After only about a year, our (not cheap) couch caved in on one side and we decided to replace it. Although technically it was me who fell on and broke the couch, there have been claims of interference and a push being the true cause. Video replay was inconclusive...

So the question that arose was "what to do with the broken couch?" Still angry and frustrated with it's short lifespan, I was in the process of dragging it to the curb when a crazy idea was thought up and discussed.

Wife - "We should convert the couch into a huge, comfy chair!"
Me - "It won't work... it'll look stupid... I just want it gone"
Wife - "........."
Me - "I'll go get the Sawzall...."

Tools/materials used:

Broken Couch
Reciprocating Saw
Hammer
Impact Driver and Drill
Staple Gun
Pliers
Wire cutters
Screws

Step 1: Start Tearing It Apart and Exploring

I started out by carefully removing the liner under the cushions and unwrapping the fabric.

Using pliers I removed what seemed to be 7 million staples. I also had to be really careful and the fabric tore quite easily during this step.

At this point I realized the side arm rest portion of the couch was upholstered separately. This made things much easier than I first expected.

Step 2: Cutting Time!

After fighting off a last ditch effort to protect the couch by Murphy, it was time to get serious and whip out the saw.

First I used one of the top cushions to determine how much of the couch to remove to have it fit just one cushion perfectly. Making marks on all the pieces to be cut I proceeded to saw away.

I tried to make the cut as close to the spring as possible so that it would remain and provide support right up to the hand rest.

There was basically 4 places that needed to be cut. Front, rear, top, middle (shown in the last pic).

I saved all the material that I cut away to help with the next step... reconstruction!

Step 3: Putting It Back Together!

After coming down from the excitement of taking a Sawzall to a couch in my family room, it was time to Frankenstein this beast back together.

Reconnecting the arm rest turned out to much easier of a task than anticipated.

For the front and rear rails I used the scrap that I originally cut out as a backer to join the rails.I overlapped the joint several inches and drove a few screws in to secure it.

The top and middle rails lay on top of parts of the arm rest. For these I just lined them up and used staples/screws to secure them.

After confirming everything came out straight and sturdy, it was time to reupholster. This was a 2 person job, one to stretch and hold the fabrics and the other to staple it in place.

I was pleasantly surprised at how comparable the reupholstered side came out compared to the untouched side.

To validate the build quality, we ran it through the most demanding test possible... Letting our Great Dane sit on it :)