I restored a tatty £80 sofa I got on Facebook – trolls say it looked better before but they need to trust the process
SHE’S wanted a leather Chesterfield sofa “for years”.
So when a tatty old one popped up on Facebook for £80, Ashley jumped at the chance to get her hands on it.
The white sofa had definitely seen better days, with scuffs and worn leather on the top and the sides.
But Ashley decided to take on the challenge of restoring the furniture – and called it the “biggest trust the process ever” in a video on her TikTok page.
She began by using a leather restoring filler to smooth out the damaged surfaces, but said her biggest mistake was not having any sandpaper to hand to sand it down in between.
“But that’s something I could absolutely fix in the future,” she added.
However, she just wanted to get the couch done as quickly as possible, and used about two thirds of the one ounce pot of putty to smooth it out before she started the painting process.
She then got her paint, and diluted it down with a clear finish, before she began liberally applying the paint.
Ashley had picked it up in the shade ‘Tobacco’, but admitted she had wanted something the colour of the sofa when it was wet, and not dry.
“But I can paint it again in the future if I really want to,” she pointed out.
She had to work fast, and in sections, because the paint is water based, “super runny” and fast drying.
“So if my painting looks a little chaotic, that’s why,” she laughed.
” Like, I really just have to go quick, move on, come back to it.
“Unfortunately, with a couch like this, there’s a lot of creases and folds and crevices.
“So you have to be really attentive to every angle, every little stroke.”
Ashley also later realised she was using the wrong kind of brush – one for an oil based paint rather than water based – and was therefore seeing a “lot of streaks” from the oil based.
But she tried not to panic, and just kept applying the paint in layers.
Also, she had started the transformation working from the back forwards, as she said: “If you mess up or you just don’t really have the technique down, it’s the backside.
“No one’s ever going to see it unless you have like an exposed back!”
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Ashley finished the makeover on the stool, but started to run out of paint, so did two layers on there, while everything else got three layers.
“So it is a little streaky,” she said.
“But honestly, I am so proud of this.
“This is probably my favourite project I’ve ever done.
“Between the couch and supplies, I spent about £160 ($200), and that’s a fraction of what they really cost!”
Sharing the video on TikTok, Ashley captioned it: “Dont tell me the white looked better because my walls are literally yellow lol.”
Despite Ashley’s plea, trolls were still active in the comments section, with one writing: “Honey, no!”
“Wow I can’t unsee this,” another added.
“The white was hideous anyway. Can’t get worse I guess???? But yeah.”
“Not the poop colour!” a third sighed.
However, others hit back, praising Ashley for the makeover.
“People being mean are blind,” one wrote.
“It turned out so well and looks WAY BETTER than the white!!!”
“I grew up with a Chesterfield and this honestly looks great!” another added.
“The leather started looking a bit meh over time with pets tbh so this is absolutely nice and people don’t know what real Chesterfields are.”
“Looks way better than the white!” a third agreed.
“Plus you gave an old couch a new life and reduced landfill.
“I get what you mean about the colour not being the Chesterfield colour but it still looks great.”
“Absolutely 100% YESSSS! I love it!!! I’m a firm supporter in customising and as long as you like it who cares!” someone else insisted.