Ideas/Inspiration wanted: The Living Room Couch

[Dan Kirkland]

So I've decided to slowly phase out all the furniture in my home with stuff I build. I'm sick of replacing things (my wallet is too) and would rather just make it myself. I'll be working with hand tools but I'm looking for some ideas on a living room couch.

I really don't want to cover it in upholstery and I prefer the look of just the hardwood, I have some ideas for cushions but that'll come later.

I'm not necessarily looking for the ultimate man cave couch but something nice that's family oriented. Hope that makes sense.

Curious if anyone has pics/advice/ideas/inspiration on building one.

[Jamie Buxton]

For a mostly-wood couch, look at early twentieth century -- Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright. The construction is straightforward, and the upholstery is simple. (Simple upholstery is actually a big issue. Upholstering one of those cheap all-upholstery couches takes a whole bunch of skills you might not have.)
http://www.jamiebuxton.com/couch1.html
If you make an Arts&Crafts sofa, you don't have to make it from dark-stained white oak like Stickley did. You can make it from some wood they didn't use back then -- say bubinga.

[Robby Tacheny]

Hi Dan,

I recently found the site www.woodworkinghistory.com and it has a section called "Vintage catalogs" which shows furniture designs from the turn of the the 20th Century. Look at "The Craftsman Workshops Syracuse NY Catalogue "D" 1904" in this section. It shows 50-60 pages of different pieces with one or two pieces of furniture per page.

You might find some of these designs useful as a basis for building some living room furniture.

Robby

[Malcolm McLeod]

Take a look at Thomas Moser (www dot thosmoser dot com) and search for "Astral bench" - they call it 'Danish style'. (Sort of mid-century modern to my untrained eye.) It certainly shows off the wood, joinery seems relatively straight forward, and you could build it in a scale/curve/size to suit your space.

[Dan Kirkland]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll check out the links you've provided