Foam 'N' Fabric

Last night we braved slick, slushy roads and drove to Cleveland Heights on a foam-finding excursion.  As we have thoroughly documented (perhaps ad nauseam), our living room features a built-in sofa unit consisting of several shelves and cabinets, complete with an end table on each side (see photo in our earlier post "Carpetbaggers"). It definitely needs some love, but we've got love to give.

The existing cushions have to go; they stink, they're stained, and they are way too firm for our boney butts. I can't imagine that anyone ever found them to be comfortable. Yet none of these factors prevented Hannah and I from sleeping on it during our first overnight stay at the house last weekend as part of our most recent marathon work session (I slept like a baby, but I can't say the same for my wife).

Apparently, the first step to making new cushions is finding the foam padding. After much searching, Hannah found an upholstery shop that was willing to sell us the foam directly. Other shops were more than happy to order the foam, assuming they would then manufacture the cushion covers as well.  But Hannah's mom agreed to help us save money by making the covers for us. So we were on the hunt strictly for foam.

Foam. Foam. Foam. That magical and mysterious substance. I'm actually a bit of a foam expert, but my specialty lies more in the realm of the foam that sticks to my upper lip when I'm gulping down a nice draft--you know, like Dortmunder Gold.  Well, we definitely struck gold when we found Bussey's Upholstery Foam 'N' Fabric. Mountains of gold.  Magical, mysterious mountains of gold foam.

So we plopped some foam down on the floor and tested all the different levels of firmness.  Regular firm, extra firm, medium firm, super extra firm, super medium firm, and extra mega super regular firm.  This is a key step, remember, because our butts are boney.  We ultimately decided upon regular firm for the seats and medium firm for the backs or "bolsters." We had fun. Then we drove home after a brief husband-wife planning session at Phoenix Coffee.

And the fabric we ordered for the cushions (directly from the manufacturer, not from Bussey's) is "Crush" by Maharam, in the color "Henna." It looks like this:

I can't believe I'm thinking/knowing/writing so much about foam and fabric. But I guess that's what happens when you marry an interior designer, buy a fixer-upper with a built-in couch, and you both obsess over the details. On to more manly topics . . .

A few weeks ago (with my SAWZALL!) I began to cut out the backs of the shelves behind the sofa to provide more open space through the unit. Again, we love the structure and style of it, but we felt that it divided the room too much. Rather than removing the whole thing, we decided to open it up through the middle, softening the barrier between the living and dining areas. I need to finish cutting out the backs of the shelves on the left, but that will happen later this week.  Much like our choice to remove two kitchen walls, we believe that this decision remains faithful to the overall function, feel and flow of the room.

The cabinet doors will eventually be stripped of paint and refinished with stain, while the rest of the unit will be repainted. We've also ordered new light fixtures for it, and I'll post more photos after we install them.

We're putting a lot of thought and effort (and probably money) into this structure because we feel that it is a vital component of the original design of the house and also will reflect greatly upon our ability to renovate faithfully and creatively. And we hope it will be a sign of the hospitality we and our home can provide. Perhaps you and I will plop down on the foam and enjoy a Dortmunder Gold together.