It sounds like the door is an outside door? Can you take the door and frame off to give yourself a wider berth to get a sofa inside? My father once bought a used dryer but forgot to measure it, and it was just too big to get through the door (an outside door which goes right into the laundry room). His only option was to take the door and frame off, which we did. Brought the dryer in, then put the frame and door back on. Getting that dryer out when it croaks is going to require the same, or taking the dryer out in pieces! We put a note on the dryer for the person in the future who has to do so! I will tell you that I have never sat on one of those individual unit sofas that was not thoroughly uncomfortable so you might want to give that some serious thought. The pieces slide apart, then the cushions fall down between them; the edges of each piece create hard, raised bumps⦠You might want to jury rig it so they don't slide apart, then put some kind of board or something on it, under the cushions, to create a level, flat surface on which to put the cushions. This post was edited by Tibbrix on Wed, Jan 8, 14 at 16:15

I agree with everyting above, with the exception of the comment about staples. They are much maligned and misunderstood and several friends of mine who reupholster swear by them. In our marine climate stainless staples outlast even the best quality tacks and there is no rusting. The holes they create are smaller and the load is spread more evenly. A properly adjusted staple gun and the proper size staple can be set much more efficiently with no damage to the frame. I've had 5 pieces reupholstered over the years, the youngest in the 50-60 yr. old range (in original upholstery!). All were completely "ripped down", the frames checked for "racking" and the "wobbles" and tightened. All the webbing was removed and replaced, the springs reused and re-tied. Any horsehair (on the really old pieces) was cleaned and reused, fluffed up and secured with bridle ties. All the foam in the cushions of the newer pieces was replaced (I sampled the density of the foam before deciding which one to use), and wrapped in batting with a non-woven cover. Every piece came home looking wonderful and I've never regretted having them redone. Reupholstery is labor instensive. You are paying someone who lives locally to take the time to fuss over your furniture. They have worked hard to amass and perfect their skills, they have overhead, and they pay taxes, too. Personally? I would rather pay a tradesman/craftsman in my own country to breathe new life into something I find pleasing and works in my home. I agree than many of new particle board pieces are not worth the time required, but any good upholsterer will tell you that at the time the estimate is given.

Thanks for your thoughts may flowers. So now that I have this new tool I tried doing it both ways....sofa and chairs and sectional. I'll have to run them by my husband. He has been very sectional opposed but maybe seeing an image may help. May I ask why you feel that the furniture would be not great with dogs....this is a HUGE consideration for us so we don't want to make that mistake. If you speak from experience please share! FYI - my dogs aren't big...two selties at 25 lbs and an Aussie that will grow to be about 30-35. Here are the mock ups. The sectional I used was the BY Tappan, which I have linked below. The chair and ottoman I didn't customize the size since the Taylor King chairs I used for the other seems to be too long. But I am sure I could find one smaller since I venture to guess it won't be used often. And then the original idea with the scale of the furniture I am looking at (minus tables - haven't gotten that far yet!): Any thoughts? Regarding the yellow, we will pick up fabric swatches tomorrow. I really want the yellow to work, but can see what you are saying. I'll take some pics for feedback. Here is a link that might be useful: Sectional

Flo Mangan, I randomly found this lamp at Homegoods on a whim. I think I went look at art, and found this instead. I had another one from pottery barn, but we felt as if this lamp went better with our aesthetic.