HOW TO TRANSFORM A THRIFT SHOP SOFA

The saga of the beloved $5 sofa and chair.

// MARCH 2017 //

We had just begun construction, I spotted this gem in Salvation Army but the price was a little high (I think they wanted $50) hey budgets are a real thing! I took a pic of it, contemplated discussing it with Dale, fully prepared to hear that we literally only had the foundation in and we did NOT need to be buying living room furniture yet. I refrained from bringing it up, knowing there would be more couches and more appropriate timelines, but I was in Salvation Army again the next week (yes, I went weekly) to see it was no longer there and was pretty bummed.

TIP: Instead of assuming items are sold, ask if it has just been moved to the back.

// MAY 2017//

Surprise, surprise I was in Salvation Army again and the yellow couch was back!! Turns out they just had put it in the back!

And it was reduced to $20! TWENTY DOLLARS. I frantically drove to the house were Dale was working and pleaded for purchase approval, the pick-up truck and his moving powers! Dale's initial reaction was 🙄 but he was in! Andddd, when we were checking out, the cashier said, "It's your lucky day furniture is 75% off!" FIVE DOLLARS was our whopping total for the couch and chair. 🤩

The couch was in really incredible shape! It was very well worked in, the classic 'napping couch' as we liked to call it. Here's the first sight of it at home, I sprayed it with a Lysol Disinfectant Mist and called it a day!

// HOW TO TRANSFORM A COUCH + CHAIR FOR $0 AND ONLY 2 STEPS! //

SUPPLIES: scissors, staple gun and maybe plastic grocery bags.

STEP 1 // Cut off the bulk of the skirt, don't cut too much though, you will need some to staple under. Pull it up first to get an idea where the staples will go and cut roughly 1-2 inches longer than that!

STEP 1.5 // On this couch, there was a Step 1.5 that involved grocery bags. When I pulled the skirt back tight to the frame it didn't look right. And if I just held it loose the fabric sagged funny. So, I stuffed a plastic garbage bag in there, then stapled it. I was worried it would make a crinkly noise, but it never did!

STEP 2 // Staple gun the fabric up underneath to the chair frame.

Tip: Start on the back of the chair or couch in case you make an oopsy!

// UPGRADE THE FURNITURE FEET //

Another quick and affordable trick for changing or upgrading the style of a piece of furniture is to swap in new legs or feet. The legs on this sofa and chair easily unscrewed, I just never got to it. IKEA has an assortment of furniture legs for affordable and simple options. There is also a website called Pretty Pegs, that sells awesome furniture legs for IKEA furniture, but I don't see why they couldn't work on any furniture, as long as the legs screw in!

// DECEMBER 2017 //

Here is a quick picture of the couch and chair situation that I snapped December 23, 2017, the night we moved in!

// APRIL 2017 //

Rome wasn't built in a day, and homes aren't furnished and decorated in a day either! We had rooms with literally no furniture in them, but THIS. IS. A. PROCESS. When we moved in I had a really hard time handling this. We moved in December 23, and if you asked Dale he'd likely tell you I wanted everything to be furnished and styled by Christmas morning HAHA. I don't know who to thank for that, Pinterest? Instagram? Anyways, ENJOY. THIS. PROCESS. and take your time picking up the right pieces for each room. Have people over, don't worry if it's not 'perfect' or if people are sitting on folding chairs! In the end, I'm actually really glad this process takes time! Even if we had all of the money in the world to decorate overnight I don't think I would!

// JULY 2019 //

Fast-forward a couple of years and our living room completely different! The beloved mustard couch served us very well, and we just sold it at our yard sale this summer and made a profit! (when does that happen haha) I was quite sad to see it go, but happy someone else will get to enjoy it!

What is your greatest thrifting feat?! Do you have a beloved thrifted piece or am I just a special kind? 😁