My Ten Dollar Sofa

I am a big fan of yard sales. So on a beautiful Saturday about ten years ago, mom and I set out to hunt for treasures. We happened upon a neighborhood sale in the wonderful, historic part of Springfield. While I was still busy at one house, mom went ahead to the next sale. Within minutes I could hear her yelling, "DANAVEE, Get over here quickly!" from a driveway a few houses down. So I scrambled down the street as fast as I could go.......only to behold a most precious sight when I arrived.......

My $10 sofa........I knew I had to have it. TEN DOLLARS! However, there were issues. It was ratty and ugly, with faded upholstery and holes in the cushions. But is that really a problem? NOT FOR ME! I snatched it right up and had it reupholstered (for a LOT more than ten dollars)!


I wish I had a before picture, but unfortunately, I didn't think to do that ten years ago. But all is not lost. I had the upholsterer save the fabric from the seat cushions.........


Each cushion was covered in this design. I thought it would be funny to frame one or to recover a vintage footstool with one.

When it was being recovered, the upholsterer found a payment receipt from the early 1940's from City Utilities in Springfield! That means my sofa was most likely purchased locally and that it's from the late 30's or early 40's.

And that's the saga of my $10 sofa (that ended up being a $1,000 sofa) that I wouldn't trade for anything!