Convert A Vintage Sofa into a Bed?

Yes!  Was the answer for this Lewes, Delaware bay-side guest bedroom.  The owners wanted something utterly unique for the main guest bedroom in their get-away house.  Their interior designer approached us about converting a vintage parlor set we had acquired into bedroom pieces.

The set was a sofa and two deep-seated bergere style chairs.  They had acanthus motif carvings and moderately scrolled frames.  The backs and arms had caned panels to support loose cushions.  The seats had sprung decks with cushions.  If you look closely, you can see the holes in the frame for the cane.

The bed was platform style and we had to modify the front rail to suit.  And create some support for the head portion of the mattress extending into the sofa frame (white boards in the photo.) 

Naturally, the finish on the frames HAD to be a part of the theme.  The background fabrics on the sofa and chair - replacing the cane panels - was a beige-on-cream pattern.  We reversed that, using a beige base lacquer and a creamy glaze to create a frosted look.

At the last minute, everyone decided a footboard - of sorts - would give a more finished look.  The front rail of the sofa was the only carved piece long enough to span the mattress.  But we hadn't removed it from the sofa.  And we needed legs.  The original set had two chairs - the room only needed one.  So we raided the front legs from the other chair.  And spliced together three of the chair's carved rails to make a footer rail spanning the bed.  Whew!

After all the sawdust and lacquer settled, the upholsterers swung into action.  Providing webbed backing for the Kravet fabric on the frame panels, and a new cushion forms for the Duralee fabric on the chair.  A contrast cord on the cushions gave some tie-in to the wall color.  A gigantic bolster pillow for the bed wrapped up the project.

We thought this was a great example of re-tasking or up-cycling vintage furnishings into more contemporary settings.  What do you think?

The upholstery workshop at JH Conklin & Co re-upholsters furniture and provides window treatments in the South New Jersey area.