The Art of 'Making Do' With What you Have
Times are tough and we all need to understand the life philosophy of 'making do' until the situation improves.
23/08/2022
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For most people, 'making do' means living with what you have on a day-to-day basis. It can be stretching groceries for a longer period and cutting luxury items, it can mean that holidays are on hold, or it could be ways to keep a home looking good without having to spend money doing it. We all experience a time or two where we have to 'make do'.
Having to replace furniture is a costly exercise and most consider this a luxury that cannot be afforded. But there are plenty of ways to update your home without spending a lot and in this article, we look at how you can remedy a sofa or couch that is flat or sagging and needs some padding to make it look good as new.
Give your Sofa or Couch a Facelift
Just because times become a little tough doesn't mean that you can still have a good lifestyle. Maintaining a home for a comfortable lifestyle is a good way to keep your spirits up and have a nice place to come home to at the end of every day. But if you have to come home to a house that is looking worse for wear or furniture that has almost lived out its life, you can take steps to remedy this without too much cost. Upholstered furniture provides most of the comfort in a home - if you have a place to sit and relax, you always feel better. With this in mind, see how easy and inexpensive it is to give a sofa, couch or chair a quick makeover:
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You can purchase batting or cushion stuffing at most larger fabric stores for reasonable cost and this is great for filling up those flat sofa back and seat cushions.
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1. Plump up the fluff
The problem with most upholstered furniture is that the padding that surround the frame and fill the fitted or loose cushions goes flat. Even the foam used for the cushions, seat or back loses its flexibility and stops bouncing back into shape. The same applies to the batting that sits over the foam and fills out the fabric around the frame. No matter how hard you try, if the seating is used regularly, it will eventually flatten out and become lumpy or uncomfortable. But it is easier than you think to fix this up.
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2. Assess the damaged areas
Cushions and armrests on a sofa, couch or chair are the areas that are affected, and it is easy to attend to these without too much effort. A damaged frame, however, is a bit trickier to work with, but it isn't impossible.
• Damaged frame
The frame supports the entire weight of the furniture, so any damage to this needs to be attended to as soon as possible. The easiest way to take a look inside the frame is to open it up at the bottom. Sofas, chairs, and couches consist of a framework over with the materials are layered to give it bulk, shape and comfort. By tipping over the piece and removing the fabric that closes off the bottom, you will be able to see inside the frame and detect any damage. In this position, you should also be able to make any repairs required, whether it is replacing a piece or making patch-up repairs.
Wherever damage may be, you should be able to access it. If the frame at the back or the armrests is damaged, you may need to open up a panel of stitching around the edge to gain access and this is easily fixed by hand-sewing the panel closed once you are done, keeping in mind that the neater you do the job the less visible the repair.
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• Flat or saggy cushions
Foam and batting are used to cover the entire frame but are the main components for seat cushions. Even if your sofa or couch cushions don't have a zip on the back, it is easy enough to unpick the stitches along the back panel to be able to remove and replace the foam and batting.
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You need a medium-density foam for cushions and a 3 to 4cm layer of low-density foam over this, topped off with heavy-weight batting. This will give the cushions support and softness.
3. Deep clean and refresh
Now that the weather is starting to warm up, it is a good time to clean upholstered furniture. Take it outdoors if you can, so that you can tip it upside down and clean thoroughly. The first thing you need to do is to use a vacuum cleaner to get into all the side pockets that collect lint and fluff, and biscuit crumbs, small change and items you have been looking for!
If you have a tennis or squash racquet, this is great for hitting the upholstered sections to remove all the dust. If you don't, pay extra attention to using a vacuum cleaner to remove as much dust as possible. Once vacuumed, give the furniture a deep cleaning using upholstery or carpet shampoo, a soft scrubbing brush, and clean cloths. Clean the upholstery with the brush and cleaner and then dip a clean cloth into water, wringing it out, and then wiping over the scrubbed area. Repeat this until the cloth is clean after wiping. The sun isn't hot enough yet to bleach the fabric but leave it in a shady spot for the rest of the day before taking it back inside.