Have an old sofa that isn’t really working for you anymore? This post is for you!
There are plenty of ways to update your old sofa. From quick and easy fixes to more permanent solutions, there is a solution for every old couch.
If you’re a regular reader here, you know I’ve had sofas on my mind lately. We have worn out old sofas in both our family room and our living room that I would love to replace with something shiny, new, and beautiful. I even shared my top picks for inexpensive sofa options a few weeks ago.
And while I still have my eye on a new couch for our family room, I know that there is absolutely no way we are buying two new sofas right now. So I’ve also been working to figure out how to update at least one of the sofas we already own.
Sofas might seem like one of those things that aren’t so DIY-able, but there are actually tons of things you can do to reinvent the less-than-beautiful old couch you already own.
I’ve rounded up the best updates I could find to help solve all of your sofa woes. (And mine.) Because let’s be real, sometimes buying a brand new sofa simply isn’t in the budget! Just click the links below to get all the details of the sofa transformations.
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10 Ways to transform your old sofa
Clean it
Sometimes it is amazing what a good deep cleaning can do for a couch. I was able to get a few more years out of our old microfiber sofa just by giving it a really good deep cleaning every now and then. You can check out my sofa cleaning method here.
Fix those saggy cushions
Another thing that can make a good couch look very, very bad is saggy and flattened cushions. I love this tutorial from Jen at Fresh Crush for restuffing your sofa and stopping the sag.
Cover it with pillows
One of the easiest ways to update a sofa you no longer love – just cover it with gorgeous pillows like Melissa from Polished Habitat did. It’s amazing how new pillows can completely change the look of a couch.
Replace your sofa legs
Want to make your modern sofa look more traditional? Or help turn your IKEA sofa into something a bit more custom looking? Just add new legs.
You can actually buy replacement sofa legs in all different styles and sizes and quickly switch them out. Rachel from Maison de Pax has a great tutorial for how she added some traditional style to her very modern sofa.
Add tufting
When Betty from Oh Everything Handmade wanted to give her Ikea Karlstad sofa some pizzazz, she added button tufting to the back cushions. I love how it gives the entire sofa a new, more tailored look.
Add nailhead trim
Sometimes it’s all in the details. Rasha from My Champagne Taste upgraded her plain sofa with some DIY nailhead trim. I love how classy it looks now.
Buy a slipcover
One of the easiest ways to completely change the look and color of your couch is to add a slipcover. A lot of popular sofa makers like IKEA and Pottery Barn sell special slipcovers that are tailored to fit their sofas exactly.
And even if your sofa doesn’t have it’s own line of slipcovers, you can find a slipcover to fit pretty much any couch out there. They may not fit quite as perfectly as a custom slipcover would, but they can still make a world of difference to an ugly sofa.
Even better, make your own slipcover
Buying a slipcover is certainly easier, but you can make a custom slipcover that fits your couch exactly for a lot less money. Plus, when you are making your own, you can choose any fabric you want.
I absolutely adore this custom slipcover Maggie from Maggie Overby Studios made for her couch. Not only is it so perfectly fitted that it looks like new upholstery, but she also used affordable, easy to wash IKEA curtains as her fabric. So smart!
Paint the upholstery
Okay, so this may be a bit nontraditional, but yes, you can actually paint your sofa’s upholstery!
If your couch is a color or pattern that you just can’t stand, paint can be a great way to give it new life. Jess from Domicile 37 painted a sofa she picked up for free and the result looks an lot like gorgeous black leather.
And Sue used a different method to paint her thrifted blue couch and turned it into a great neutral sofa.
Reupholster it
And finally, if you are ready to really make a change, you can reupholster that old sofa. When I found an old sofa on Facebook Marketplace for a steal, I knew I could bring it back to life. After painting the wood frame, I reupholstered the sofa with drop cloths for super cheap. And now it looks like a stunner from Restoration Hardware!
If you’ve ever updated a sofa, what did you do? And if you have a sad sofa now, do you think you are going to try to save it or are you just counting the days until you can buy a brand new one?
If you have furniture on the brain like me, you might also enjoy these posts:
How to furnish your entire house for less than $2000
Cecilia says
I have a Pottery Barn basic sofa. I love it but after a couple of puppies (loved to chew on the skirt) and a kitten, the slipcover was looking a tad sad. While in IKEA I noticed the Ektorp looked similar. I took measurements and after comparing decided it just might work. I bought the Ektorp slipcover and although it’s not a perfect fit it’s close enough. $149 was a lot cheaper than buying a new Pottery Barn cover! I love my sofa all over again.
Carrie says
Cecilia, that is such a smart idea! I bet a lot of others with Pottery Barn sofas could use that tip!
Susan says
Hello,
I have the same slip-covered Ikea sofa you show in dark grey. Question: I noticed if I were to shorten the slipcover about 2 inches (show the legs!), it would have a whole new look. Any tips on how to do this? BTW, I would still want to wash the cover.
I’d love it if I could get your reply by email. Thanks!
Carrie says
That’s a great question – I love a sofa with legs, lol! If it were me, I would try pinning it to the length you want with straight pins. See if it is workable or not and if you really like how it looks. If everything seems to be working well, you can either sew it to that length or use no-sew hem tape to hem it. I haven’t seen that sofa up close to know exactly how the slipcover works, but if it makes more sense, you could also use twisty upholstery pins (here’s an amazon link – https://amzn.to/2XgRKA8) to pin the slipcover to the underside of the sofa. I have used these pins for reupholstering several pieces of furniture and they hold fabric well, but are completely removable.
stabby sofa says
Help! I’m moving soon and can’t afford a new sofa. So the old one will have to move with me (it’s just one town over so the move doesn’t cost as much as renovations etc). I don’t hate how it looks but it’s poking my butt and destroying everyone’s pants with some sort of wire and I have no idea what it is for and how does a sofa work anyway (I thought it was just a bench with cushions)! It has stabbed through every pillow and blanket I put over it and I can’t pull it out either. I have a sewing machine and know how to use it, if that helps.
Carrie says
Oh no, that sounds super frustrating! Most sofas have metal springs inside that help make them comfortable to sit on. I have had a sofa in the past where one of the springs went rogue and it was super uncomfortable as well. It sounds like this wire is probably a part of one of the springs or maybe a wire that helps hold the springs in place. I haven’t dealt with this specifically but I can tell you what I would try. Is it actually poking out of the cushion? If so, I would pull it out as far as I could and then cut it with tin snips or wire cutters and push the rest back in. Hopefully this would make it short enough that the rest of the wire would settle back under the cushioning. The other option is to try to get to it from underneath. Most couches have a thin piece of fabric underneath. It’s usually black and it doesn’t really do anything other than keep the dust out and make the couch look finished. You can pry the staples off to remove that bottom fabric in the area around the rogue wire. Once it is off, you can see into the underneath of your couch to assess if you can see or reach the problem spot. You may be able to reach it and fix it easily or you may not. But that is what I would try. Good luck!