DIY White Chippendale Couch

Ever wish your local home furniture and accessories store had miniature versions of all its furniture?  It seems like in the mini world there's either Victorian, Retro, or Contemporary with nothing really in between.  ...So out come the scissors and imagination.



I wanted something that was modern without being too contemporary, the couch was to go in the formal living room and would be part of a pair.  After searching on the web I decided to go with the House of Miniatures Kit Chippendale couch and bought two on ebay for $9. I choose a white linen at the local fabric store to set off the pillows I had purchased by Gloiberry earlier for the project.


The final product turned out pretty good.  I love the look of a long low sitting couch.  I was rather challenged at the corners of the bottom cushion but if I decide I can always go back and re-upholster that one piece.

What I love about this method is that its NO SEW, NO GLUE, EASY TO FIX

I should start by saying that I tried several different methods before caving and just going to buy the craft iron, a very good choice.  The gluing method just wasn't going to work for me.   I was influenced by Magpie Shines' post where she did a tutorial using a beautiful silk fabric and an iron on approach on this same couch, you can find that here.  My way has a few more steps because I wanted a more softer, cushier look.

To give a rough idea of what I did, here are the items I used:

As well as a fabric adhesive by the same brand "Heat and Bond", and some regular thin fleece without an adhesive back to make the cushions puffier.

Here's a rough idea, I first glued the two arm rest pieces together:

Then I cut out the two arm-rest fronts and attached fusable fleece to give a more cushioned look:

Next I cut a small piece of my white fabric and attached the iron-on adhesive, using my craft iron.  I peeled back the paper backing:

And lay down my armrest piece with the fleece part touching the adhesive:

To adhere the two I used the craft iron again:

Using scissors I cut out the armrest piece now covered on one side with fleece and white fabric:

I put glue on the back side:

And attached to the wooden armrest:

Using the craft iron I was able to adhere the fabric to the wood:

It leaves a nice flat surface

To do the rest of the armrests I cut out more fleece according to the shape of the armrests.

And attached with the craft iron:

The next step was to go back and get more fabric with adhesive and iron it on just like before.

The rest of the couch went just the same. Fleece and then white fabric with adhesive.  The only difference is that for the back and bottom cushion I used some of the foam supplied with the kit to add density, then added a layer of fleece (this time without an adhesive backing and instead used glue) and then added my white fabric using the iron on method.

I took some metal legs from an elf oven kit I had and used them instead of the supplied wooden legs.  This way my couch would sit closer to the floor.

Love those bright pillows!  And the scene outside looks so warm and sunny, happy spring everyone!