fov Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 I made this little couch today, for my Rosedale. It's based on the Karlstad sofa from IKEA... all straight lines, what could go wrong?! I set it next to the Lee's Line sofa for a size comparison. It's made from basswood wrapped in scrapbook paper that has a faint speckled pattern. It doesn't have a fabricy texture but I think it works okay. Looking at this now, I think the cushions need to be fatter. Initially I'd planned to add batting to the wood but I wasn't able to stretch the paper over it like I would with fabric, so I just ended up using wood blocks which didn't have the added depth I was anticipating. Compared to the Lee's Line couch the seats seem too low in mine, which can be fixed with fatter cushions. Anyway, I think it's not bad for a first attempt! I was going to do a sectional but realized I don't have room for it so I improvised. I have some suede-like pink scrapbook paper in my stash, maybe I'll try a chair with that next. :lol: UPDATE: I've added a tutorial for this project to my blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anwyn Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Love it! But then again, I am quite partial to these kinds of things ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis Over The Hill Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Nice work, Emily. Love that classic design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audra Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Looks really good! I want to try to make an 'L' shape couch soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Med Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Thats really nice Emily, I agree the cushions should be a little fatter - easy to change I imagine- but other than that, its perfect - well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtofGypsies Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 I love it I've attempted a couple of sofas in that style and it isn't easy to get the fabric as taught as need be. Never thought of scrap book paper. Nice job. The suede sounds good too. I found some suede contact paper at Big Lots and covered a plastic Barbie sofa with it...worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 I agree the seat looks too low; if you have a bit more of that paper, why not cut two more pieces of the basswood the size of the seat and glue them together and cover them andsee how they look? Using textured scrapbook paper gives it that lovely smooth, tight upholstered finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angieaug Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 You did a great job on it. Holly's idea sounds like a good one - two pieces of wood should give the cushions the right height without messing up your nice clean lines like batting might. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof2Moos Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Beautiful! I have seen some rather low couches, but I think Holly's idea would be best if you want to change that. How funny, Ann, that I thought of you as soon as I saw the IKEA in the post. I actually thought it was yours!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 Thanks everyone! Holly's idea is exactly what I'm thinking, I'll stack two pieces of basswood on top of each other so the cushions are double thickness. I have plenty of wood and paper left to play around with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heathermac Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Looks great. I love the idea of using paper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otterine Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 This is marvelous! The scrapbook paper really worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 I like it too. My first impulse to make the proportions look better would be to make another longer piece and sandwich it between the sofa base and the cushions. It would give the proper seat height and a little design interest to the front of the sofa. I had to replace a chair cushion in my family room a couple years ago and that's when I found out that cushions could vary quite a bit in height, but the actual height of the seat always remains fairly standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapchap73 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I think it looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Grazh, I first thought that, too, until I noticed there were two "cushions" making up the seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatColorado Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I'm late to the party, but I think the sofa looks great, Emily. I'll take two ;) :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I;m hoping Emily will post a tutorial with measurements for us 1:24 scale builders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 make another longer piece and sandwich it between the sofa base and the cushions. It would give the proper seat height and a little design interest I first thought that, too, until I noticed there were two "cushions" making up the seat. Yeah, make another long one, stick it in under the 2 cushions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 I redid the cushions. I think it looks a lot better. For the upper cushions, I kept them narrow but beveled the bottom edge so they sit flat. I'll add throw pillows at some point. Holly, good idea on the tutorial. If/when I do a chair I'll take step by step pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 YES! to both! THat's what I had in mind for your couch, now it looks like some I've seen in other people's houses. And I look forward to a tutorial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kabrina Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 WOW! Great job! I love it. My hubby would want that in real life LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tappy Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 The sofa looks great! Thanks for the tip on using scrapbook paper for upholstery...1/2 scale can get so clunky looking with fabric--especially if you want a little texture. This has such a nice clean finish and good scaling. Great job! Tappy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 This weekend I made a chair and wrote up a tutorial. I hope people find it useful! In the end, the dimensions I used aren't exact scale-downs of the IKEA furniture... I had to make some changes to make the furniture look good in the Rosedale and also to make use of easily available strip wood. So they're "inspired by" the Karlstad line. :lol: I'm including a picture here of them in the Fairfield's attic, alongside some other half scale furniture, to give an idea of the size. They're a bit bulkier than the kit-built couches that usually go in this room, but I still think they look good with these tables... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Look "good"? They look awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angieaug Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Both pieces are perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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