the paint chips out to the parking lot to compare in real light.  So as I have watched our supremely comfortable red chenille sofa begin to deteriorate, I've not wanted to replace it.  Its construction is still fine, just the cushions were beginning to sag and bag.

One would feel sorry for the sofa upon looking at it - as if it had just had a hard life. Which it has, with six children - and an ox of a lab when I am not looking - enjoying it!

I got to thinking that if the cushions could just be more full looking again, tighter fabric, it might revive her. The chenille had stretched and so wrinkles and bagginess of the cushions made the whole thing look like it was sagging to the center.

Armed with a 40% off coupon, I went to JoAnn Fabrics.  In the back corner they sell foam.  All thicknesses - but pretty pricey.  I found a piece of 1" foam, exactly the width I needed and had the gal cut 2 yards.  The total, after coupon, came to $17!

Back at home I enlisted my husband, lurking out of curiosity as to what the foam was for, to help me remove the old cushions, fluff them, square them up a bit, then add the 3' chunk of foam to its top, and squish the sandwich like thing back into each cushion.  It was a challenge to zip them up without damaging the zipper, but we did it, and what a difference!  The added foam gave those cushions quite a boost, and the supremely comfortable sofa is even more comfortable now (if that's possible!).

Finished project.

Green is the new foam.

We replaced the pillows and throws to the corners and must have looked guilty or something because our son Anthony came in the room, paused, and said, "What?", then jack-knifed himself into the air and landed full on his back on the couch like he always does - oh, the poor cushions - immediately exclaiming, "Hey, somethin's different..."  He settled in and mumbled something like "Whatever you did, it's good...."

Naptime.

That was a great $17 project - I got to keep my comfy sofa that matches the focus wall AND it's even more comfy than before.