To me ...not.

I think it is maybe the opposite of cottagey.

No.

Are you going to have it redone or will you use it as is?

no-don't see it at all

Not to my eye. The fabric, the shape and tufting all say "formal" to me.

Not cottage, but with some work it could pass for "shabby chic" (for example, remove the skirt, paint/replace the legs, have new seat cushion covers made in a print, add a bunch of pillows, etc.) Or maybe some type of faux animal print for a "sexy shabby chic".

I think it is more kitch/vintage than cottage. It would look good with an insane orange lamp and a shag carpet!

It would look best in a room filled w/ Victorian stuff. Think lots of floral artwork, fringed shawls, huge pillows made out of tapestry remnants trimmed in fringe. Lots of footstools, side tables and china cups of tea. Stacks of cloth bound books and velvet and lace window treatments.

Not exactly "cottage"... but for sure not necessarily formal! LOL!!

Gotta agree with the previous posters.

Not ugly, but not cottagy either. Over-the-top Victorian perhaps.

"Can anyone else see this very well mantained, comfy, priced to sell vintage sofa in an eclectic, fun, colorful cottage living room type setting?"

Um......not so much. Sorry

Oddly enough, I can. Eclectic is the word! Some velvet patchwork pillows. A chenille throw. Specks of leopard print. Tarnished silver candlesticks and bowls. Kind of like gypsy cottage.

I once had a pale green sofa with the same lines, tho it was a damask fabric, and I incorporated it well into a shabby chic cottage style. I used a lot of textiles and made sure they were of all types of fabric. Nothing went, but yet, it all did. The true spirit of shabby chic!

Sorry, too fussy for cottage.

Sky

"Cute and Cottagy or Well .. Not? :o"

Well .. Not
sorry.....

I think this sofa could work in a very bohemian/artsy type of room... eclectic,not so much cottage. Have you ever been in a neat coffee bar with different interesting items mixed together and it just works? It's a fun look for the right house and person... hang a great piece of art and a fun lamp with some colorful throw pillows... I like it for a look like that.

sob sob sob, that couch makes me sad! I had one very similar to it with wood hand carved trim across the back and on the bottom front with some funky claw type legs. I paid someone big bucks to strip the wood and do an aged technique on it and then had it recovered. I moved to NC and the "professional" movers broke the bottom frame. I did not notice it until they had left and I went to sit on it and the whole thing broke. After all that money and of course the movers would not cover the damage because I had already signed off on the ticket saying everything was okay. Because of the age and the fact that it was hand carved it would have cost too much money to fix so I had to cut my losses.
If you removed the velvet fabric it will take on a whole new look but not cottagy, I think more traditional.

Something you'd see in Anthropologie.

Yes, I can see it because if anyone is able to transform the sofa to fit an "eclectic, fun, colorful cottage living room type setting" Zipdee is the girl for the job.

Will this sofa go into the little house?

First thought was, what? No. In and of itself. But I'm thinking someone could make a cottage room with this! in it. I think the skirt helps. I reallly like it, too! Basic cottage and country styles are one of those 'make-do with what you have' styles. The fabric is if-y but you could soften that up, I think. Exp to do, but wouldn't this be great recovered and skirted in a cottage fabric, too!

Sounds like you've already got some cottage-y vision for it in your mind's eye :) (and isn't wild Betsey Johnson's wild and crazy house cottage?).

Please share the price if you're comfortable :)

I'd snap that up in an instant if the price is right. However, it all depends on which cottage style you like. It's not country nor casual but is shabbily elegant and could go well with some version of cottage.

If it will be one of your regrets to pass on it, I recommend buying it on spec. If the price is good you can always sell it if you have second thots later.

I find there is an incomplete awareness of what cottage means. There are almost unlimited versions of this style. It's not only shabby chic.

Zipdee, are you in/near Indy ? I'd swear I saw that on our CL recently! (Just curious -- don't answer if you're not comfortable w/the question.)

I don't really think it's cottagy, but like the previous posters said, an artistic person could incorporate it into a gypsy/bohemian/eclectic kind of shabby chic thingy! I'd love to see it in that kind of setting, so please share if/when you do!

Maybe but it looks more formal to me.

Be very very careful. I think someone has been spiking your coffee!!!! Lol.

If you were going to use it as is....it would not work at all.

If you had it covered(were you?)and had full frilly skirt
and cabbage roses in polished cotton then it might.

But we are not talking about that particular sofa in those circumstances. Then it would be that sofa tranformed.

Lets act like I never wrote all this.

Uhhhhhhhhhhh no. I don't see it.

I don't think it is cottage-y but it could be made to fit into cottage decor... if you did the place out to look like genteel Victorian era cottage poverty, like someone's staid maiden aunt who has fallen upon hard times and retrenched to a small cottage.

Was trying to find some pics of Betsey Johnson's home. Here are a few. She uses quite a bit of cottage style.

Here is a link that might be useful: BJ NY apartment

Over-the-top bohemian, yes !!! you definitely have a good eye.

how you could make this work with whatever you own now ?

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I've read them all, I appreciate everyone's honesty too. It's great to see this piece of furniture through new eyes and get everyone's prospective.

Roselvr, I'm looking for something to be used as is. I think the right contrasting slip covers for the cushions could be very cool and pillows like Teeda was saying. It would have to be the perfect fabric though to bring the sofa in the right direction. I also think with the right pillows, chairs and art in the room, the sofa could probably stand alone as is.

Kalinka_2007, you hit the nail on the head with kitch/vintage. If I were to date this sofa, it would probably be from the 50's or 60's and I do love vintage and yes even kitch thrown in with cottage decor. I've seen so many neat types of cottage decorate, there is classic cottage with all the white, pastels and cabbage roses. Then I've seen off the wall colorful/artsy cottage, with brighter fabrics, bold wall colors and fab art. Vintage cottage, coastal cottage, more stream lined contemporary cottage, etc.

Pesky, if this sofa was in a pale green like your former sofa, I would have been there to pick it up already! :) I've been on the hunt for a vintage sofa in that color.

Msjay2u, I'm awfully sorry your sofa was damaged in the move!

Missheidi821, thanks! I'm not sure if I have a firm grasp on where the sofa would lead me, but part of me says with the right accessories, it could work. It would fit in the little house, but I was thinking about using it in our main home.

Squirrelheaven, I love the colors in Betsey Johnson's cottage! Very neat, thanks for putting the link up for me!
Have any of you been to visit Daisy Cottage? http://deardaisycottage.typepad.com/ I love this blog, I love her use of color, I love her found objects, I love her happy little cottage.

I very much agree with you that cottage and country styles are make do, reuse, re-purpose styles. The sofa is $100, the upholstery, foam in the cushions, backing, is in perfect condition, the sofa has been gently used. No smells, no rips, no stains, it's well put together and nothing is wobbly.

Luckygal, I agree it's wouldn't work in a more country casual setting.

Hoosiergirl, Our home is in central North Carolina. Love CL though! :)

Mitchdesj, I'm sorry I was composing my post as you were posting.

(quote) how you could make this work with whatever you own now ? (quote) I need to read up on how to do this on this board. *LOL*

We've been so focused on redoing/renovating the house, we haven't really hit the decorating stage yet downstairs. We do have existing furniture, the walls are painted to compliment, but it's at the point that it needs to be replaced. It was attractive and a fair price when we bought it, we are in NC and close to the furniture industry. I wouldn't exactly call it quality or sturdy though. So really I'm starting with a clean slate. I thought this time around since I'm looking to more than just furnish the house, I could collect pieces as I go.

I see my answer is already taken - no, not cottage at all.

Maybe if the color were different. If it were recovered, and the tufting eliminated on the back, then yes. But you want an 'as is' couch - this isn't the one.

I agree with whoever said that while the sofa itself is not cottage, it could be made to work in an eclectic cottage room. I do think it would be a bit more *elegant* cottage as opposed to *cute* cottage, if that makes any sense! LOL

Great buy!

tina

No, don't think it's cottagey, but I DO think it has potential as bohemian/arty. I could see it being a fun piece of furniture but everything else is going to have to look "right" with it. If you love it, get it! Life is short...

what I meant with my question, "how would you make this work with what you have?" is that the sofa is adorable but quirky, funky and whatever accessories and other pieces around it would have to reflect that somewhat.

are you still considering adopting it ?

the fabric does not look practical though, silk velvet it seems to be.

It's a really interesting piece !!

I can't wait to see what this room becomes!!

Yes, you could integrate this into cottage with the right fabric and other furniture. It in and of itself is not cottage but in some of my cottage magazines, I have seen a similar sofa with a Jacobean fabric used in a cottage setting. It will depend on what else you have and do. You can make this sofa's style all but disappear with the right fabric and other items. If the frame is in good condition and the price is right, by all means buy it. They don't make good furniture anymore.

The cottagers were the ones who took hand-me-downs and made them work in their homes. I would imagine that quite a few cottagers had what we might consider "not cottage." We really are going out on a limb to say that only one size fits cottage when the cottagers took hand-me-downs and whatever was in style for the uppity class in the year 01 was cottage when it was handed down to one of the cottagers by the year 10. So don't base cottage on what it has been stereotyped as but as hand-me-downs that were reworked in fabrics that were inexpensive and maybe even a bit faded.

I love that sofa -- I thought Anthropologie right away. You better run and get it, because my car is waiting in the driveway! I can get there in about 12 hours!

Do I need a sofa? NO! But would it be a fun pivot point around which to create and new, funky look? YES! And for a modest investment, it's worth a shot.

Thanks again to everyone who's added comments and opinions, you all are making me think. I really appreciate the help!

Amysrq .. *LOL* Bring a moving van, it's one big couch! :D

Mitch, Gottcha. Honestly I'm the type of person that would have to place the sofa in my living room and then think about it. I agree the sofa would be the start of a quirky, hopefully fun room and the other pieces would have to reflect that.

I have thought it over and I still have not decided whether to adopt the sofa yet. :) Like you pointed out, I'm a bit worried about the fabric. We have kids and dogs to contend with.

Here's just a real quick scan of ebay .. both are setting up a citrus color scheme. One more formal, one a bit funkier. I'm not sure if either would actually work with out seeing them in person though.

I realize my use of color is not everyone's cup of tea, but these are just the cutest chairs!

{{!gwi}}

A bit more formal, but still fun. Not sure about the legs, but you could change them or have a skirt made. You could use the lamp shades to pull in the other citrus colors.

{{!gwi}}

I was looking for some nice green chairs, but didn't find anything. The right ones would bring you a whole different direction.

I'm sorry, but my first thought was that sofa used to be covered in clear plastic slip covers.....

"Cute"? No, but fortunately there's more to "cottage" than shabby chic, cabbage roses, and bunny rabbits.

I'm with pesky; I can see an eclectic world traveling, gypsy look. Add a couple of hanging pierced tin lamps from Morocco, a variety of unusual pillows, a cozy throw, a colorful rug underfoot, some three dimensional artwork, a framed poster for the Orient Express. I'd use an antique trunk for a coffee table, with a wooden box of antique stereoscope cards and a viewer next to a colored glass vase with gold, orange and red lillies.

OMG, those chairs are even better. And I love the orange wing chair...even though I'm not sure how long I would/could continue to love it!

Okay, maybe I won't drive up. After all, I already own two behemoth sofas, each a whopping 92 inches. Deliver me...

Oh, that is awesome! I'm smitten by the bright orange wing chair and that shade :) How much fun would that room be.

How much is the sofa? All you said was that it was priced to sell.

Only $100.

I couldn't believe it when I saw your picture of that couch! When my daughter was a college student in an unfurnished apt, she went to the salvation army with her friends and the X long van and bought that same couch!! Same color etc. It is LONG! When she graduatedm she brought it home! It wouldn't fit in her room so she asked my son if it could stay in his room. He agreed. Well, that couch will NEVER leave his room. EVERYONE loves it. He even sleeps on it sometimes because he says it's so comfy! So if yours is as comfy, I'd say to keep it. If your hubby doesn't like the fabric, buy some material and make a project out of it by covering it. I say KEEP IT!
Lynn

I wouldn't think a curved sofa would be that comfortable to nap on. you can't turn over onto your other side unless to get up and put your head where your feet were.

Doesn't it seem to anyone else that it would be more expensive or difficult for the DIY'er to reupholster that sofa with all those buttons and tufting?

Well I'd have no trouble sleeping on it I don't think :) Reupholstering would be expensive and probably tricky for a DIY due to the tufting. There was some discussion on that recently -- really ups the price if you need to recover.