The striped couch belonged to my parents, who I was told had purchased it with money they received as a wedding present. Eventually it sat in the living room of our home, just in front of the riverboat mural.
Its original upholstery was a maroonish brown with a very subtle gold embossing. When that wore thin, Mother made a slipcover using a fabric taken from a Grandma Moses painting.
When she had washed that so many times that it could no longer be stretched over the pillows, she sent it out to be recovered in an aqua nylon fabric called Frieze (kudos to my brother who found this on Pinterest) which had raised tiny nobbly bumps. It wore like iron but was truly uncomfortable to sit on when you were wearing shorts .
After we children had passed the age of dropping food on the couch, Mother had it recovered one more time, this time in the striped material pictured here. She said that it had "cost the earth," but Daddy had told her that as long as they were doing this, they were going to do it right.
That fabric lasted (more or less) for over 30 years. I have just had it recovered in this tweedy looking fabric. For an 80 year old couch, it looks pretty up to date.
My brother and sister and I jumped on that couch from the late 1940's through the early 1960's. Because of our exuberance, Daddy decided the couch ought to be reenforced as a precautionary measure. Maybe all furniture was solidly built then, but at least this one old piece of furniture was really really well built... My own children enjoyed it and my grandchildren now take off the cushions and bounce to their hearts content. All in all, our family has been jumping (and sitting peacefully) on this couch for over 75 years. Who knows how long it may last??
