DIY hack: Aussie woman reveals how she saved thousands on her dream sofa with $350 DIY upcycle
Bouclé is one of the hottest interior décor trends for 2022, but decking out your home in furniture featuring the textured look isn't exactly cheap.
One Australian woman has managed to save herself thousands by upcycling an armchair and a sofa with throw blankets instead of buying new furniture.
Simonette's before and after TikTok video of the sofa transformation went viral with more than 13,000,000 views. So she posted a tutorial in another video to show others how to get the bouclé look for less.
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The DIY project was inspired by couches Simonette saw for sale on Curated Spaces, for "around $5,000".
Simonette, like many of us, said she doesn't have that kind of budget so she bought a $300 second-hand curved couch on Facebook Marketplace. The cost was reduced to $250 after Simonette saw the condition it was in.
Simonette made her own version of an expensive bouclé couch and saved thousands. (TikTok)
Then she used five soft throws from Spotlight which were $15 each to reupholster the couch. Simonette also styled the couch with three matching pillows.
"The first thing I did was unscrew all of the legs and then I stripped the fabric and cleaned the couch ready as a fresh base for the new fabric," she said.
Simonette then removed the two middle pieces from the couch so that it looked sleeker and fit her room better.
"I used two blankets on each of these two sections that I'm keeping and I tucked them into the middle part... I then pulled the blankets and stapled it to the bottom and the back of the couch using the staple gun," she explained.
Simonette only needed a few supplies to complete the project. (TikTok)
"And if you end up with some parts that aren't covered with the blanket I used my fifth blanket and cut a rectangle to cover any pieces that weren't quite covered, and I hand sewed the patches on."
The sofa wasn't Simonette's first boucle upcycling project shared on TikTok. That was actually a dupe of a $945 Monet bouclé armchair from Life Interiors she saw online.
"Decided to DIY the armchair of my actual dreams because unfortunately I don't have a spare $1,000 laying around," she said in captions on the video.
Using a thrifted armchair purchased for $30, two throws like the ones used on the sofa and a staple gun, Simonette re-upholstered the armchair.
"Did a lot of pulling, stapling and folding and also did some hand sewing where the edges of the fabric met," she added.
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Simonette was "in love" with the finished DIY which cost less than $100 to make.
Her followers also loved the boucle DIY projects.
"I have been looking for this DIY for months! Thank you!" one said of the armchair.
"I wish I could look at old stuff like that couch and have creative vision like this!! Love this!" said a woman who viewed the couch upcycle video.
"I still can't believe you did this. I'm in awe," another posted.