Case Study - How to change or update your sofa using new furniture legs.

Sue had a large sectional L-shaped sofa that she really loved, in a beautiful light stone beige fabric. Very beach chic!

The sofa still looked great and had a lot of life left in it. But overall it was way too low to get in and out of comfortably or easily.

It had always been a low sofa even from brand new, but with the natural aging of the seat foam, and the natural aging of the owners, the height had become uncomfortable and difficult to use.

The original wood legs were only about 3cm (1 1/4”) tall. Once you sat on the sofa the seat foam squashed down to about 25cm (10”) in total off the floor, way too low to be comfortable for most furniture.

A more comfortable height is between 30-40cm (12”-16”) from under your thigh to the floor. In America, this height can go up to 18”, as a lot of American furniture is much taller than New Zealand and Australia.

The solution was to change the legs to a metal Borsari furniture leg that was 13cm tall (5 1/8”), which boosted the total height of the sofa up to around 35cm (13 2/3”) once the original wood legs were removed.

This was a much more comfortable height to use. This upgrade also gave the sofa a modern refreshed and lighter feel, and looked wonderful.

Sue is pleased that she doesn’t need to buy a new sofa. Changing the legs was a simple process, and totally changed the look of the lounge suite.

One thing you need to consider before you change the legs is how much wood frame is available to screw the new legs into. You don't need to use every screw hole on the leg.

You can always add a block of wood underneath (inside the baselining) if there doesn't seem to be enough. Most furniture legs will tell you the "plate" size, this is the area of the top part that touches the sofa and has the holes that the screws go through and into the frame.

Browse our catalogue of furniture legs to see if something will suit your lounge suite. Or contact us with questions about furniture legs.

Visit Gorgeous Creatures while in the Hawkes Bay
8 Otatara Rd, Taradale, Napier 4112 (by appointment please call or text first)
Kirsty Mason Ph 027 222 6230
showroom@gorgeouscreatures.co.nz 
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