House Week: # Two

As part of the freshening up around here, I got the crazy idea to slipcover my sofa and chairs in white cotton. My mom planted the seed several months ago, then she got her own furniture slipcovered, and I just went for it!

We inherited this sofa when my parents downsized, which happened to be right when we got married! So, it's basically the best kind of sofa - free, long, and did I mention FREE? It is also old (like, as old as I am - so that is OLD) and I think was a wedding present to MY parents from my grandfather who owned a furniture store. It really is true - they don't make furniture like they used to.

When we inherited this sofa, it still had the original upholstery and the crayon marks underneath one of the pillows that I made years ago. We recovered it in this green fabric. Not super stylish, but durable and neutral.

We also had these chairs that we purchased from a furniture store that was going out of business around the time we got married. Comfy, but not totally my style.

So - we went for it! The lady who did the slipcovers (Deborah Blair) is local and I think she did a great job! She came to our house, brought the fabric samples, measured and showed up a few weeks later with the finished project. Ta da!

I've really been happy with them. The thing about white slipcovers and kids is that you have the option to wash your furniture, but also that you HAVE to wash your furniture. The slips are kind of grungy (I've flipped over the cushions to get maximum wear before washing - shhh, don't tell). Also, I'm really grossed out thinking about how dirty our old sofa was and we just couldn't see it.

The only DIY part of this project was these pillows. I just ordered a yard of fabric from Calico Corners and got some pillow forms at JoAnn (on sale!). I was finally able to use my new sewing machine that I got for Christmas a few years ago (and had never taken out of the box). It really is like riding a bike, though - you don't forget how to do it!

** For any of the rest of you crazy enough to have white slipcovers, here are my stain fighting tips thus far: 1. Make sure all the crayons and markers in your house are washable 2. If you get strawberries on your furniture, pour boiling water on to the stain while the slipcover is over a bowl. It make take 2-3 attempts, but it works pretty well!