Chesterfield or Camelback?

Do you know the name of the style and shape of sofa that you prefer?  Are you thinking about buying a new one or recovering one you already have?  Do you know how much fabric you would need to reupholster your sofa? We have a list that just might help:-)Whether you are planning to make a purchase now, or in the future, of a new sofa, it never hurts to know the name of the styles you might be considering.  Or maybe you have a sofa you really love but it needs freshening up. Or maybe, like your Two Chums, you will come across a great sofa with great style and lines you love at a flea market or thrift store, but would need to have it reupholstered to work in your home or office.

We have list here and explanation of some of the various classic styles of sofas and another diagram from lightersideofrealestate.com to help you figure out how much fabric you would need to recover an older one.

Your Two Chums have been known to find a great deal on some fabric at a sale or closeout. Even if we don’t know how we might use it, we buy it so when we run across just the right piece of furniture we have the fabric we love ready to be made up as a slipcover or to have it recovered by the upholsterer.  This could  sound backwards to many people, but in our experience if we buy things we love, even when we aren’t sure when or how we are going to use them, the time always comes when we do and we don’t have regrets for not getting that perfect fabric or perfect piece of furniture when we saw it and had the chance.

Keep this yardage chart handy.  You may want to print it out and keep it in your wallet, or pin it to your Pinterest board so the next time you run across some fabric you love you will know if there is enough to use it on a sofa you love.  Be sure and add an additional 1.5 yds to the total if you are adding a skirt to your sofa.

Keep in mind these amounts are for solid or small print fabrics.  If the fabric you are buying has a large pattern ( called the repeat ) you will need to measure how large the patterned area is before it “repeats” again.  Multiply that number by the number of cushions on the sofa and then multiply it by 2 because each cushion has 2 sides.  Add that total to the basic yardage amount given in the chart here.  In  other words, lets say you had a fabric with a pattern that was 12″ long (before the same pattern came up again in the fabric) and you were covering a sofa that had 3 seat cushions and 3 back cushions.  You would need to multiply that 12″ by 6 (the total number of cushions) and then by 2 because each cushion has 2 sides.  In this case you would need an additional 12 feet or 4 extra yards.  Now truthfully your Two Chums would no doubt buy 5 extra yards just to be safe (and Jackie would probably  buy 6 or maybe 8 yards extra).  We like our fabric 🙂

Surrounding yourself with lovely things doesn’t have to cost a fortune, it just takes some spontaneity, some patience and persistence to look for the right thing, and a little courage to step out on faith and buy something you love when you see it even if you aren’t sure how you will use it.  As long as it doesn’t put you in a financial bind, take a risk, try something new.  You just might discover your inner decorator!