A worn settee gets a budget-friendly DIY upholstery makeover with burlap!

DIY upholstery project on a used settee…

This is a DIY upholstery project that I really love. It was one of our very first.

“hot & settee”

OK, maybe not so “hot“, but definitely a “settee”. More like cold. Cold and blue. “Blue” because, well he’s blue, and also as in “someone help a fella out, I’m down in the dumps (literally)” blue.

DIY upholstery project from www.heatherednest.com using BURLAP! Such a rugged, inexpensive, neutral fabric!!

Pin To me, there’s no better feeling than helping something injured or downtrodden. I’m a physical therapist. And while I have not touched a patient since around the time Sweet Cheeks was born three years ago, that training & mindset stick with you. Rehab is something that’s in your blood.

During my hiatus from human patients, I’ve turned my attention to a lot of thrift stores, Craigslist, roadside & auction patients.

And you know what? Although I don’t get the pleasure of seeing these patients walk again, I still get that feeling of accomplishment and happiness when I’ve helped these patients stand proud again…on their legs, or casters, what-have-you.

Back to Blue’s rehab. Before I removed ANY of the upholstery, I got out a Sharpie and labeled EVERYTHING. I wanted to make sure I knew how to put Humpty Dumpty together again.

We uncovered many layers of previous upholstery as we went.

After Blue was all stripped, we cleaned and then painted the exposed frame with Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White. Then it was time to re-upholster with the new fabric. I chose burlap for this project for a couple of reasons:

1. burlap is inexpensive

2. burlap is durable

3. burlap is neutral

We cut out pieces to match the removed upholstery that we saved to use as templates. Piece by piece, the settee came back together, and then the new cording and nailhead trim was attached at the very end.

And here’s Blue today. Now he’s hot. Hot & settee.

One of the great things about using the burlap is that being so neutral, we change the look of this piece and space for every season using different bolster pillow covers and such…

And it looks great no matter what we throw on it.

It’s just a good, sturdy, easy fabric to decorate with.

This was one of my first DIY upholstery projects, so the fact that burlap is cheap DEFINITELY entered into the equation!

I did not want to experiment with more expensive fabrics right out of the starting gates.

Truth be told, I don’t think the burlap is so “hot” these days…more like lukewarm, so Blue will likely be getting another facelift at some point, but that is waaaay near the bottom of my personal to-do list at the moment.

And now that my DIY upholstery project is done, I’m gonna see if I can sneak in five minutes to sit on my little settee here in the quiet….school bus arrives in T-minus six minutes and counting…

Interested in more furniture flips? Check these out!

Pssst…before you go, I sure would love to hang out with you again really soon! Click here or on the image below and get a FREE copy of “Builder-Grade To Beautiful: 10 Totally Transformative Home Decorating Solutions, All Under $100!”

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Comments

Allie Bobe says

October 29, 2014 at 5:01 am

Love the makeover. SO nice now. I want this!!! I am featuring it on Worthwhile Wednesdays!
~Allie http://www.craftyallieblog.com

Jennifer Dawn Oliver Shelton says

October 22, 2014 at 5:56 am

What a fantastic transformation! And I love the orange and white throw!

- Heather says
  
  October 22, 2014 at 2:55 pm
  
  Thanks so much Jennifer!
  
Annabode says

October 21, 2014 at 5:05 pm

I love the cowhide + settee combo!