Mid Century Modern Couch, Draper inspired

[Coop]

I’m sure the upholstery will look great and is necessary but it’s a shame to cover that much fantastic woodworking  with fabrics. 

[Chestnut]

This looks awesome. I'm excited to see how the upholstry comes out.

[Bmac]

OK, it's been awhile, and my patience has finally paid off. My upholstery guy took the month of July off, and with the backlog of work he had to do I just got the couch back this week. So it's time to put a bow on this build.

I like the fabric we picked, the cushions and couch look real clean and it sits very well. The MCM look is beginning to permeate my home, and this project will result in a few matching pieces for the room (love seat, coffee table, end tables). So here's the finally couch;

 

Thanks for following along and I hope this was enjoyable to watch, I can say it was enjoyable to build.

 

 

[JohnG]

Looks fantastic as usual! Just yesterday I was thinking we were about due for a @Bmac chair build post!

[gee-dub]

A wonderful addition.  I agree on a great fabric choice.  Really pulls the MCM look together.

[Mark J]

Looks great.  Is the wife warming up to it?

[wtnhighlander]

Looks awesome, @Bmac

[Chet]

Great results Bmac.  I do like the fabric, nice choice.

[pkinneb]

You never disappoint @Bmac another beautiful piece!!

[treeslayer]

+1^ Another great piece, well done @Bmac

[Bmac]

Thanks for all the compliments. But @Mark J brings up the real question;

On 9/19/2021 at 9:07 AM, Mark J said:

Is the wife warming up to it?

Well my wife is very easy going but she did have some feedback on this project, because I was hoping to parlay this into a matching loveseat build. If you guys remember her one request for the loveseat was being able to sit while leaning her back on the arm and having her feet on the loveseat. So this couch was a trial run for that project. Well she does love the couch, but the arm is too low for her to lean against it. I scooped it out and shaped it so putting a pillow there and leaning against it is comfortable, but it is too low and does not give her enough back support.

So before I start the matching loveseat I have some thinking and designing to do. I'm thinking of a way to "wrap" the back, or extend the back to the one side she would lean against and just do the same arm as the couch on the other side. Or simply make the arm higher so there is more support. I'm not sure but it's these challenges that make this hobby so fun.

I had enough foresight to buy enough of the fabric for the loveseat when the couch was upholstered.

[davewyo]

Beautiful work all the way around.

[Chet]

On 9/20/2021 at 2:24 AM, Bmac said:

I'm thinking of a way to "wrap" the back, or extend the back to the one side she would lean against and just do the same arm as the couch on the other side.

I think something like this or a specific shape to the arm rest would be cool.  I have always enjoyed seeing furniture pieces, mainly from the past, that have an odd feature.  Then you find out what the feature is used for and you can't help but think "what a cool idea".

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[Chestnut]

I think this turned out great. I really like the design and how it fits into the room. With the cushions the project as a whole looks very small and delicate. I imagine that sitting in it would be a very different experience from the pictures you have shared.

[Coop]

Wow! That turned out very, very nice! Great job! 

[Bmac]

@Chestnut, agree and I'm pleased that the look is not heavy handed or bulky. It's a lot less imposing of a couch than the one it replaced, and I think this makes the whole room look less cluttered.

@Chet, couldn't agree more with that statement. It really puts the custom in custom furniture and it's a benefit of being able to design and build your own. 

A few thoughts on the seating. I've had the opportunity to sit on the couch for a few days and the upholstery guy used extra firm cushions for the seat and med firm for the back. I almost wish the seat cushions were a little less firm, but not a game changer. I also think I could have increased the angle slightly (rake or pitch) of the seat. Basically this is referring to the drop from front to back in the seat, I could have increased that drop. The angle of the back to the seat could have also been increased slightly. I discussed this with the upholstery guy and we even tried an angled or wedge cushion for the back cushion, but I didn't like that. The softer back cushion does effectively increase the recline angle slightly since when you sit the back cushion gives. So overall I think it sits well, but I'm going to make a few slight tweaks in the loveseat. I may even tweak this couch. Because I'd think it would benefit from more drop, front to back, I may cut off an inch off all the back legs on this couch. This is the quick and easy way to increase the rake. 

 

[Chestnut]

Can you post notes on those angles and drops? I'm just kinda curious how they compare for chairs and also do plan some day to make a couch.

How do you think the wooden slats for seating are impacted by the firm cushions? Most of the chairs and couches use webbing to allow for a bit of a give. I was also just thinking if the seat slats were a bit thinner to allow for some flex in the wood. These might offer a bit more comfort? If I did more flexible slats I'd probably try and attach them in a way that they are replaceable. In the even that I decided to stand and jump up and down on the couch because my favorite sports team did something good or bad...

I feel like with seating designing for long term repairs is sometimes worth the little bit of extra thought. That or over build it so it'll just never break, though some times that's not ideal in my opinion as it leaves the furniture looking ugly or possibly uncomfortable. These are not comments on your piece just thoughts.

[Bmac]

@Chestnut, here are the angles and drops that I ended up with.

From the front of the seat to the back it's a 4 degree drop, which is effectively an 1.5" drop. The angle of the seatback to the seat is 8 degrees, resulting in a recline angle of the back to the floor of 102 degrees.

What I'd tweak on this is a 2" drop and a final back angle to the floor more in the 105 range. My design, which I liked so much, made me come up with these above angles. But I did want more of an upright couch rather than a reclining one you sink into. I think with couches you could be between 100-110 degrees and be fine, with a 115 not out of the question. To me increasing the drop seems to always help with comfort.

As for webbing in the seat I was concerned with integrity and strength in the piece. Webbing does give you some strength but the wood slats are stronger. Webbing likely would have worked though, and it would have made the seat more forgiving. You are right, we do tend to over build.