Loveseat Reupholstery Project, Part 1

We have too many couches {sofa, settees, upholstered furniture in general}. But I am addicted. I have the hardest time passing up amazing antique and vintage upholstered furniture, when I can see so much potential in the gorgeous lines of these old pieces. I've scooped up all the ones in perfect condition that fit my {our} price range, and we use them for vintage wedding, event, and photography rentals. It's a great way to satisfy my addiction, without ending up with a furniture-hoarding situation in our already-too-small house. Then I saw these gals {there are two of them - matching}. Their lines are perfect, their size is perfect, their fabric is far from perfect. But they were only $75 each! How was I going to justify this? I've never upholstered anything more difficult than a bench! [caption id="attachment_140" align="aligncenter" width="665"] The cushions aren't pictured here - trust me, even if this fabric looks ok in the photo, it's stinky and dirty.[/caption] Fate stepped in. I swear. A fellow SW Metro crafty-person on Facebook was looking for a space to hold some upholstery classes, and I had a space and some things to upholster. Surely a trade was in order, and lucky for me, she loved the idea too. So I bought two loveseats, and they sat in the garage for 2 months until I could find the time to meet with Lauren, and soak up some of her magic skills. We started our lesson {Part 1 of 3} this weekend. About 3 hours worth of time pulling staples, trying not to mangle the fabric as we deconstructed, some coffee cake and a few backaches later, she was down to bare bones. Well, she still needs some of her staples removed, but we'll get there. I'll take the next 2-3 weeks {an hour or two here and there} to finish removing staples, purchasing fabrics & supplies, and getting everything back into the workshop so Lauren and I can cover cutting our patterns, installing foam backing, and stapling on the back pieces in early April. [caption id="attachment_141" align="aligncenter" width="665"] The bottom was in good shape, after we pulled off the worn, dirty fabric hiding the springs. Lucky, because I hadn't really checked for the quality of the springs when I purchased these![/caption] [caption id="attachment_143" align="aligncenter" width="665"] We started by pulling the cording, fabric, and batting off the back side. It was sewn into three panels that spanned the whole back.[/caption]

This gal should be ready for the May or June sale in Carver, all reupholstered, repainted, and ready for a new home. Here are some inspiration photos from Pinterest {who am I kidding - we have a whole board for sofas - here}:

I still haven't settled on what color to paint the wood, and which fabric and cording to use - modern? neutral? bold? contrasting trim & fabric? so many options.... What would you do??