When your sofa looks dusty, dull, or dated, you might be thinking it's time to purchase a new one. But compared to other furniture pieces in the home, the couch is something of a costly investment, so pause a moment and consider the many options that you can easily undertake—at a fraction of the cost—to refresh your existing couch.

We're sharing all the best ways to transform your old couch to look brand new.

Deep Clean It

Sometimes upholstered furniture just needs a good thorough cleaning to look brand spanking new. Start with vacuuming up any crumbs and dust. If you want to go a little further and remove any odors and minor stains from the fabric, lightly dust the couch with baking soda and let it sit for 15 minutes prior to vacuuming it.

How you go about deep cleaning your couch beyond this will depend on the upholstery fabric care tag, so be sure to check this first and follow the instructions. A steam-powered cleaner is a great chemical-free way to clean the couch, if the fabric care label states to use water-based cleaners. Also, take note: If your cushion covers are machine-washable, launder as instructed but hang-dry them to avoid the risk of shrinkage.

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Fix Sagging

Unzip the cushion cover, then pat the edges with both hands simultaneously (as you would to shake off the dust) to redistribute air into the cushion fill. Smooth out the top and bottom with your hands and rezip. Frequently rearrange cushions (switch sides and flip over if the cushion cover is double-sided) to avoid sagging in singular spots. Repeat these steps with the back cushions.

Use Slipcovers

Stretch-fit slipcovers aren’t new, but they’ve grown more popular in recent years as there’s much more variety to suit any taste and style. Slipcovers are a quick and easy way to refresh your couch, as well as help protect the original upholstery and cushion material from pet and child accidents.

Change the Cushion Covers

Instead of covering the whole couch, consider covering just the cushions. There’s a slew of online retailers who offer stretch-fit and custom-fit covers for individual cushions. You can opt for a fabric that’s indistinguishable from the rest of the upholstered frame or one that’s contrasting yet still complementary.

Add Throw Pillows

If your couch is already in mint shape, maybe you just need to accessorize it with throw pillows. Throw pillows are a great addition to bare sofas and they also offer a way to inject color and personality without overwhelming the space.

Refinish the Legs

If your sofa has exposed wood legs, whether tall or short and stumpy, consider refinishing them using sandpaper, wood filler if needed, and a wood finish. You can also consider changing up its look with a different wood stain color.

Change the Legs

You can also swap the legs instead of just refinishing them. Chances are the couch, assuming it’s not an antique or heirloom, has screw-in legs. Many of these have a 5/16-inch screw, making them easily replaceable. If you search online, you’ll find a lot of stock in different shapes, styles, and finishes, from medium-height tapered cylinders and short square feet to elaborate turned-wood options.

Replace Cushions

If fluffing up the cushions to remove sagging doesn’t do the trick, perhaps it’s time to replace the cushion altogether. Fortunately, this is a budget-friendly move and several custom cushion services are available online. They can be cut to size as well as shape, including wonky L-shaped seats that wrap the arm corner of a sectional, and in a range of foam types. Some of these online companies also offer alternative poly and down fill.

Plump Up With Poly-Fil

Some sofa cushions are in fine condition but just look underfilled (or the covers aren’t tailor-fitted to them). Or, there might be a sunken spot you can’t fluff up no matter what you try. In these cases, an inexpensive way to plump up the cushions (assuming they have zippered covers you can open) is to use a combination of batting and poly-fil. These are both materials you can find in craft stores and online retailers.

Button Up

If you like the button-tufted look and your couch has removable back cushions, consider this hack to recreate the effect. You’ll need to find buttons that match your upholstery, but if you can’t source any, you can pay an upholsterer a small fee to make buttons covered in the fabric of your choosing.

Be sure you have enough buttons for both the front and back sides of the cushions. This is because you’ll need the attach the front- and back-facing buttons to each other and tighten the thread between them to create that tufted look. Be sure to plan out and evenly space the button layout before you start.

Reupholster

This is the costly option, but if you have a couch with a frame you love, but a fabric you’re not fond of and damaged cushioning that you can’t rehabilitate, it might be worth investing in this. Keep in mind, however, that depending on who does the reupholstering and what materials need to be sourced, this project can cost as much as buying a new sofa. To cut costs, try DIYing this (but only if you’re experienced with upholstered goods and/or furniture touch-ups).

Add Nail Head Trim

If it goes with your décor, you might want to try adding classic nail head trim to your couch. You’ll need to hammer the nails in yourself, so be sure to mark the placement for each nail ahead of time. (While this depends on the nail head size, spacing should be anywhere between 1/2 and 5/8 inches.) Also be sure that there’s a foundation, such as wood arms or legs, that the nails can attach to.

Revitalize the Leather

If your couch is leather but the leather’s looking dry and worn—not necessarily in the desirable weathered-looking sense—you can simply condition the leather using easy-to-find shoe-polishing products such as Kiwi brand polish or mink oil.

Add a Throw Blanket

Like the throw cushions, this is a way to accessorize a plain sofa. Depending on the style, size, and material, a throw blanket partially draped over the couch can add a sense of luxury, comfort, and texture.