I borrowed Dollhouse Magic by P. K. Roche from the library, and it turned out to be a rather simplistic book of miniature making, such as using thread spools for tables. But, the instructions on using kitchen sponges to make sofas and chairs inspired an idea. I wanted the living room to be more modern, and I thought using sponges would be a great way to achieve the shape a modern sofa. It would be easier than trying to cut and shape pieces of wood while still being firm enough for structure. I could add thin pieces of wood where I needed extra support and then upholster the piece with batting and fabric.
After scouring (er…nevermind) the internet for ideas, I decided to go with the Dream Velvet Sofa by Graham & Green, a home furnishing company in the UK.
I bought cellulose sponges in different shapes and sizes at Target. I had to leave them out on the counter for a few days to let them dry out. In the process of drying, they shrank a bit so I was glad I hadn’t used right them out of the package.
Using the overall real life dimensions as a guide, I started cutting the sponges into thinner pieces. I used the curved sponge to make the arms of the sofa, cutting it into thinner sections using a serrated kitchen knife. It was rather like cutting really stale bread. :D
I used a large sponge for the base of the sofa. It had dried to an uneven thickness, so I marked all four sides with a sharpie and used the knife to shave off the excess and shape the base.
Below is my initial basic sponge structure. The cushions are cut small to leave room for batting and fabric. I’ve used some wooden beads to mockup the legs, but I’ll shape some legs from wood during the finishing process.
The back cushions on the original sofa were taller than the back, so I think my side angle is a bit steep. I’ll have to cut that down before upholstering. The coffee table here is just a placeholder; it’s a bit traditional for this modern room.
For the upholstery, I chose chocolate brown micro suede. I’ve been sewing for a long time, but this was my first time upholstering…mini or otherwise. It took me quite some time to figure out the best way to get the fabric on the sponge and wood frame. I sewed some, glued some…swore some. :]
I used batting to smooth out the front edge of the base and the seat cushions. I glued a thin sheet of balsa wood to the back to have a smooth surface under the upholstery. Here it is in mid-assembly.
Here it is mostly complete. I need to tweak the fit of the cushions and adjust the legs, but overall I like the way it turned out. :]
The striped pillows were created by finding designs online, resizing in PhotoShop and printing on fabric. The bird pillows are actually made from a resized image of tiles by Jerusalem Pottery, which I then printed on fabric.
Filling the pillows with beads gave them some weight and made it easier to shape them.
