Slipcovers!!!

This has been my living room since I moved into

Buttermilk Cottage eight years ago.

(Note the two yellow love seats 

that flank the fireplace.) 

Very traditional and I have loved it.

However, for the past few years 

I have wanted to lighten and relax the look a bit.

Notice a difference here?

The oriental rug is gone and

replaced with a natural jute one.

Next in line for change...

those yellow love seats.

Honestly, I have been looking for fabric

for slipcovers for two years!

Finally a couple of months ago

I found exactly what I wanted.

It is an off white, quilted fabric.

You are looking at 36 yards of fabric!

My upholsterer requested that I cut it into

five yard lengths for easier handling,

and then wash and dry it.

Next, she came to my house,

measured and cut the fabric

and then took it back to her workshop

to sew everything together.

Can you imagine making a 

slipcover without having the

piece of furniture in front of you

to "try it on" as you sew???

She's good...very, very good!

(A plus to this process is that I did not

have to live without my couches while

the slipcovers were being made!)

Last week she returned and installed them for me!

Bye bye, yellow couches!

And, they are a PERFECT fit!

I am loving my new, fresher, lighter and more "cottage" look!

However, as with any change to a room,

my mind is wandering to what else needs to be done.

Some possibilities...

*painting the room so the white "pops" a bit more (???)

*chalk painting the coffee table, black or white perhaps (???)

I'm thinking...

Slipcovering a Chair...#2



I have this little side chair that

went from the living room to the the basement

several months ago.

At that time I decided to "lighten" my decor a bit

and it just didn't work in the living room any longer.

It's a perfectly nice little chair,

but I have too much brown

in my house.

My plan was to slipcover it and

move it to my bedroom.

I purchased this white, embossed

fabric a few months ago,

with the chair in mind.

The first step was to wash and dry the fabric.

No point in making a slipcover if

it doesn't clean easily.

I have made one other chair slipcover in the past

using a commercial pattern.

This time I decided to wing it without a pattern.

Measuring, cutting and labeling all my pieces

started the process.

And of course, I made lots of notes for myself.

My approach was to "build" the slipcover,

piece by piece.

It took three separate sessions

to assemble all the pieces.

The trickiest part of the whole process

was the side area where the back, seat and bottom

all come together.

This was the same area that gave me

problems on the chair I had done previously.

Try as I might, I could not get that area

to come together nicely.

Finally, after venting to Nancy,

non-sewer that she is, 

her idea was to cover it up with a sash. 

Brilliant!

This turned out to be a bit of detailing

I had not planned on,

but it totally "makes" the chair!

Assessing the final results,

it's not perfect.

But it's a learning process.

And until I want to attempt it again,

I can at least use my little chair.

This week I'm partying at
Etsy Cottage Style.