Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Great Recovery Cover Up

How many of us have read the blogs, DIY websites, and/or "Upholster It Yourself" books?  They all make it seem, or come right out and state, that making slipcovers or recovering furniture oneself is as easy as . . . well 1, 2, 3.  THEY ARE LYING!  I can now speak with some amount of experience, having recovered this (below) living room sofa.
The first thing that I realized would make things "tricky" (ahem this is a MAJOR understatement) was the "T" shape of the frame itself and thereby the cushions as well.
"Well," I decided, "The first thing to do is choose a color scheme for the living room." I matched the new fabrics to the piece of furniture that I selected as the base point (my "mommy chair" for those of you who have been here).  Then it was a matter of waiting until my fabric choices went on sale, because decorator fabric can get VERY expensive.
My daughters loved the choices and would have been happy if I had simply draped the fabric over the top of the couch.  They wanted to sit on it immediately.  I actually did this for a time, but it kept pulling and slouching and generally looking ugly whenever someone sat on the couch.
Sooooo I pulled out my trusty friend and readied myself for this "quick and easy task." I was soon "schooled." Suffice it to say that there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth, late into many nights.
When the frame was FINALLY covered I took a couple of months to psych myself up for the cushions.
Thankfully this portion of the "recovery" was much easier than I anticipated.
Oh, and I also recovered the pillows that came with the couch.  Waste not, want not.

2 comments:

Rachel Lundy said...

Dorina, the couch looks beautiful! The blood, sweat, and tears were worth it! (I hope?! :)

Blobbing Mommy said...

Oh Rachel, they totally were. I hope you are having a good day.