A Brief History of the Infamous Sofa DIY

“Here’s to sitting in 2023!” our friend writes as I post another sofa update to Instagram… back in 2020.

My husband and I discussed designing and making our own sofa countless times, but it was never more than a pipe dream. It wasn’t until we were faced with a new apartment and a tight staircase, that we decided to sell our current sofa, and make this idea a reality. My husband in charge of the frame, and myself in charge of the cushions. Both of us will all of the opinions.

The planning and designing followed quickly. Many people assumed when we said we were building a sofa, that we would grab some pallets and throw some cushions on, but we’re all about the long (lonnnnng) game. Late-night sketching at the dinner table and crafting mini models from balsa wood came naturally. We conducted extensive research into foam, batting and cushions, visited interior showrooms and stalked the Instagram profiles of brands we loved. The more research we did, the more we discovered we still had to learn.

When we arrived at the 1:1 prototyping stage Sabs used builders’ pine to create the frame, and practice his joinery techniques. It wasn’t precious this way, and over the course of a year, we sawed away at the legs, changed the sitting angle, and theorized about armrest thickness and shape or the cushion overhang.

Sitting on this prototype for a year also gave us the chance to test our cushion comfort. After some time with this prototype, and so many revisions to the cushion fillings, even changing the upholstery fabric, we knew exactly what we needed for optimal comfort.

Lesson of the day: R&D is worth the time.

Fast-forward to today, April of 2022, the much-revised cushions are nearing completion. Sabs is working away on 1:1 foam models of the curved shapes and expert joints, and we are seeing the final stage of the oak frame coming into sight.

Check back for more updates on our sofa Saga!