How to make a sofa - choosing a model, design ideas and design options for the sofa (video + 90 photos)

If the idea of ​​creating a shelf for books, a kitchen stool or a bench for the garden with your own hands comes to the mind of every second home craftsman, then not every one of them will decide to take the plunge on the sofa. And in vain. Simple designs of such furniture are quite accessible for self-production.

Moreover, this does not require any special skills or special tools. Only time, desire and patience. You don’t even need to know how to sew to make covers. Of course, it all depends on the chosen model.

DIY sofa at home

Some, on the contrary, require tailoring skills and do not involve the use of construction tools. In a word, anyone can make a sofa for an apartment, country house or gazebo. Especially if he has detailed instructions before his eyes.

Massive sofas made of timber, modern sofas made of pallets, unusual ones made of cardboard, with or without armrests - any option can be appropriate and successfully created

Don't believe me? Then read this article carefully and be sure to watch the video.

Transformable sofas without frame

A few thick pieces of square or rectangular foam can be turned into cozy upholstered furniture. To do this, you need to sew covers on them from a suitable fabric with zippers for easy washing. One part of the resulting soft modules will become seats, the second – backs.

Frameless modular sofa

If you sew strips of double-sided Velcro on the sides of such modules, you can use them to assemble sofas of different configurations - straight, corner, U-shaped. Or unfold to create a spacious sleeping area.

Corner modular sofa model

If you need a higher sofa, we stack the modules on top of each other. If you want to retire in a chair, we tear one module off the sofa and take it to a quiet corner. In general, there are a lot of options. The only drawback is that you can lean on the back of such a sofa only if it is against the wall.

Frameless modular sofa with decorative leather straps

Instructions for creating a frame product

Let's look at how to make a soft sofa, using the example of a frame rectangular structure.

You will need the following tools:

• jigsaw (you can use a regular wood saw);
• stapler;
• Sander;
• screwdriver;
• sewing machine;
• sharpened knife and scissors;
• roulette.

Also don't forget to prepare:

• timber (4-5 cm);
• plywood;
• foam mats (thickness – 5 cm);
• padding polyester;
• upholstery fabric;
• wood glue;
• threads;
• fastening elements;
• felt-tip pen.

The video of making the sofa shows that the sequence of actions will be as follows:

• Make the frame of the product from timber. Use glue and self-tapping screws to connect wooden parts.
• Assemble a frame from boards. For reliability, it is permissible to weave it with special belts intended for furniture.
• Make the back of the sofa. Cover it with plywood sheets.
• Make the side backs in the same way.
• Cover the backs with foam rubber and leave to dry for several days.
• Sand the sharp corners on the frame and cover it with padding polyester.
• Upholster the sofa with your chosen fabric or leather. You can make patterns yourself or find them on the Internet.
• Put the structure together. The sofa is ready!

Manufacturing such furniture will take from 3 to 4 days. This is the easiest way to make a sofa yourself.

Sofa made from construction pallets

Not everyone is comfortable using too low frameless furniture. The option described above can be improved by using ordinary pallets to create the base of the sofa - wooden construction pallets for transporting bricks and other materials.

Original idea: a sofa made from construction pallets

And here again you will need a little imagination to come up with a convenient design from the available parts. Pallets can be disassembled into individual boards and used, but this is not necessary. It is enough to assemble a sofa frame with a back and armrests from them, fasten all the elements together with nails or self-tapping screws, and then cut out the parts from foam rubber in accordance with the resulting dimensions. As in the previous case, they are covered with fabric. And they are secured in place either with the same Velcro or with rubber bands.

Pallet furniture

Creating new from old

It is quite possible to give an old sofa a second life, because usually it is not the frame that deteriorates, but the upholstery. There is nothing complicated about replacing upholstery material. You just need to put in a little effort.

First of all, you need to get rid of the old upholstery. To do this, you need to remove the armrests, transformation mechanism, sides, back and seat.

Then you need to prepare and cut the upholstery fabric. After you have finished installing the new fabric covering, you should assemble the sofa.

Let us remind you that sofa upholstery must meet a number of requirements:

• wear resistance;
• resistance to pollution;
• environmental Safety;
• strength;
• aesthetics;
• UV resistance.

Most often, sofas are upholstered with velor, jacquard, tapestry, chenille and leather.

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Mini sofa made of chairs

Several chairs fastened together are a ready-made frame for a small sofa that can be placed in the kitchen or on the terrace. Of course, it needs some finishing and decoration, and here too you can give free rein to your imagination.

1. The chairs can be turned with their seats towards each other, moved apart to the required distance and laid on the seats with boards or durable sheet material cut to width. You will get a banquette for a bedroom or hallway.

   Sofa made from old chairs

2. A standard-shaped mini-sofa will be made from two or three chairs fastened together at the sides. If they are different shapes or heights, this can be corrected by securing a hard seat across all the chairs at a horizontal level. Then you need to glue foam rubber onto it and sew a cover onto the resulting structure.

   Converting chairs into a sofa

   Mini sofa

DIY furniture repair and assembly

Some people do the repairs themselves, while others hire workers for this important and complex undertaking. Of course, the second option is easier, but more expensive. In this case, a team of specialists will simply arrive on site, assess the situation, draw up a plan, and then get to work. That is, they will do what they get their salaries for.

The situation is completely different with carrying out repair work yourself. Here you will have to put in a lot of effort to do everything right. Don’t forget about your own nerves, as well as safety measures.

In addition, we should not forget that everything must be done acceptably and accurately. After all, how can you invite guests to an apartment where everything is askew, crooked and unprofessional? Sometimes you shouldn't skimp on workers.

In order to make repairs yourself, you must have certain experience and skills . Without this, completing all repair work will be an ordeal. You can not limit yourself to simply replacing wallpaper, but even try to assemble new furniture yourself.

Furniture facades

Typically, facades are made of more expensive and beautiful material. Simpler material can be used in the manufacture of drawers. In principle, no one will see them, so you can save money.

To make facades, you will most likely have to contact craftsmen to have the work done to order. It is very difficult to create a beautiful façade yourself, so it is better to spend extra money and wait a while.

Basically, the function of facades is decorative , so their choice is very extensive. Facades differ in material and appearance. Below is a list of types of facades that are worth paying attention to:

• Facades made of laminated MDF use durable, moisture-resistant material, are relatively cheap, and can be manufactured quickly.
• If you are not satisfied with standard blank facades, then you can purchase facades with curly cut-outs for stained glass.
• Softforming - used only in dry rooms.
• Postforming is a very durable and high-quality product; MDF or chipboard boards can be used as the base material.
• Plastic facades are very high quality products, but you should take into account the rather high cost.
• For lovers of unique classics, facades made of wood and veneer are suitable - they look decent, but, however, they are very expensive. And there have been debates about the environmental friendliness of materials for a long time.

Furniture fasteners

And we should also say a few words about such an important aspect of assembling furniture with your own hands, such as furniture fasteners. This concept refers to various products that are used to connect parts:

• wooden dowels - connections that are inserted into holes made in both parts;
• furniture corners are a very popular type of joining parts, but already outdated;
• in modern furniture, the most common type of fastening of parts is the Euroscrew - a furniture screw;
• eccentric couplers are also a modern and very correct method of fastening; to obtain the holes used for such a connection, a Forstner drill is required.

Classic sofa pie with a spring block and possible problems

To understand how to repair a sofa at home, you need to know what layers of materials are needed and in what order. For example, in a sofa seat with a spring block the sequence will be like this (from bottom to top):

1. Frame made of plywood or wooden blocks. A plywood frame is more reliable, but it takes longer and is more difficult to make. Therefore, pine bars are usually used. They are connected according to the tenon-groove principle, gluing the joint with wood glue. If desired, the connections can be strengthened with dowels or corners (aluminum).

   
   What layers should there be in a sofa seat?

2. Base for spring block . There may be options: lamellas (straps of elastic material), fiberboard, plywood. The most budget option is fiberboard, the most expensive is lamellas. The lamellas are attached to special stops (lamella holders). When using plastic stops, there is a risk of them breaking. At the same time, low-quality lamellas can bend (in normal condition they are curved slightly upward) or break - to reduce cost they are often placed at large intervals. All this leads to the fact that the sofa seat is pressed through. Instead of wooden slats, there may also be snake springs. They also have sufficient elasticity, but cost less. The problems with them are the same.
3. The spring block itself . The block can be with independent or dependent springs. The first one is cheaper, the second one supports the body well. Such mattresses are also called orthopedic.
4. Felt or thick fabric (teak or other similar dense fabric will do). This layer is needed so that the springs do not push through the foam rubber located above.

   
   This is what the slats look like from below

   
   If the fabric is thin, it will tear, then the foam will begin to crumble. But this is not the saddest thing - the lamellas were bent in the opposite direction. In normal condition they should be curved upwards

   
   Using a grosgrain ribbon allows you to redistribute the load

5. Polyurethane foam (PPU, foam rubber - all names of the same material). Special dense foam rubber is used. If you choose, in addition to density, look at such an indicator as the durability coefficient - the higher the number, the better (and more expensive). This indicator reflects how long the foam will take to restore its original shape after removing the load. Its thickness is taken according to the original, factory cake. You can make it thicker without restrictions only on upholstered furniture that does not fold out (banquette, sofa, armchair).
6. Sintepon . This is necessary so that the fabric does not “erase” the polyurethane foam. It is usually glued to a layer of foam rubber so that it does not bunch up during use. The glue is taken in a can.
7. Upholstery fabric . The best are tapestry, chenille. They don't fray and it's easy to sew with them. Flock and jacquard are good fabrics, but some of them “creep” at the seams. Therefore, when you sew, the seams need to be strengthened. By the way, it is better to sew upholstery for a sofa using special Tytan brand threads. Regular ones, even thick ones, will quickly tear.

These are all the layers and their features. You can add something (for example, a double layer of padding polyester), but removing it is highly undesirable.