Turning Old into New – Three Quick Tips for Couch Revival

Your beloved couch is the first thing you see when you walk into your living room, it’s the comfy spot for your family members every evening, and all though it has seen a little wear and tear over the past few years – you’re not quite ready to let it go. Finding a good upholsterer or sewing the new covers yourself can be both a time-consuming activity and costly.

The good news is, with some TLC, some time put aside and a good stain remover, you can revive your old couch and watch it go from old to new. We’ve put together five easy to do and super effective ways to get a little more mileage out of your well-loved furniture.

Couch Accessories – Aesthetics are Everything

If you live a busy life and simply don’t have the time to go through the trouble of cleaning your couch thoroughly, removing stains or reupholstering, don’t worry, there’s an option for you. You’d be surprised at the amount of difference accessorising your favourite furniture can make. Here are a few great ways to cover up those obvious stains and hide those scratches your pet cat have left on your couch corner.

• Never under estimate the value of a good cushion. Take the time to look around your living room, take note of the colour scheme and original colour of the couch, and then pair with a fantastic set of cushions to match. They’re comfy, they’re visually appealing, and they’re a fantastic cover for any stains that might need hiding.
• Believe it or not, there’s a hero of an item that is literally designed to both keep your beloved couch safe and bring it back from the dead if it’s a little too loved – a couch cover. These are a fantastic investment if you’re not quite ready to take on the full cost of reupholstering.

Work from the Inside Out

Don’t be entirely fooled by the enamour of cushions and throws, like most things in life, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. We’ve all seen an old couch or two that are sagging slightly in the middle from overuse, or perhaps have lost their ‘soft’ factor completely. If this is sounding familiar to you, there’s a brilliant and creative alternative that could solve your problem.

Re-stuffing your couch cushions with new foam and cushion will lift that slowly sagging seating and perk up any signs of deterioration. Pop down to the store, purchase a piece of foam from your local store, and measure to the size of each individual couch squab. From here, simply take out the old foam inners and replace them. You’ll see your couch revived into new life right before your eyes. It’s amazing what a new inner can do.

Removing Marks and Stains from Your Couch

You’ve bought some new cushions and throws that complement the room, giving your original couch a face-lift by buying new foam fillers for the squabs – now what? If you’re not ready to pay for the expensive service to reupholster, there’s only one viable solution to get rid of the cosmetic marks and stains that your couch has accumulated over the years and bring it back to life. Give it a good, solid clean. There are two main ways we’d recommend going about this:

• Use a good stain remover: this is a good option for the couch that has a few spot and stains, perhaps hosted one too many wine and cheese evenings or has been the victim of a kids painting session. If you have identifiable stains, our Spot or Stain remover is a great way to get rid of these without performing a deep clean. Simply apply stain remover to the culprit marks, work from the outside to the inside of the stain, dab away and you’ll have a clean looking couch in no time. If you’re not sure whether a spot remover or a stain remover is the best option to go with when hiring, we’ve put together a handy guide to help you out – you can check it out here.
• Revive your couch with a deep clean: if you’re standing back and looking at your old couch and can see it’s got a bit more than a few stains, this could mean it’s time to give your furniture the royal treatment and deep clean. This will get into the deep layers of the surface and give your couch an all-over clean. Plus, it’ll help get rid of any dust and germs that are lurking. Rug Doctor cleaners can be used on most kinds of fabric, so if a deep cleaning is looking like the best route to couch revival, you can look into hiring a Rug Doctor here.

 

With a little cosmetic work in the form of cushions and throws, re-filling your couch with new soft foam, and finally giving your upholstery the cleaning service it deserves, you can watch your couch transform from old to as-new, without reupholstering. 

Use our Ultimate Stain Guide for full knowledge on different kind of stains.