I love my settee/loveseat. It's walnut mid-century modern that my parents bought back when the middle of last century was modern. I borrowed the set for one of the houses I rented with friends in Waterloo, and during that time one of the caning sides got kicked out on the loveseat. When I moved into my adorable apartment on College, I took the loveseat with me; at some point I got tired of catching clothing on the caning edges and removed it entirely. But then something a little more ominous started happening.
At first just the centre-left spring worked its way out of the spring clip at the front, but when I moved into my current apartment, the springs on the bottom started slipping out in earnest. I tried to stem the tide by hammering the remaining springs back into the clips, but to no avail. Ultimately, all but the two outside springs had... sprung.
It made for not terribly comfortable sitting. The springs curved up and down, making a bit of a hill that kept pushing the cushion (and me) forward off the couch. The middle springs were also gouging into the wood support (and the stair-stepper I store underneath). Something had to be done.
I looked around on the internet for advice and/or tools to fix this problem; a lot of places said "replace it with webbing," but I didn't want to do that. I like the support of springs and they were still in good shape. I finally came across DIY Upholstery Supply in the States who were willing to sell me a couple of tools. I was very excited when they finally arrived.
Sadly, my plan to pull the springs forward and tuck them back into the spring clips came to nought. While the lovely lever action pulled the springs forward easily, I needed a third hand to help put them where I wanted them using the hook. And there was no way they would go back into the spring clip - on further examination, the clips were suffering from metal fatigue. I would have to replace the spring clips.
I wish I had realized that earlier so I could have added the clips to my order, because while the clips themselves were really cheap (I only needed 7 and they were $0.25 each), the cost to ship them was about 12 times as much. Forget that.
And so, a year passed. I looked around, not terribly earnestly it must be said, for a local source for spring clips, but no luck. I finally got tired of falling off the couch and looked online. Fortunately, I found a source that was slightly more expensive than DIY but willing to ship them to me for only $5. Compared to the $25 UPS fee, it was a steal. The nice man who filled the order called me up to ask me about shipping options. He was awesome: he made sure that I had the proper nails (which I didn't at the time, but I figured I could get them) and worried in case my shipment got lost in the mail. I told him I was willing to take a chance for $9.
They arrived, safe and sound, and I went to Canadian Tire to buy spiral nails. They are quite a bit shorter than the nails I pulled out of the couch, and I don't think they are exactly the kind of nails the guy asked me about, but I'm pretty sure they'll be okay.
So then I waited until I had some time to deal with it and pulled out the old clips and tried to install the new ones. And then I was stymied, because I forgot that I needed more hands than I currently have to install them. I finally mentioned it to the The DC, who is awesome and immediately offered to help, but we had to wait until the hammering wouldn't annoy the downstairs neighbours. Finally this morning, we pulled it off.
It was a little frustrating at first, because it took a while to figure out how to hold the lever such that it didn't get in the way of the hammer, but in the end, we did it. Without killing each other or too much swearing, even. The DC had quietly hated my settee before, but now he realizes its awesomeness.
So next up on the repair list is dealing with the side caning. I'm not sure whether to replace it or take it out on the other side. The DC says replace it, but I kind of like the openness -- it reminds me of Barbara Barry. However, the matching longer sofa still has the caning. Opinions?
(Another option would be to put fabric panels in instead of the caning, to make it even more Barry-esque.)
And yes, I clearly need to replace the burlap lining. I'll do that when I get around to replacing the cushions and recovering them. Right now I'm using a terribly unsophisticated sheet set, but it's better than the original:
It's groovy. A little too groovy. It's also really dark and definitely the worse for wear.
To be continued...
At first just the centre-left spring worked its way out of the spring clip at the front, but when I moved into my current apartment, the springs on the bottom started slipping out in earnest. I tried to stem the tide by hammering the remaining springs back into the clips, but to no avail. Ultimately, all but the two outside springs had... sprung.
It made for not terribly comfortable sitting. The springs curved up and down, making a bit of a hill that kept pushing the cushion (and me) forward off the couch. The middle springs were also gouging into the wood support (and the stair-stepper I store underneath). Something had to be done.
I looked around on the internet for advice and/or tools to fix this problem; a lot of places said "replace it with webbing," but I didn't want to do that. I like the support of springs and they were still in good shape. I finally came across DIY Upholstery Supply in the States who were willing to sell me a couple of tools. I was very excited when they finally arrived.
Sadly, my plan to pull the springs forward and tuck them back into the spring clips came to nought. While the lovely lever action pulled the springs forward easily, I needed a third hand to help put them where I wanted them using the hook. And there was no way they would go back into the spring clip - on further examination, the clips were suffering from metal fatigue. I would have to replace the spring clips.
I wish I had realized that earlier so I could have added the clips to my order, because while the clips themselves were really cheap (I only needed 7 and they were $0.25 each), the cost to ship them was about 12 times as much. Forget that.
And so, a year passed. I looked around, not terribly earnestly it must be said, for a local source for spring clips, but no luck. I finally got tired of falling off the couch and looked online. Fortunately, I found a source that was slightly more expensive than DIY but willing to ship them to me for only $5. Compared to the $25 UPS fee, it was a steal. The nice man who filled the order called me up to ask me about shipping options. He was awesome: he made sure that I had the proper nails (which I didn't at the time, but I figured I could get them) and worried in case my shipment got lost in the mail. I told him I was willing to take a chance for $9.
They arrived, safe and sound, and I went to Canadian Tire to buy spiral nails. They are quite a bit shorter than the nails I pulled out of the couch, and I don't think they are exactly the kind of nails the guy asked me about, but I'm pretty sure they'll be okay.
So then I waited until I had some time to deal with it and pulled out the old clips and tried to install the new ones. And then I was stymied, because I forgot that I needed more hands than I currently have to install them. I finally mentioned it to the The DC, who is awesome and immediately offered to help, but we had to wait until the hammering wouldn't annoy the downstairs neighbours. Finally this morning, we pulled it off.
It was a little frustrating at first, because it took a while to figure out how to hold the lever such that it didn't get in the way of the hammer, but in the end, we did it. Without killing each other or too much swearing, even. The DC had quietly hated my settee before, but now he realizes its awesomeness.
(Another option would be to put fabric panels in instead of the caning, to make it even more Barry-esque.)
And yes, I clearly need to replace the burlap lining. I'll do that when I get around to replacing the cushions and recovering them. Right now I'm using a terribly unsophisticated sheet set, but it's better than the original:
It's groovy. A little too groovy. It's also really dark and definitely the worse for wear.
To be continued...
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