Can he build it? Yes, he can!
By badbadivy
I like to haunt this site for great mid-century modern inspiration. When I cruised in today, I saw the above couch and thought, "Yo, I need this couch!" The only problem is, I'm po', so I can't afford the $1800 price tag that's on it. Not to mention, the store is in Dallas, and if I'm not driving to Atlanta to go to Ikea, I'm darn sure not driving to Dallas to pay $1800 for a couch!
Finding this couch comes at an interesting time. Our futon is beginning to break into pieces (RIP, wonderful futon, you've seen us through 7 lovely years) so we're talking about what we are going to do to replace the futon. My husband wants to build a new futon. O, me of little faith, I'm concerned that he doesn't have the construction skills to build a futon.
But this couch I think might be doable, with some adjustments. We already have this great futon mattress we just bought this summer, if we could just build a platform and a back, we could put the futon mattress on there. I'm thinking we could keep the mattress from sliding off the same way we do our current futon- with rubber shelf liner.
What do you guys think? Will it be easy to build or a nightmare?
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I'm living proof that you don't need a whole lot of money to pull together...
Keter
I actually plan to build two seating platforms similar to this one once I get the floor of my dreams installed. (Floor of my dreams = something NOT swimming pool exposed aggregate, something that can actually be walked on with bare feet and kept clean). The design you picked is very doable, but I would be leery of the thin legs, particularly in a household with active children. I'm going to be using a full platform base -- will keep dust bunnies and dog toys out from under there. ;o)
I plan to use heavy weight upholstery foam glued to a piece of plywood and covered in leather for the cushions, then use screws from the underside of the platform to hold it in place. I'm not yet sure about how to handle the back cushions since these pieces will not be up against a wall. I would like the option of removing them to let people sit from either side, or to use the unit as a bed. Maybe I'll put them on hinges so they fold down to make a "table" or make 'em the right size to stow under the platform.
badbadivy
RareBlueMonkey
Go for it! I think that there are a few challenging things here. If you want the rounded look of the base, you will have to build a box (at least the edges) out of actual lumber because laminated plywood could not be rounded to that degree without revealing the underlying layers. I would use 4x10 birch ply for the base and 3/4 x 4" x 10' for the front & back and shorter pieces for the ends. the legs appear to be turned wood (I would use a wooden closet bar and stain it the same color as the box.
The couch part probably has a back board for the pillows to rest against. (again, birch plywood and birch or maple edge trim.
Instead of a futon, you could buy upholstery foam and have it covered to recreate the exact look of this. If you want to use the old futon you could fold it in half the long way (kind of cool) The trick is to get the futon to stay. I would either sew a tube on the fold of the futon cover and put some kind of wooden rod (closet rod again?) that you could attach to the back board or, better yet, tie it to the backboard by running cotton sash over the front of the fold. It would sink into the fold when you tied it back and you wouldn't see it.
Great looking sofa for inspiration. Good luck. That sofa would look great in our living room too, so now I'm inspired.
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