DIY Couch – how to make a large couch small {with a sawzall}

This is probably the most ridiculous post I have done since I started blogging. I even agree, it was crazy. The peanut gallery (my husband, dad and gramp) all told me I had lost my mind. Have you ever had a piece of furniture that was too big but didn’t want to get rid of it? Today I am sharing our DIY couch and how to make a large couch small by using a sawzall to cut 2 feet out of the middle. 

This couch was given to me over 10 years ago by a family friend. Absolutely, nothing wrong with it just to big for our home now and not my style anymore.

We needed a small couch for the foyer and this was the only piece around.  I didn’t have a place for it and needed a smaller one, so why not make this smaller? Worse case scenario, it goes to the dump.

First, you need to remove any fabric and/or metal (tacks). Be sure to remove anything that may be in the way of your blade.  Once you have removed everything, work in sections and remove the “guts” of the sofa. You will need wire cutters to remove the spring coils.
I did convince my husband to help me pull all the nails/staples out for me. I needed some muscles.  This was his first day off in 15 days and he was very annoyed with me.


Once that is completed, start sawzalling. I didn’t say I was scared but I was. The sawzall is definitely a tool you need to be careful with. I looked like the biggest wack job cutting a couch in half and my body shaking.

Depending on the insides of your couch, you will just need to work in sections removing the insides and removing the wood.


Couch lovers, please do not send me hate mail.

I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed here. My dad was lurking and peeking out the window so I knew I better get this thing back together. I will admit though, I was wondering how I was going to do that. At this point, my gram and gramps came home and lets just say, my gramps just shook his head and said a few expletive terms we won’t mention here on the blog.
Can you say, train wreck?

RELATED: Easy DIY Reupholstering Tips and Tricks

This picture makes me laugh.
I removed about 2 feet from the middle.

Once I got the mess cleaned up and just the two pieces in the room, I fastened pine braces with a bazillion heavy duty screws across the back. Oh my goodness, my fear was that if my dad sat on this thing, it would collapse. I would NEVER hear the end of it.
The sides of the couch as well as the center braces (that were original to the couch) were oak wood. Oak is very strong and difficult to screw into so you will need to drill pilot holes first so your screws will fasten properly. I braced the bottom (underneath), backside and front. You will also need to brace the “seat part”. You can use 2×4’s (which are stronger than pine) depending on the size and weight of the couch.


The pine braces fit right under the existing foam & coils. You need to make sure you secure the couch with solid wood on the back and seat area. This couch doesn’t even make a squeak . I had my brother, who is a big boy, tried it out and it’s solid.
Stay tuned. In a week or so, I plan to admit this baby to the hospital and sew her up with some muslin, new foam and a pretty new slipcover. UPDATE: This couch has been reupholstered two times since this project. Be sure to check out how to reupholster a couch with an old slipcover (no sew) and our DIY Couch upholstered in a pair of old drapes.