Help! My bunny ate my couch!
Expert
Hello friends 🤗 my prized furniture possession is a corduroy couch from the seventies (see a photo of it from when we first moved into our apartment!). This couch has been through everything. When we first moved in I mismeasured and had to call the couch doctor to completely disassemble it and reassemble it inside my living room. It's the perfect couch! However, my bunny has taken a liking to it and has nibbled holes into the fabric. I'm wondering if I should put fun patches on it? Or if I should just have it sewed normally? Open to any and all suggestions!
Comments
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Oh nooo!! Bunnies - cute but fierce with their chewing. Such a GREAT couch!!
If you want a pristine look, I'd look at getting the section re-upholstered, though it may be tricky to match exactly.
Patches could be a great alternative though, I feel like that fits into the era of the couch and give it more of a story!
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I agree with @SNandez that it may be tricky to find matching fabric (but by all means try and find some!). If you can’t, try patching it in an era-appropriate color like burnt orange, harvest gold, or avocado green.
I had one very destructive pet who wrecked the arms and back of my velveteen couch, and since it had some texture to it, I was able to grab some canvas in a similar color to use as a backing. I hand-stitched that couch back together, over and over, for years (I now have a vintage rattan sofa, which is much harder for little paws and teeth to destroy).3 -
I love a little embroidery instead of patches!
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My heart aches for that amazing sofa. Bad bunny! ;)
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Aww bunny!! I really love the idea of embroidery because it'll make the couch look so unique — and it'll be a fun story to tell :)
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Patches AND embroidery. I could look really cool, like a vintage quilt. Don't be afraid to use patterned material too, and textures like velvet.
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I love the idea of a quilted sofa. It can be very unique.
That said, a sofa cover could be the simplest solution. They can hide a lot of sins and look pretty doing it.
They can run the gamut when it comes to styles AND price, so shopping around would be wise. I got one from Temu (sure, crucify me) that is pretty AND pretty humongous, besides being reversible (two looks, one cover) and very, very soft.
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I audibly gasped! Your bunny did damage 😫 I think embroidery (maybe more involved) would look incredible — also pro-patchwork! One of my favorite sofas is embroidered from this collaboration between HAY and Loji Höskuldsson, in case it sparks any inspiration
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That is one GORGEOUS sofa! 😍
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wow! thank you everyone! I'll post a photo once I decide what to do :)
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My parents had sofas with this cordoroy fabric in the 70s. They reupholstered them because the fabric didn’t keep up with a family of 5 and granny. If the bones of the sofa are good and it is sturdy, I do recommend reupholstery or you could get some kind of cover for it online.
My mother finally disposed of the one remaining sofa because it was difficult to get up from it and her girlfriends didn’t want to sit on it.
We ended up going to the store and she made me sit on a bunch of sofas to see which ones were comfortable enough to get up from without a struggle (I was really fat at the time but have since lost over 150 pounds). This was about 8 years ago.
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Being from that era myself, I know that even if bunny didn’t chew it, that fabric is eventually going to deteriorate. You could patch it if you don’t mind that look, or you could get it completely reupholstered, or put a slip cover over it. Maybe try to keep bunny away from your furniture by installing a bunny run.
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This visible mending story is for you: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/visible-mending-37401845
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