Sofa Revival – Home Staging Tip of the Week.

For simple restyling – scatter cushions rule!

I was asked to upgrade the Kensington rental flat featured here. The property had good quality but tired furniture, especially the sofa which was looking so out of shape the owner felt they would have to replace it, but I love a challenge and I knew that with some TLC the sofa could be salvaged.   I managed to revive the existing piece with just a good plumping of seat pads, plus new scatter cushions and throws from mix of Ikea, TK Maxx and Primark. Sorted on a very small budget. The geometric patterns and mix of textures added a complete new look and brought the sofa from sad sack to elegant addition.

The theory of working with 3’s applies to many styling tricks, but especially when it comes to mixing it up and creating an interesting, colourful or textural arrangement.  Here i’ve used a mix of velvet, wool and chenille for texture, one pattern, one dark and one light grey, plus there are three slightly different sizes of cushion.  Although this may seem like there is a lot going on it works to make the sofa looked thoughtfully yet casually styled,  all the tones merge together and are balanced.   I don’t recommend using too many patterns as this will end up looking just too busy.

When sourcing on a budget look for good quality textures, such as a heavy weave or a more matt finish to the fabric.  Shinier fabrics such as silk, unless good quality tend to look less expensive.  Also stick to selecting fabrics within the same tonal range for a least two of your colour choices, with maybe one pop of colour or bold texture to add interest.

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Mortgage approvals up in February

The latest mortgage approval data from the Bank of England show that: –   Mortgage approvals on house purchases for February sat at 62,584 up (3.9%) from 60,246 seen in January. Approvals are down (-3.9%) when compared to the 65,114 seen in February 2025. This annual decline was expected due to wider market slowdown and economic…
Read More
Breaking News

Pain for landlords as buy-to-let borrowing costs soar

Buy-to-let fixed mortgage rates are soaring due to unrest in the Middle East, according to Moneyfactscompare.co.uk. Landlords also face further financial challenges over the next few years, to meet new private rental rules. Average buy-to-let fixed rates over a two- or five-year term have risen since the start of March 2026. The two-year rate is…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 26/3/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Average house prices in England are 7.6 times the median average salary The house-price-to-salary ratios in England continue to see a gradual decline post Covid-19 spike Following today’s release of the ONS Housing Affordability in England and Wales: 2025 data confirming that median average…
Read More
Breaking News

Households facing £114 council tax increase

The latest research from eXp UK shows that the average household could see their council tax increase by £114 over the next year following increases of up to £986 over the past ten years. At the beginning of April, the majority of local councils are expected to put council tax up by 4.99% – the…
Read More
Breaking News

UK House Price Index for January 2025

The latest index shows that: The average monthly rate of house price growth in January was -0.3%. Average UK house price annual inflation was 1.3% in the 12 months to January 2025. As a result, the average UK house price currently sits at £268,000.   Here are some thoughts from the Industry.   Damien Jefferies,…
Read More
Breaking News

Exchange time reaches 135 days

Property transactions slow as exchange time reaches 135 days — up 45% on 2019 The time it takes to exchange contracts has risen to 135 days — 45% longer than in 2019 and 3% higher than last year — despite a drop in property transactions year-on-year, it emerged today. Novus Strategy, the transformation consultancy for…
Read More