apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Since you have those beautiful white walls and fromw what I can see of the marble coffee tables, textured black would look gorgeous. You could put white and gray pillows on the couch.

Don't sell it! You won't get what it would cost to replace it, and it is quite beautiful and savable.

I agree - it's a lovely piece - don't sell - with a little wood paint, reupholstering and love it could fit anywhere.

Hi! I would definitely reupholster it - you could also refinish the frame.

How about refinishing the frame in a dark brown/black frame and then reupholstering it in a grey velvet. This gives you a great background for doing punchy accent pillows in almost any color...

I'm envisioning bright yellow and bluish teal pillows. If you have any more questions feel free to email me at karen@cheekyliving.com

Good luck!

Karen
www.cheekyliving.com

It's a beautiful couch, and I think you could DEFINITELY make it work with a modern aesthetic.

I'm sad, however, that you included lots of photos of the couch, but none of the rest of your apartment. It's tough to make suggestions for how to make something mesh with decor I haven't seen...

You might consider adding in a couple of balancing pieces, like maybe a painting framed in a large, ornate dark wood frame similar to the couch's carved wood across the room, or something like that. So that you don't have a single out-of-place looking piece, but rather you're starting to build an eclectic mix of a largely modern aesthetic with certain more romantic pieces. I actually think something like that could look really great.

I agree that you should try reupholstering it. Especially if it's as comfortable as you say. I think it's the dusty blue that's making it look old fashioned rather than classic. A funky modern pattern would be a fabulous contrast to the classic shape and would go better with your modern aesthetic (although as others have said, it's hard to be specific without seeing more of your apartment).

What about upholstering it in a (faux) patent leather in a shiny black and painting the wood white? It would resemble an oly studio chair :) http://www.olystudio.com/products/seating/42_hanna_sofa.html

A great piece. I think your instincts might be right. Recovering the couch would be a simple way to update it and tie it into the rest of the room. I'm imagining caramel leather or silvery gray to complement the marble tables, though a deep blue would look fantastic as well.

In any case, the pillows look a little too pastel and blah next to the existing fabric. They or the couch itself needs to be deeper/more vibrant a color.

If you recover the couch I would definitely go with only one or two seating cushions instead of the three you have now. It would instantly minimize the lines and bring it up to date. And perhaps a long roll as an accent cushion instead of the square throws you have now. A GORGEOUS couch! I hope you will hang on to to it!

Vacuum, wipe down with a damp sponge, and slipcover. It has a silhouette that would look good tailored or sloppy.

Is the couch itself old, like an antique, if so, best not to paint the wood but if a good, solid but newer couch, then repainting the frame may be a solution but before you even think about that, I'd look into recovering it to better help it mesh with your aesthetic. Look at the rest of your room and go with a fabric that would work with them. If you have patterned fabric elsewhere, I'd then lean towards a solid in a color from something in the room.

Also, the painting above the couch looks too small, I'd then add something large, say 36x36 in a modern, graphic and bold style above it to help.

and as others have said, it's hard to make suggestions if we don't know what the rest of the room looks like.

Otherwise, it's a fantastic piece.

I second the slipcover idea if reupholstering is out of your budget (as it would be mine).

It's a great piece - I like it the way it is. Actually, the wood details complements the chair rail in the room. The pillows should be changed - the sofa looks better without them. Maybe a white mohair throw or faux fur pillows would help update the sofa instantly - adding a sense of luxury and texture. I think you are missing texture on the sofa and that is why it looks blah. Also a larger picture above the sofa would go a long way or a collection of pictures tightly placed within the wall molding will anchor the sofa.

Maybe you should get new, more polite friends who judge you on the content of your character, not apartment.

I really like Shmoo's idea of only having 2 seating cushions if you reupholster it. I think a dark grey velvet would look great.

It's hard to tell without seeing the rest of the apartment, but I think gray fabric with a rough texture would make this couch look more modern. The dusty blue velveteen is nice but stodgy.

i love this blue and agree with degaussing in that balancing pieces might help. The first thing I thought of was... stripes. Maybe a funky stripe- a la Paul Smith- that you only use in the piping of the cushions or a striped tailored piece of fabric you could cover the whole couch with or just the cushions and the legs? Not sure how the latter would work though...

I'm thinking of a picture of a chair I saw (I think on AT) with very simliar lines that was upholstered in a navy fabric with staggered pinstripes that had a menswear feel. I think your sofa would look great with that. Ah good luck though! What a great problem to have! Any way you go, you still have this great piece of furniture.

we need pics of the living room to see why is feels so out of place. i absolutely love it. so i guess i would have to see the rest of the room before suggesting anything.

A really tailored slipcover with a skirt that allows two or three inches of the legs to peak out. Also, one long bench cushion.

Thanks AT folks! Now, any recommendations for an affordable upholsterer in NYC?

Keep it three cushions because of the four legs...or go one long cushion.

This appears similar to your sofa, with a price tag of $3,200:
http://customdesignny.com/store/item/30dop/Showroom/Camel_Back_Sofa.html

Look on the back right, fabric on a camelback doesn't have to be traditional, and seat cushions can contrast:
http://www.countryliving.com/homes/house-tours/house-of-the-year/hoy-photos-0209

Light blues, grays, off-whites would be nice:
http://wshcollection.com/Shop/Product/sofas-settees/windsor-smith-gwen-curved-arm-sofa.html?Id=20

Best part about that link? You can try on all the colors they have on their sofa, which is similar to yours.

Not sure? You can buy seat cushion covers, like these:
http://www.stretchandcover.com/cart/home.php?cat=318

Or consider Anthropologie chairs as an inspiration:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/category.jsp?popId=HOME&navAction=middle&navCount=60&isSortBy=true&pushId=HOME-UPHOLSTERY&id=HOME-UPHOLSTERY-CHAIRS

What about white leather? Oooh, ahhh:
http://www.thrillist.com/miami/plat-bleu

You can westernize it (warning: instrumental country muzak auto-play):
http://www.cowboyway.net/traditional_furniture.htm

Yeah, tough to match your aesthetic since we don't have a visual on what the rest of your place looks like. A piece or two at the arms of the couch might help transition it into the space. Frankly, I like the upholstery (though a bit sun-faded) and the wood finish -- is reupholstering in the budget? If so, how does that cost compare with a sofa that you really like & fits your look better? I think you can do better with the pillows, though. They look a bit over sized for the sofa & are of a questionable pallet.

What a beautiful piece!
Don't know that I would do anything to it, to me it looks like quite a unique and lovely color that works well with others.

Second the comments about about the pillows, do get one long pillow.
http://www.smartfurniture.com/shop/catalog.product.asp?product_ID=BP1PILLOW&ARSImage=/shop/images/catalog/assembly.BP1PILLOW.real.jpg&NewSku=102366-101&att=3&cid=0&gcid=0

(difficult to say more w/o seeing the rest of the room)

I'd change the rug. It's nice but doesn't go with the vibe of the marble tables.

I like the sofa--the rug is the problem to me.

Throw on some new pillows and artwork, as others have suggested, and done.

I went looking for more pictures.

Gray/white subtle toile that would virtually disappear in your room of white and gray:
http://www.southwoodfurn.com/images/upholstery/reproductions/repr_upholstery_period_sofas/large/1786.jpg

A before and after of a reupholstering job done on a camelback, updated with a kiwi green print:
http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2009/01/calico-corners-craigs-list-love.html

All white with a darker stain wood:
http://www.laurakincade.com/_cms/item__id_10817.html

An example of using a complementary color on the outside of the sofa:
http://www.laurakincade.com/_cms/item__id_10813.html

There's always the option of doing the wood in white, see on these chairs how much of a difference it would make, and how nicely the wood would go with your room's trim:
http://www.mooreandgilesinc.com/

Since I can't link right to the image, go to Portfolio, then to BG Restaurant and Lounge, I'm looking at the light blue and white chairs.

White, with some great pillows:
http://visualvamp.blogspot.com/2008/10/cue-magazine-october-issue.html

Cover of Domino with a modern pattern:
http://stylecourt.blogspot.com/2008/02/reader-wrestles-with-blue-walls.html

Another variation of a two-tone sofa, this one in red with red/white toile:
http://www.horchow.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=cprod47400019&parentId=cat000008&masterId=cat000008&index=25&cmCat=cat000000cat000001cat1290731cat000008

Judging by the white on gray thing you have going on. I would either make it pop by going a modern, bright print or something like the grey toile.

I just remembered a bunch of DIY pages.

Intro:
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/lessons/materials-techniques/the-easy-guide-to-upholstery/

Slideshow on Common Upholstery Techniques:
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/lessons/materials-techniques/common-upholstery-techniques/

How to reupholster a chair:
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/makeovers/furniture-makeovers/how-to-reupholster-a-chair/

How to upholster a headboard:
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/do-it-yourself/headboards/how-to-upholster-a-headboard/

How to upholster a wall:
http://www.bhg.com/crafts/sewing/projects/how-to-upholster-a-wall/

Chair makeovers (this one is fun!):
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/makeovers/furniture-makeovers/chair-makeovers/

I realize that YOUR sofa could be a pretty advanced project. Although it seems to me that Magnaverde did a cover for his camelback, and sewed it by hand.

What IS possible, though, is if you choose a slipcover or upholstery job, and learn to make a new cover for the seat, and perhaps matching throw pillows. One long cushion for the seat would be the easiest to sew. No pattern matching with multiple cushions.

As I recall, zippers suck, so I might even go for making kind of a "slip on" cover for the seat with an open back with longer fabric "tails" that can be folded over and tucked under the seat cushion.

Using coordinates from the same manufacturer gives you all kinds of options to consider. Solids and prints can be combined. And changing the look of your room is as easy as changing the seat cover and the pillow covers.

For instance, if you went all black, and wanted a change, how about green stripes on the seat and leaves for pillows:
http://store.schindlersfabrics.com/efihienddeco.html

Changed your mind? OK, how about black and taupe diamonds with a bit of the damask pattern:
http://store.schindlersfabrics.com/byyalakifaeb1.html

Go Hawaiian, for fun, with hibiscus on the seat and stripes for pillows:
http://store.schindlersfabrics.com/bigkaoucaco.html

You can spend DAYS browsing Waverly. Love this Paddock Shawl (colorway ONYX):
http://www.waverly.com/products_information.php?id=667868&productType=1

Scroll down and you'll see Tea Rose in ONYX. Any fabric they make that says "ONYX" will coordinate. So if your sofa was covered in a solid Waverly ONYX (black), the black of any other pattern with ONYX should match up (fairly close) with the particular ONYX of your sofa.

#9: that bertram chair in the anthropologie link you provided is almost exactly what I was thinking of but not with different treatment for the arms.

a good upholsterer in NY? methinks the regulars would know in a heartbeat: bepsf, patrick(too), et al. I think Maxwell would have a good list!