Furnishing Furniture.

Seems like just about everybody here is "doing" furniture of some sort, so thought I might attempt it too.
Here's my own take on a modern-ish version of a diamond-studded suede chesterfield.



After work, MAM just loves to come home, throw off his work clothes and kick back on it.    Ahhh, so relaxing!      

Looks terrific mate!

What da hey? You MADE that?

At first, I thought you were joking, and that it was a real full-size sofa.

HOW DID YOU DO THE BUTTON TUFTING?

Sorry about the caps thing.

How did you do the button tufting? That would be perfect for a chair I'm working on, but I have ZERO idea how to do that.

SCU_HQ wrote:

What da hey? You MADE that?

Yes I did!
And you know I always meant to record step by step with photos to make one of those oh-so-informative "How To Do It" Posts.
I had the camera sitting right there too, .....but with fingers covered in scalding hot glue (which ALWAYS makes me swear) and my mind racing so much faster ahead than my hands could keep up with, it just didn't happen.  

You need wood, right height and thick enough to take the nails (the studs) ....like about half an inch thick?  The nails will be long but they go right through and you nip their protrusions off at the back later.
Cut out all the pieces out of the wood and assemble loosely to see that the couch "works". The back is full depth, the seat shorter.
Then you cover the front of each bit with rubber foam, ...and again add a double layer of foam where you want the studs and also up over the top roll to allow for the diamond studding. Just leave a single layer at the back which of course is not studded.
Don't glue it down at the back yet until you've done the nails, because they stick right through and the ends need to be nipped off with pincers.
After covering the front with your fabric, ...mark out the studs in pencil and DRILL holes through the fabric and foam into the wood because if you don't the damned wood will split longitudinally between all the nails! (This happened to me very first panel and I had to remake it! Steep learning curve!)
Then stick a cut to size bit of plain cardboard to cover the protruding little nail stubs at the rear which would ruin your back bit, then fold down the foam and fabric over to cardboard and glue under the bottom.
Assemble the pieces. Add legs, .... I used the ends of thick barbecue skewers cut to size and you're there!
It sounds complicated but in reality it's just a process of doing each piece methodically and with the very the same process, then putting all four bits together.
If you need more help P.M. me and maybe I can give you better instructions.

Blondeactionman wrote:

Looks terrific mate!

Thank you Dal! Praise from you is praise indeed.
Maybe I could build up to a study......?

LeStryge wrote:

Blondeactionman wrote:

Looks terrific mate!

Thank you Dal! Praise from you is praise indeed.
Maybe I could build up to a study......?

Go for it mate, you never know what you can do until you try

Wow, that’s incredible.

LeStryge wrote:

If you need more help P.M. me and maybe I can give you better instructions.

Those were GREAT instructions! I totally understand the concept now! The using wood for the back allows you to create true tufting using nails or brads!

Excellent tip about pre-drilling the holes! Gotta keep that in mind.

I'm gonna have to give this a try! Thanks for the detailed instructions! Much appreciated!

You have to buy flat-headed nails so that they pull down your fabric but don't pull right through. They will be too long but as you drive each nail right through the wood pulling down the foam and fabric, immediately nip off the excess one by one at the back with your pincers. Time consuming, but it does give the effect.

Also get a fabric that's not too open-weave. The artificial suede I bought is kind of rubbery backed, rather than woven and thus the nails pull the fabric down to the wood, and don't slip right through the fabric altogether.

LeStryge wrote:

The artificial suede I bought is kind of rubbery backed, rather than woven and thus the nails pull the fabric down to the wood, and don't slip right through the fabric altogether.

That's the type of fabric I have for my project, a faux leather sort of stuff.

I'm sure you'll get a good result using this method!
Don't forget to post your finished project!

Prof Gangrene Fan wrote:

Wow, that’s incredible.

Thanks Alex!
Very pleased that you liked the sofa.

Awesome job on the sofa! I like it!