After a six-hour shopping spree, your knees begin to buckle with fatigue. You head straight home for a little rest while you watch your favorite DVDs. Tired, you immediately take your place in your living room’s lazy boy, but you still feel fatigued. You need the ultimate lounging spot. You must make your own couch to satisfy a your tired and aching body.
The couch is the centerpiece of any living room or salon. It marries the seating comfort of your favorite chair to the sleep-inducing properties of your king-sized bed. It is also styled like an elegant ornament, which is why the couch is a living room requirement for most American homes. Given these facts about the couch, this long cushioned seat is not very easy to make, but the rewards will surely make up for all of your efforts.
Since the couch is complicated to build, you may need some professional help if you want to make things a lot easier. You can take care of the required carpentry then leave the rest to an upholsterer once you are done. If you want everything done yourself, you can replace the regular upholstering with sewed cushions. Just cover the cushions with stylish covers so that your couch will look slick.
Materials Used:
plywood (medium – high density) – 1 piece (82 x 32 in), 2 pieces (39 x 32 in), 1 piece (82 x 16 in)
hammer
nails
chisel
handsaw
wood plane
wood file
sandpaper
varnish
paintbrush
foam (82 x 32 in)
fabric (166 X 66 in)
scissors
sewing machine
sewing thread
zipper (82 in)
There are two primary stages when you build a couch, namely the couch frame stage and the cushion stage. The former requires a lot of carpentry and the latter is mainly sewing.
Purchase the Needed Materials
To make things easier for you, you can list the requirements along with all their corresponding dimensions on a sheet of paper. Your first stop is the lumber shop. Simply, show your materials checklist to the salesperson and he will hand your all the wooden requirements of your couch. Go to a large hardware center for all the carpentry tools that you will need. As for the foam and the sewing equipment, a visit to a comprehensive needlework store will take care of everything.
Assemble the Couch’s Frame
Use your handsaw to shape the plywood and make your couch look elegant. Observe the general theme of your living room so that you will know the right shapes and patterns that your couch should have. Use your hammer and chisel to create stylish grooves and patterns on each component of your couch’s frame. If you have a modern style home, you can use your hammer, chisel and saw to make the backrest of your couch hollow. Remove the excess amounts of wood with your wood plane.
When you have stylized the frame’s components, smooth them with your wood file and sandpaper. Be careful when you rub the wood file over patterns because if you apply the wood file too hard, some of the patterns might be damaged. Firm yet smooth strokes are your ultimate allies in this procedure. Once done, nail the two 39 x 32-inch wooden blocks to the sides of the 82 x 32-inch wooden sheet. Make sure that you use enough nails to join all three pieces together since they will the couch components responsible for carrying the weight of the couch’s future occupants. Once finished, nail the 82 x 16-inch piece to one side of the 82 x 32-inch wooden sheet to assemble the frame of your couch.
Now, apply varnish to the entire couch frame. Wait for about a couple of hours, then your couch frame is finally completed.
Create Cushions
Since the foam is already made to fit the dimensions of your couch’s seat, all you need to do is to create cushion covers for the foam. Fold the fabric in half then sew the zipper to the ends of the fabric sheet. You can use your sewing machine to do this procedure in ten minutes. Once done, place the foam inside the cushion cover then place the whole thing on your couch’s seat.
Now, your couch is formally completed. You can finally enjoy all the perks of your living room to the fullest. Invite your friends over for a movie marathon or get your much needed moments of slumber.