Couches can end up in rough shape for a variety of reasons — cats, dogs, kids — at the end of the day, any furniture you're using regularly will have some wear and tear. However, one Instagram user posted a Reel with a helpful tip to fix your damaged couch: embroidery.
The idea comes from livekindly (@livekindly) on Instagram, an account dedicated to sustainability tips and plant-based recipes.
The Reel features before-and-after photos of couch corners that had been ripped up — presumably from a cat — and then covered over with decorative stitching or embroidery.
The examples range from gorgeous and colorful floral patterns to more modern, angular ones — the possibilities are endless.
"Give your scratched up couch a new life by decorating it," the poster suggested in the caption.
The idea is fun and could save you thousands of dollars — literally.
If you just bought your couch a year or two ago and your cat decides to use it as a scratching post, the last thing you want is to have to replace the whole piece. And for parents with kids, everyone knows that spending a weekend at the furniture store is a recipe for boredom.
Instead, this idea gives you the freedom to avoid buying a whole new couch and express yourself artistically on something you'll use every day.
From an environmental standpoint, the more use you can get out of your furniture, the more you'll be helping the planet, too. While wood and some fabric can decompose, they take significantly longer to do so in landfills — Load Up reports that a chair can take 13 years to decompose.
So, your artistic ability will not only upgrade your couch, but it will also slow down the rate at which furniture gets thrown out.
Commenters on the post were pleased with the idea.
"This is brilliant!" said one, while another added, "Cheaper, fun, and beautiful!"
Another user loved the idea so much, they were disappointed that they didn't have an excuse to do it. "Our cats don't scratch the sofa but now I kind of want them to," they wrote.
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