Before and After :: the Antique Sofa

A long overdue post about our redone sofa!

Ever since spotting Rashida Jones amazing NYC studio apartment in the February 2008 issue of Domino magazine (oh how I miss that gorgeous publication) I basically could not get her antique white sofa out of my mind. I KNOW you too...here let me remind you:

I mean the dark wood work contrasting with the amazing white linen feather seat. Be.still.my.heart. Seriously if I could marry a couch this would be it, it's just perfect in my mind. So I did what any level headed mother of two wild boys and a dirty dog would do. I hunted Craigslist for a similar one.

It was a mission that I was fully committed too no matter how long it would take. I found this one about three years ago now. Great bones, right but the original gold brocade was pretty hideous. Never mind the smell and the fact that we did not have the money to redo it. I bought it after considering it for like thirty seconds. Drug it home. Ignored Mr. Gough's eye rolls and plunked it down into our living room.

It has sat in our front living room for all these years. I've hosted parties with it, covered it with a sheet for a time. Like I said it was a commitment and I don't ever remember caring when someone would look at it sort of sideways wondering the story and why it was taking up residence in our home. I knew what she could be. I waited.

And then a miracle occurred. My sister and brother in law seeing as how they had spent many parties sitting on the old gold couch and how much I longed to see it redone, one day surprised me with an early birthday gift..the money to have it recovered!! I KNOW - seriously - WOAH!

I mean it was crazy, like I think I sort of feel like I know what it's like to win the lottery. Amazing. It took me months to decide because after all a white linen sofa with now three kids under the age of four would have been so stupid.

So I considered damask, velvet, a gorgeous orange brocade. But I just could not for the life of me get Rashidas sofa  out of my mind. And because there is a God who loves me :) one day I thought to myself - what about white leather? hm..too expensive...white pleather? Would it be gross? Could it be awesome?

Here she is:

I KNOW! Seriously if I could marry a couch. I.love.it! And we have had it since September and the vinyl is holding up great with the kids and the dog - even better! Spills and dirt for the most part wiped off with only a wet cloth!

A special thank you to Jeff and Jenny who saw my desperate heart and chose to fulfill an indulgence that without you guys I probably would never have known!

And if you live in the Seattle area and need the name of an amazing upholsterer, Denise Lingle is your girl. She spent hours tufting this vinyl couch and tirelessly added each one of those brass nail heads to make my vision come to life. Seriously email me if you want her info she is wonderful!

25 comments:

  1. whoooooooooa. You have just given me the confidence to tackle some MAJOR furniture projects. This is gorgeous! I see some great vinyl/faux leathers at my day job, and I think this was definitely the right choice. I'm going to file away your upholstery contact for a rainy day.

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  2. Wow Rebekah! AMAZING! The dark wood and white is such a pretty combo. And I don't know if I've ever told you how much I LOVE your aqua/green rug. My fave for sure.

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  3. so gorgeous, rebekah, and how amazing to see your vision realized. (i especially love your move to switch the seat from three sections to one.) a tremendous and loving gift from j & j! i remember feeling like you had won the lottery too, having wished for that sofa redo for so long! your living room is absolutely stunning as the pieces have come together this past year. what a huge joy it must be to walk into that room each day! xo

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  4. oh. my. goodness. i think i am in love too. or lust, one or the other! that looks wonderful and i am normally not even a huge fan of white but this is just perfect! wow. also i am just loving your new-ish little spot over here, so much beauty and inspiration...thanks for sharing!

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  5. Wow that is just amazing!!!!!!

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  6. I think it's better than the original! You have a gift for seeing beauty and then taking it up a notch. We were thrilled to help see this vision come true.

    Love you and your creative genius and your courage to tackle such a huge project!

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  7. and to think I didn't really do anything on this project! Hooray!

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  8. Really, so great Rebekah! I had grand plans of doing something similar, but finally ended up selling the piece again after a year. A lesson to me that good things come to those who wait! ;)

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  9. WOW WOW WOW. that's all i can say. the white is absolutely perfect. and i still can't get over your pretty blue ceiling. it's perfection.

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  10. Once again your post is full of JOY! I love that you blog and share your heart and your love for beautiful things! I have enjoyed sitting on that couch...especially this past Monday...Thank YOU!

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  11. Absolutely LOVE the sofa!! I wish I had one like that!!

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  12. that is a-mazing!!! i love, love, love it. what a great way to have the impact of white and the practicality needed with littles. i am just in awe of how beautiful it is. a-mazing!

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  13. OHHHH! That is just amazing. Gorgeous.

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  14. Sigh.. It is beautiful.
    The wall color, the sofa color, and the blue ceiling with that rug. I can't get over it. You're going into the inspiration folder young lady! :)
    Thanks for a beautiful post.
    Meredith @ Welcome to Heardmont

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  15. I like yours better than the inspiration piece! And I love that rug. Great job.

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  16. Awesome sofa- I'm a fan of kids + pleather!

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  17. Wow! Beautiful! Where did you find that beautiful round rug too??? Please share!

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  18. Gorgeous, but I'm DYING to know where you got that rug too!

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  19. @Heather - the rug is from anthropologie a few years ago hope that helps! :)

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    1. Where did you get the fabric? I have a somewhat similar sofa and have been wanting to reupholster it. I'm so glad to have found this post, because I didn't know if pleather would work or just look plain cheesy!! Excited to finally tackle this!

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  20. Rebekah, where did you get the fabric? What type of vinyl is it? Thanks!

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  21. That is beautiful! Great choice with the white. i recently bought a cool old couch and I'm going to try and reupholster it myself. I've done a few chairs, so we'll see! Love your blog by the way :)

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  22. but it's probably a piece of furniture may change. Very rare to say that there has been terrific.

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