Remember back when it was cool to furnish your home with heavy wooden couches upholstered in the finest ‘quaint-country-millhouse’ velour that money could buy? No? C’mon, how could you forget all those luscious shades of brown, yellowish brown, orangey brown, browny brown, and brownish brown? The withered sunflowers?
Well, at one point, this set was the height of chic. (Chic had lower standards back then.) But check out what Better After reader Amber recently did with the set she bought off Kijiji. It’s undeniably cool. Again!
68 Comments
Tiffany
August 27, 2012 at 10:33 PMWait a second. That can’t be the same furniture. Wow-o-wow!
Desiree
August 27, 2012 at 11:17 PMThere is now hope for my back deck yet. Now I need to keep my eye peeled for something like this. I think it looks nicer than the new wicker style furniture even!
stephbo93
August 28, 2012 at 12:51 AMI call that furniture style “furnished apartment” because that’s the exact sofa which came with the apartment I rented in grad school in 1995. I draped a tasteful plaid blanket over it to hide the hideousness. Seriously? Country millhouse AND velour?!? Blech! Amber’s solution is 89,654 times better then mine. But then again she purchased it. I just got the luck of the draw and had to deal with it.
Kathryn Cain
August 28, 2012 at 2:06 AMOk my best friend in junior high, her parents basement….Jimi Hendrix and this furniture…I am still laughing…The vision she had to redo this is way cool
Anonymous
August 28, 2012 at 2:49 AMWe had this couch when I was a kid. I always wondered what possessed my parents to choose it. Surely it was free.
Jenn
August 27, 2012 at 10:02 PMThat is absolutely amazing!
Rona Gregory
August 27, 2012 at 10:04 PMOMG! That is just SO awesome…speechless!
Gerry
August 27, 2012 at 10:09 PMI love it! BTW, I had one of those sets. I sent it to the dump 20 years ago.
Korrie@RedHenHome
August 27, 2012 at 10:12 PMWOW! That is about 19983 times better!
Uptown Frog
August 27, 2012 at 10:24 PMWhat a great idea!!! I never thought about making outdoor furniture with something like that.
kelly
August 27, 2012 at 10:27 PMwoah!! that’s the best transformation i’ve seen on BA in a long time!!!
Susie's Sassy DIY
August 27, 2012 at 10:29 PMWow, this is amazing…I had the exact same sofa when I was a kid. I wish I could do that with fabric. My next thing I will master so I can make that happen too. Great Job.
Cindy The Victorian Journey
August 27, 2012 at 10:35 PMWow what a huge difference… It looks Wonderful…. Great Job….
Come and see me. Hugs, Cindy
suzyq
August 27, 2012 at 11:19 PMWOW – that’s simply amazing and so much nicer than any patio furniture I’ve ever seen – incredible job!!!
Lisa @ akawest
August 27, 2012 at 11:24 PMThere needs to be some kind of award for that brilliance.
beth
August 27, 2012 at 11:28 PMWOW!
Tobey
August 27, 2012 at 11:39 PMI had that same exact set in the
70’s, what a great idea, looks amazing
Erin~Just*Grand
August 27, 2012 at 11:43 PMI would never, ever have looked twice at buying that set! And now it looks very very cool! Great vision to see the potential in that!
Beth
August 27, 2012 at 11:45 PMWow, I didn’t think that there was any redeeming quality in that sofa. I can usually see the hidden potential in ugly firniture but I would have kicked those ugly things to the curb! What an amazing transformation!
Fine House
August 28, 2012 at 12:02 AMI remember that furniture! Would never have seen the potential though, love how this turned out!!
Kathy from DoubleNickelsandBeyond
August 28, 2012 at 12:30 AMWow! Amber sure has vision, I would not have thought that set could turn out so awesome. Ps my family had a set similar to that in the 70s!
Kathy
Alyssa @ This Classic Home
August 28, 2012 at 1:24 AMThis is genius! Amazing vision.
Bliss
August 28, 2012 at 1:36 AMOMG!
~Bliss~
Barraza Twins
August 28, 2012 at 1:47 AMOMG The before just gave me a flashback…i remember being very small and having the exact same furniture. HAHA
Vel Criste
August 28, 2012 at 2:09 AMamazing job! Never thought it would look that good!!!
Becky
August 28, 2012 at 2:26 AMNormally I can just shrug off what I see in the “befores” on your blog. Even the lamps I could shrug off. But I reacted viscerally to this furniture. It was the lounge furniture at every 4-H summer camp I went to in the 90s. IT CAN LOOK LIKE THE AFTER PHOTO??? Wow!
Kim
August 28, 2012 at 2:29 AMWow!! The transformation is amazing! Hard to believe it’s just white paint and new upholstery.
Tracy@GeneralSplendour
August 28, 2012 at 2:37 AMWow wow wow! I even let out a few expletives when I saw the AFTER . Amazing transformation – I love the new outdoor furniture!
June
August 28, 2012 at 3:25 AMWOW absolutey the best transformation i have seen! I want it!
Anna See
August 28, 2012 at 4:22 AMwow, amber! you made the world a much better place! that BEFORE was super-ugly!
Sherron
August 28, 2012 at 5:01 AMMy first college apartment had couches like that! They recovered them my 2nd year there with a blue fabric. I love this transformation- it is beautiful! I am amazed at how different the set looks! Job well done!
Anonymous
August 28, 2012 at 12:26 PMThat one made my jaw drop. Amazing change and now I totally want some furniture like that for my deck.
Nita {ModVintageLife}
August 28, 2012 at 5:53 AMI do remember this furniture when I was a kid and thinking it the worst of the worst in taste. But who would think it would make great patio furniture? I could actually probably find some of this around here. Was this stuff ever…really in style? I thought maybe it was just a western thing.
Bec
August 28, 2012 at 7:03 AMWow! What a difference! I’m absolutely impressed! Also, I totally remember the mills. 🙂
Anonymous
August 28, 2012 at 2:06 PMTHE IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL…I NEED A PARTNER WHEN I GO OUT THRIFTING
Pink Overalls @DIY Home Staging
August 28, 2012 at 7:34 AMYour post and the comments are crackin me up. My parents had some of that furniture at their summer cottage. Indestructible! I know one thing: it won’t blow away.
Sam, Dana and Maximilian
August 28, 2012 at 7:43 AMOkay that’s just ridiculously gorgeous!!! I love it!
Anonymous
August 28, 2012 at 3:28 PMOh, how I wish I would have known these could become this when my grandparents owned this EXACT set. It looks AMAZING!!
Anonymous
August 28, 2012 at 3:46 PMOh my word! My in-laws still own this set of furniture and it still looks like the original. And it’s their main living room furniture – not banished to the basement. I think I need to show them this…
Wendy Piersall
August 28, 2012 at 5:34 PMHoly crap! That is amazing! I never in a million years would have thought that set could look *that* good! I’ve seen gobs of sets like this in thrift stores and have always passed them over – never again!
Karen Sunday
August 28, 2012 at 5:40 PMEverybody has seen or sat on that same furniture me at my in laws it was hurtin then and that is totally a better after !!!!!! Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!
MONICA LIVAS
August 28, 2012 at 12:24 PMAmazing!
Naz
August 28, 2012 at 12:34 PMAbout 20 years ago I went to my cousin’s bridal shower in someone’s house and sat on this very furniture. Even 20 years ago I thought it was the ugliest thing I’d ever laid my eyes on. I love how they erased all the ugliness that this set use to have.
Ally
August 28, 2012 at 12:57 PMWhat a fantastic idea to make that fugly furniture set into an outdoor set. Genius really. I have to admit, I likely would have passed this by, even if it were free!!!
Karon
August 28, 2012 at 1:06 PMThat is so beautiful! We had a very similar couch — inherited from my grandmother 😉 — but the velour went all the way around the arms and down to the bottom as well. This style with the wooden arms/frame makes it so much nicer for recovering! Great job!! 🙂
Tesseraemum
August 28, 2012 at 1:08 PMThis is just awesome!
Say what you will about the ugly factor. These chairs were comfortable! I am totally going to be on the lookout for a set! I just need to screen in my porch and then I’ll won’t have to go inside all summer!
StephCreative
August 28, 2012 at 2:20 PMThat’s incredible. I was looking at the ‘before’ pics going, ‘What on earth can anybody do to coolify this?’ It looks AMAZING as a porch set. Love love love!
Kathy aka Pie
August 28, 2012 at 2:20 PMI just recently acquired a chair to that matches this set & single ottoman. My plan is to add to the grandkids playroom as a reading chair when I am finished with it.
But I do like this.
Becky@DoodleBugOnline
August 28, 2012 at 2:28 PMI am shocked. I would NEVER try to do this, because I would NEVER think it would look this good. But it does. Shock & Awe.
Kim Dale
August 28, 2012 at 3:17 PMOMG, My Ex Boyfriend I dated when I was in highschool had those ugly couches in his basement. Too Funny!! Love the After!
janna
August 28, 2012 at 3:18 PMMemories of furniture that was given to us…. yikes it was ugly. I could never get over the ugly and gave it to someone else. How cute it is as patio furniture. Nearly indestructible as our chair fell out of a truck and survived with a little road rash (distressing)
Anonymous
August 28, 2012 at 11:42 PMWish there was a tutorial. 🙂
Dharma
August 28, 2012 at 6:22 PMwell…….shut my mouth.
Kelli Frueh
August 28, 2012 at 6:48 PMGorgeous. Would have never thought they could be beautiful.
Jo @ To a Pretty Life
August 28, 2012 at 7:43 PMThat is awesome! I would never have thought to use a set like that outside!
BF
August 28, 2012 at 8:10 PMWhat a great piece of furniture! Looks lovely!
TheDabblingCrafter
August 29, 2012 at 2:37 AMOMG. My parents had this set as a kid and I could only imagine it as ugly. What a wonderful make over!
The Hen House Chicks
August 29, 2012 at 4:59 AMI’ve seen a LOT of amazing transformations out there in blogland, but this is incredible. I could never have imagined it could look so great.
Meg and Mum's
August 29, 2012 at 11:31 AMWho’da thunk! That is truly spectacular! If it was mine it would have gone straight to the tip. Amazing job.
Merry
August 29, 2012 at 2:35 PMI can’t believe that is the same furniture set! I would have written it off as having chunky and dated “bones”. I am absolutely amazed by the transformation!
Marian
August 30, 2012 at 4:31 AMIt’s a miracle!!!!! WOW!! I am very impressed!
Marian
August 30, 2012 at 4:32 AMIt’s a miracle!!!!! WOW!! I am very impressed!
Chantee
August 30, 2012 at 9:59 PMI bought the same chairs at a trading post (like a junk yard, if you arent familiar) a few months ago, and also painted them white and bought grass green cushions for them. I have them on my front porch, and love them! Got ’em for $7 for the set. Now I wish the rest of the set had been there!
Bunnykins
August 31, 2012 at 12:52 AMI’ve rehabbed all kinds of things, but never anything this ugly. Amazing transformation!
Anonymous
September 6, 2012 at 12:19 AMI would give anything in the world to have that set….It is the EXACT one my Grandma had when I was a child!!! I have soooo any fond memories sitting on the cushions of the table cracking nuts at christmas time…<3 LOVE IT!!!
Anonymous
September 15, 2012 at 9:00 PMoh my goodness, that is the best makeover ever!!! WOW!! There is hope in everything and anything.
Natausha
September 21, 2012 at 3:21 AMThis is one of the best better after projects I’ve seen! Wow. Kudos to them for seeing the potential!
Natausha
September 21, 2012 at 3:23 AMThis is one of the best better after projects I’ve seen! Wow. Kudos to them for seeing the potential!