Thanks, collector. I'm not hoping to restore the sofa to its original state but just to make it less unsightly. The plan---well my plan but not DH's---is to refurbish it and move it into his office. Then I'll get a new one for my family room. Anyone who wants to take a nap can snore in the office. We definitely got our money's worth already but when I was in a very high end furniture store recently looking for a replacement the salesman advised me to hang on to this one even if I completely reupholstered in fabric. In his opinion new sofas were not being made as well as the old ones. Also, DH just won't give it up so I have to do something to make the best of it so I don't go nuts every time I look at it.

hi there Lyban! Sorry to chime in so late in the day; I missed your post earlier. In my experience it would be almost impossible to upholster from the top down instead of bottom-up. The entire process depends on placing quite a bit of weight on the jute webbing, which is stretched tightly across the wooden frame, then softened by the springs. If you try to do it backwards, you can't achieve the same amount of tension and it will sag, plus it will likely put too much stress on the leather cover and stretch it out of shape. Hmmm. The thing is, the hard part about putting a leather cover on is the measurement and pulling to fit. In this case, that has already been done. I really don't think it would be too hard to carefully take off the cover and then rebuild the innards from the ground up. Since you've already cut out the webbing and springs, I'm afraid I don't see any other way to do it and make the chair comfortable and able to take any amount of weight. Be brave! :-) Of course you can just wait to get it done professionally, but it's honestly not that hard to do, and you can just follow the tack holes from the previous job when you put the leather back on. You will need to get new webbing (quite cheap) and a webbing stretcher which are both available at Joanne's Fabrics or online. The sites already listed by others give you some good pointers, and here's a good beginner's book I can recommend with very easy-to-follow instructions and great illustrations: Here is a link that might be useful: Simply Upholstery Step-by-Step

Thank you both for the support. The sofa I saw in the store was a similar leather to the one you linked to, postum. The cushions were a very dark paisley and I thought it look quite nice. I know I'm making this old sofa sound awful but I'm sitting here looking at it now and it's not that bad. I have a throw over it that covers the cracks in the seat cushions and throw pillows at each end. I'm just thinking that if I get a good coordinating fabric on the cushions it would eliminate the need for the throw that I'm constantly readjusting after DH has his nap.

I love the first two you posted, but just had a thought after reading mtnrdredux's comment -- have you considered something that's wool or wool blend but has the look of sisal? That straw color with a bit of texture could be great with your chairs in a sunroom. I know there are wall-to-wall carpets that resemble sisal and am assuming that there are area rugs as well. Or you could always have a piece of carpet bound, which might be a nice look for this less formal space as well. Now I have to admit, once and for all, that every time I see another part of your house (particularly after you've completed furnishing/painting/transforming it) I am jealous! OK, got that out of my system.