I Got A $50. Couch That Needs A $1000. Upols Job

Top quality Corbusier style couch from Design Within Reach
But not my reach - $7800. for white leather

A cute cheap knock off for only $290.!
I prefer the tight back and single seat cushion

I like this tufted couch too - $899. but I worry about sitting on buttons

This is my old girl wearing her toile dress

I have only had one new couch in my life. It was a bargain basement chintz print thing back in the reign of Mario Buatta The Prince Of Chintz.
When I moved West to be with the hubs, I did not bring this couch, or the second hand one I had in my beach house either. The hubs had the standard issue matching couch and love seat big ass cushion things, and I threw white slipcovers on them.
When we left the West to move to the South, we gave the couches to his son. I was promised new furniture, since we were flush at the time.
We moved into a small apartment initially, in a building circa 1820's. I bought a second hand Chippendale camel back sofa because it suited the antique house, and I was enamored with all the good stuff in the second hand stores. It was a faded blue velvet, tight back, one seat cushion, and in pretty decent shape. My neighbor and new best friend, Miss Anne helped me make a black and white toile slip cover for it. I also bought a couple of off the rack white slipcovers for it, one from Sure (Doesn't) Fit, and a more pricey one from Ikea which I'm using now.
We've had this couch for eight years and counting. I replaced the seat cushion with a new firm foam cushion. I paid $50. for the couch, and have invested $80. for the cushion, $80. for the toile fabric, $80. for the Sure Fit cover, and $100. for the Ikea cover HERE, for a total of $390.
The frame is still sound, but the padding is beat. You can feel the wood frame on the arms. The back is okay.
Recently I posted a couple of photos on Rate My Space showing the old girl, and expressing an interest in getting a new couch.
I'm thinking of something more of a modern classic style. A couple of years ago I wanted the groovy sectional with the chaise lounge section, but I have changed my mind because our living room is just too small, and every wall has either a door or window.
I'm attracted to a Corbusier style sofa. And I am thinking of leather, because I am sick of trying to keep a couch clean when the dog, me, and the hubs get it dirty. And I am thinking of white (!) leather (or faux leather), because I love my white slipcovers, and I think it might be kind of glam. I got used to seeing alot of white leather in Buenos Aires, and it didn't seem any worse for wear in all the clubs, lobbies, and restaurants.
The RMS gals are advising I re-upholster the old sofa. It does have good bones. I could do it in white vinyl with nifty nail head trim. So I started do some research on this project. Mmmmmmm

From an interview in The Believer with Jack White HERE

JW: Say you want to re-upholster a couch. The couch is like twelve yards of fabric, and if you’ve got cheap fabric for $10 a yard (which would be really cheap), that’s $120 already. Then it takes 35-40 hours of work to upholster a couch, so even if you work for $10 an hour, it would end up being like $560 to do a couch, not counting the padding, the cushion, all that stuff. So you couldn’t just cut a deal; you can’t upholster someone’s couch for less than $1000.

BLVR: So the piece has to be worth a lot to begin with.

JW: Yeah, exactly. Someone who bought a couch at Salvation Army for 50 bucks isn’t going to spend $1000 to re-upholster it, unless they’re rich. Then it’s probably okay.

Mmmmmm. This article was written in 2003. So it will probably be over $1000. The hubs and I talk about making it a DIY project, but I don't think so. I found a couple of couches on line that are cheaper than the redo. Jack White says that cheap disposable furniture has killed the upholstery industry. I would like to do the green thing and not fill up a landfill with my old couch, but what's a girl to do when going green costs more green than you got?

Got any advice? Anyone have a white leather (or faux leather) couch?