Nicole was caught off guard when her stepmother, Susan, offered her a “gift.” Expecting something thoughtful, she was horrified to receive an old, foul-smelling couch that looked like it had been dragged off the curb. Still, not wanting to upset her father, she reluctantly accepted it.
Refusing to let Susan’s passive-aggressive gesture get under her skin, Nicole decided to turn the situation around. She got to work: neutralizing the odor with a homemade deodorizer, scrubbing out stains using a blend of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap, and patching up rips with fabric from a thrift store. She added decorative buttons and frills, transforming the once-disgusting couch into something that looked straight out of a designer showroom.
