One Reddit User Built This DIY Reclaimed Sofa for $100

One Redditor took the “trash” laying around his home workshop —including two old mattresses he used for cushions — and turned it into this sleek, mid-century inspired, industrial-reclaimed couch. For about $100, not including tools.

Phil Vandelay of Hamburg, Germany shared his DIY couch project on the social media platform earlier this week and people went nuts — both for the amazing quality of the resulting piece of furniture, and for the unreal makerspace of a home workshop Vandelay has assembled over the years (debating down to the semantic and specific definition of “DIYer”, as Redditors are wont to do).

Vandelay posted the details along with the video, uploaded to YouTube:

I really wanted a couch for my apartment so I decided to make my own. I happened to have a bunch of stuff (trash) left over that I recycled into this thing, mainly two old mattresses. I used the springs from one of them for additional padding and the foam from another for the cushions. The base is made from reclaimed wood beams I got for free. The only things I bought for this was the steel tubing (45x45x2mm, about 50€) and the fabric for the covers, again about 50€. My friend Leo helped with the layout and sewing for those (thanks!). The end result is super comfy!

He also shares the step-by-step instructions and process photos over on Imgur, and the list of materials and tools he used (along with product links) are available in the details of the YouTube video post. For the hundreds of commenters who voiced concerns that the project was “$100 in materials but thousands in tools”, Reddit DIY channel moderators have listed this handy guide to finding tool shares and maker spaces or community workshops in your area.

As the moderator is quick to point out, “Most, if not all, projects can be completed with the most basic of tools. [But] there is no denying that a nicer workshop makes projects easier to complete.”