For more than six years, our living room has revolved around one very large sectional. It’s where we’ve watched movies, played with the dogs, taken naps, and piled in together after long days. It’s been a great sofa for this season of life, but it’s also showing its age. The cushions have lost their support, the covers are fraying, and it’s finally time to start looking for something else.
The funny thing is, we already found its replacement.
Last spring, Mike and I stumbled across my dream sofa at our local Habitat ReStore. Our reupholstered sofa has been patiently waiting in the living room for us to finally make the switch. As excited as I am, I’ve found myself wondering if we’re giving up some of the comfort and flexibility we’ve loved about our oversized sectional. Can a smaller, more traditional sofa still be the place where we curl up with a good book? Pile in with the dogs? Or spend an entire evening watching movies together?
It turns out the answer wasn’t finding a different sofa. It was learning how to make this one work for the way we actually live.
The Thrift Store Find
Last spring Mike and I had one of those weekends with no real plans. We ended up wandering through our local Habitat ReStore and a nearby charity shop. It always seems like when you’re not looking for anything, you stumble across some of your best finds.
As soon as I walked into the ReStore, I spotted a dusty antique rose floral English roll arm sofa. It was the exact style I’d been dreaming about for years, and even better, it had a deep seat. Plenty of room for lounging and relaxing.
When I lifted the seat cushions to check the maker, I discovered it was a Sherrill sofa, a high-end manufacturer known for its quality craftsmanship. Then I looked at the price tag: $90.
I knew immediately it was worth saving. Rather than spending our budget on a brand-new sofa of lesser quality, we chose to invest in a piece with great bones. One we could customize to fit our home and enjoy for years to come.
Mike had a lucky find too. An English roll arm chair-and-a-half by Henredon for just $120. We walked out feeling like we’d won the thrifting lottery.
Living With Our Reupholstered Sofa
Once the sofa came home from the upholsterer, I couldn’t wait to see it in our living room. The striped fabric was exactly what I’d envisioned, and it felt like all those hours spent looking through fabric books and inspiration photos had paid off.
But as we started sitting on it, I realized something felt…different.
Our sectional had spoiled us. It wasn’t just comfortable because it was oversized—it was the way it was built. The deep seat and loose back cushions let you settle in, sit farther back, and really sink into the sofa. We could pile in with the dogs, stretch out, or curl up with a good book for hours.
Our new sofa is deep too, but the structured back cushions naturally sit you more upright. It wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, but it was a different kind of comfort than we’d grown used to.
The One Detail I Overlooked
It didn’t take long to figure out why.
When we decided to have the sofa reupholstered, I spent months poring over fabric sample books, revisiting saved inspiration photos on Pinterest, and flipping through design books until I felt confident in my decision. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed by too many options, this process helps me get clear on what I’m actually drawn to.
I eventually landed on a striped fabric from Charlotte Fabrics. It’s a heavy-duty fabric that should hold up well to everyday life with the dogs, and we even discussed adding a Scotchgard treatment for a little extra protection. We talked through skirt options too, and I briefly considered running the stripe horizontally instead of vertically before deciding to stick with the more traditional look.
If you’re curious how I narrowed down the options, I shared all of the fabric samples I considered and why I ultimately chose this stripe in a separate post.
What I didn’t think to discuss was the cushion fill.
The original sofa had a down-filled seat that had softened over years of use, giving it that broken-in, sink-right-in feeling I loved. During the reupholstery process, the cushions were rebuilt with a high-density foam core wrapped in Dacron. The result is a sofa that’s more supportive, holds its shape better over time, and doesn’t require the constant fluffing that down cushions do.
While the feel was different from what I originally expected, the more we lived with it, the more I realized that the supportive cushions were probably the better long-term choice. They offer more support, hold their shape beautifully, and are something I think we’ll appreciate more and more over the years.
Making Our Reupholstered Sofa Work for the Way We Live
Wanting to bring back some of the sink-in comfort we fell in love with, I started thinking through how we could create that cozy feeling when we first found it at the ReStore.
At first, I couldn’t quite figure out why the new sofa didn’t feel as deep as I remembered. But the more I sat in it and compared it to our sectional, the more I realized there were several small details working together.
Our sectional is a little deeper overall, but more importantly, it has a straight, vertical back that allows the loose cushions to sit flush against the frame, maximizing the usable seat depth. Our new English roll arm sofa has a more traditional silhouette with a gently sloped back. That slight angle naturally pushes the cushions, and you, a little farther forward.
It wasn’t something I’d noticed when we first found the sofa. But once it was reupholstered with freshly rebuilt cushions, those small differences became much more noticeable. Looking back, I think I was comparing a brand-new sofa to one that had already been broken in for years. It’s not something I had really considered before, but it completely changed how the sofa felt.
Once I understood what was making the new sofa feel different, the solution became surprisingly simple. Instead of changing the sofa itself, I decided to change the way we used it.
I removed the three tailored back cushions and stored them away for now. In their place, I ordered oversized brown chenille pillow covers with down-alternative inserts to use as our everyday back cushions.
The supportive seat cushions stay exactly as they are, giving us all the benefits of the rebuilt upholstery, while the softer pillows let us settle farther back into the sofa and recreate some of that relaxed, broken-in feeling we loved.
The best part is that if we’re entertaining or want a more tailored look, we can put the original cushions back.
What This Project Taught Me
The next time I reupholster a sofa, I’ll spend a little more time talking through cushion construction and asking what my options are. Like anything else, some things you simply learn through experience.
This experience has also reinforced the idea that you don’t always have to choose between beautiful furniture and furniture that works for everyday life. Sometimes the right piece just needs a few thoughtful adjustments to fit the way your family actually lives.
Looking back, I’m so glad we chose to invest in a reupholstered sofa instead of buying something new.
There are still a few unknowns though. The biggest one? The dogs. They’re used to one giant surface where they can run, wrestle, and play together. I have no idea whether two separate seating pieces will completely throw them off or if they’ll adjust without a second thought. Like everything else in this house, I have a feeling we’ll figure it out as we go.
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