In 2016 we had a couch custom built to fit our living room in our home in Grover Beach. We needed lots of couch space, even though we only had 3 kids at the time, we regularly had large gatherings and needed more couch space. Fast forward a few years and 2 more kids we are here in Utah, the couch didn’t fit our apartment or the house we rented. It barely fit in this house before the remodel. During the design process we didn’t think to much about making the space to fit the couch.
BEFORE
So for most of the last year and a half this couch has been separated. But with it being winter and the kids spending more time indoors it was time to put the entire couch upstairs and give the kids a play room in the basement.
The plan
I measured the couch and measured the upstairs space and figured out that if I could remove one cushion worth of couch it would fit just where we needed it to. I casually mentioned it to Matt and he was shocked at first but then said he was ok with it. At best it would work perfectly and at worst we would end up with half a couch and that was a result we were willing to live with. Most everyone else I talked to said it was a bad idea and urged me not to do it. But come on now, we have rebuilt an entire house how hard could it be to cut a piece off a couch? Monday morning came, I took the kids to school and go to to work!
The removing staples step took many hours. I chose to be very thorough removing every staple, and piece of fabric one at a time so I can see just how the couch was put together so I can put it back together just right. I only removed everything just barely past where I was planning to cut.
The point of no return
With all the fabric pulled back and the framing exposed I could see that removing that section of the couch would not ruin it at all. The springs were all in sections and there was already a natural divide where I wanted to cut. That was my OK, and I started to cut. I used my jig saw and a sawzall.
With the demolition officially complete it was time to start rebuilding the new end of the couch. I had initially planned on removing the old end cap and attaching it to the new end of the couch. As I started to try and separate the wood cleanly without compromising the strength it broke so I had to come up with a new plan. Luckily we had some OSB particle board left over from another project that was just the right size. I used the old piece as a template and marked my OSB. I cut the new piece out with the jig saw and lightly sanded it to remove splinters.
I attached the end cap with some 1.5 inch screws. Then had to add a new base piece for stability and for the feet of the couch to screw into. I started by just using short scraps on both sides but Matt insisted I use a full piece to ensure rigidity. You will notice that later on.
Now that the framing was fully repaired it was time to put the fabric back on and make it look decent.
I did my best to imitate the way they had made the folds. I think it turned out alright!
I put the new short couch piece in its place and it fit perfectly!! I was so excited that it worked so well.
AFTER
Not all couches are made the same and I know this only worked out so well because of how our couch was constructed in the first place. What do you think, would you cut your couch?
Building the Burks 