How to Refurbish a Couch

Vacuum the sofa. Remove the cushions from the couch and, using a vacuum cleaner attachment, sweep under them, sticking the attachment as far into the cracks and crevasses as you possibly can to remove all the debris that may have developed there. Next, sweep the upholstery itself, running your attachment over every square inch of the sofa with care.

Steam clean the sofa. Use a steam cleaner with a hose intended for upholstery use and clean the sofa in the same manner as you vacuum it, keeping the cushions off and steam cleaning them thoroughly as they rest on the floor.

Remove odor from the sofa with a mixture of baking sofa and crushed lavender leaves. Combine one part baking soda and one part crushed lavender to make this deodorizing compound. Dust it all over your sofa and allow it to sit for 30 minutes. Vacuum the compound off, leaving the sofa refreshed and stink-free.

Toss a throw over any problem areas. If your dog mistook the sofa arm for a chew toy or your toddler stained your white couch with some fruit punch, cover these small problem spots by tossing a throw seemingly randomly onto the sofa. Instead of using just any old throw, select one that matches your couch upholstery.

Place a slip cover on the sofa. Purchase a generic or custom-made slip cover and slide it over your existing upholstery to cover wear or make your sofa a better fit with a room in which you have changed the color pallet.

Reupholster the sofa. This is a serious undertaking that you likely won’t want to tackle yourself, but it may be worth hiring out if the bones of your sofa are still strong but the upholstery has seen better days. During the reupholstery process, all of the existing fabric cover will be removed and replaced with fresh upholstery fabric, like a new skin, completely transforming the sofa.