Updated 2019. Don’t trash your couch before reading this! Give your old tired couch a new look and trust me, you can do this. Today I am sharing how to reupholster a couch without sewing! Last year I shared the most insane project I have ever done, a DIY couch.
I sawzalled an existing couch in half and removed two feet and then assembled it back together finishing it off with new upholstery. A couple weekends ago, I decided to reupholster it again with an old Pottery Barn slipcover that was in the bottom of my closet.
how to reupholster a couch without sewing
In case you are new to our blog, this is what the couch looked like after I sawzalled it in half.
Kind of crazy right? Well this little o’l couch is getting a new look, again.
Do you love the look of slip covers but hate all the wrinkles and mess? The one piece slipcovers that you buy as is are beautiful as long as you don’t sit on the furniture.
Do you know what I am talking about?
They come in one size and usually, you have excessive amounts of fabric tucked everywhere. Drives me crazy! So my solution was to re-use the existing large one piece slip cover and cut it to size and staple/nail it to the couch.
Couch Upholstery with a staple gun
First, drape your slip cover over your piece of furniture.
Next, cut the excessive fabric (on the floor) off but be sure to not cut the pleated part. You will want to save the pleated part to re-staple to the couch along the bottom edge.
Now it’s time to cut out the middle piece. I decided to cut straight across being sure to leave enough fabric to cover the back and sides of the couch.
Don’t worry, this works!
How to Reupholster a couch without removing the fabric
This is such a great way to reupholster a couch without removing the fabric first. There is no need to remove the old fabric.
Now, simply tuck your fabric and staple with your hand powered staple gun. I used a compressor and heavy duty staple gun with 1/4″ staples. Be sure to staple to the wood part/frame of the sofa.
Try to staple as close to the bottom and up underneath in order to hide the staple.
I cut a piece of fabric (from the slip cover excess) to cover the front and stapled. I chose to leave the arms of the couch “loose” simply because I wanted a casual look. You can always staple the fabric around the arms to give it a more tailored look. It just depends what look you want.
If you make a mistake or don’t like it, just get a hammer and screwdriver and pry out the staple. That is the beauty of a DIY sofa upholstery project, you can change things as you go if you do not like it.
RELATED: Easy DIY Reupholstering Tips and Tricks
Don’t worry about getting it perfect. You will be able to cover the edges with the existing pleated skirt that you cut off earlier.
See below how I stapled the skirt back on the couch. This gives the couch a finished look.
I tried to staple where the staples wouldn’t be seen but a couple do show. You can purchase roping or ribbon in the fabric store and use stitch witchery to adhere to the slipcover if you want to hide the staples. For me, they are hardly noticeable.
Of course if you want it perfect, you will need to invest hundreds of dollars and pay to have it professionally upholstered. For me, that wasn’t an option.
I think the couch recovered in a camel covered slip cover fits right in with our newly renovated modern cottage pool house.
how to reupholster a couch – cushions
For the cushion, I used the remaining fabric that I had cut off in the beginning and sewed the ends together and used velcro to close the seam. I ran out of zippers and velcro is what I had so that is what I used. I may sew a zipper on the cushion cover at some point.
Be sure to also check out my how to reupholster a chair tutorial too. It’s a new sew tutorial and if I can do it, anyone can do it.
By reusing a slipcover that cost over $300, I was able to save money on the cost of buying fabric and by stapling the slipcover in place, the the fabric now stays put!
A fresh new look for a couch that use to be two feet longer for zero money! This project only took me two hours and seriously, learning how to reupholster a couch is very easy.
Get yourself a small compressor and heavy duty staple gun (that works with a compressor), some fabric and get busy!
Be sure to check out the rest of our pool house makeover and diy planked wall in this space. If you take a peek at the before pictures of this pool house, it’s hard to believe it’s the same space. Updated May 2019. If you are new here, we sold this house and moved to a new one. Be sure to follow the adventures of our new house and renovations.
Liz Marie @ Liz Marie Blog says
Love how it turned out!! & it looks so cozy!
Jessica Bruno says
🙂
Lucy says
Do you think this would work if I used a staple gun without a small compressor? Thanks for your help!
Jessica Bruno says
Yes, you could try a heavy duty one and see how it works. It will probably depend on how “hard” the wood is on your chair. I bet a heavy duty one might work ok 🙂
Anonymous says
No reason for it not to,but it is MUCH more difficult. A friend and I did a lot of upholstery work,both home and auto. Between the ring clamps and staples those where the days the kids had pizza for dinner.No our hubby’s where NOT the helpful types. But OUR work was beautiful. Really do miss those busy busy days.
Kim @ seven thirty three says
I love the whole look and feel of this room… such a relaxing retreat! Great place to read a book.
Jessica Bruno says
Thank you , it’s my mom’s favorite spot!
Danielle says
It looks fantastic! Loved how you finished before but this looks great with the new room. What other fabrics would you recommend for reupholstery. I have a few chairs and a a Victorian bench I want to do.
Marty Walden says
Unbelievable! Love it!
Angela says
Ok, Jessica! After the chair tutorial and now this, I think I can reupholster my wing back loveseat without sewing! Thanks for the inspiration!~~Angela
TidyMom says
WOW!! what a project Jess!! it turned out fabulous!!
Jessica Bruno says
Thank you Cheryl!
Michelle roy says
Jessica I need u to come over and do my love seat!
My husband has a staple gun and compressor
Perhaps u could supervise me while I do the work
Jessica Bruno says
Sure, let me know! 🙂
TidyMom says
Thanks for linking up to I’m Lovin’ It Jessica!! I featured your post in my wrap up http://tidymom.net/2013/creative-projects/ have a great rest of the weekend!
Jessica Bruno says
Yay! Thank you so much Cheryl 🙂
Becca says
You make it look so easy, Jessica … love it … thanks for the tutorial! And, it was great meeting at Haven … hope to see you again. 🙂
Jessica Bruno says
Thank you Becca and it was fantastic to meet you also!
Erin says
Great idea on using an existing slip cover to start. I need to update a chair and was going to start from scratch with fabric but this sounds like a better idea;)
Jasmine Ramirez says
This is so amazing and so much easier than the process i was going to do. You saved me a lot of time and money. Thank you so much!!
Jessica Bruno says
Good luck Jasmine!
Jenn says
This looks amazing. My couch has seen better days. It was an older couch when I got it and the fabric was already in rough shape and then the kids made it rougher. The fabric on the arms are basically shredded so I put a slipcover on it. Yes, the dreaded slipcover that has to be put back on it EVERY day because with the kids jumping on it, its gets completely askew. From being tossled and pulled (because it does not fit properly) even the slipcover now has a couple of holes in it…which leads to my question….Let me say this before I ask my question: I HATE MY COUCH!! I rarely even sit on it because of my hatred lol Now for my question, because I do not want to spend a lot of money (dont really have it to spend), I wonder if the canvas painters drop cloth could be used to recover the couch. Would the canvas be thick enough? just wanted other’s thoughts. Thanks in advance!! 🙂
Misty says
Yes, I have heard of dropcloths being used. Just make sure you look at it before you buy it. Open it up and make sure it is in good condition.