If you have been following me on social media for awhile, you may remember that we purchased a new couch back in June. Well, it was a new-to-us couch, found through the 5miles app - have you ever used it? We (ok, I...) had been looking for awhile, and when I saw this Pottery Barn model, clean and available locally for a great price, and the seller was able to deliver it, SOLD! Here she is in all her red-flowered slipcovered glory...

When you are looking for pre-loved pieces with the intention to slipcover, it opens up lots more possibilities ;)

In this case, I really wanted to "neutralize" our family room. We LIVE in that room - play, read, watch TV, my husband's work desk is in there (artfully cropped out, because -- Professor ;) Someday, a real home office space for him...), it opens to the kitchen, you get the idea! It's a busy people space and I needed the decor to be quieter. Quieter now looks like this...

Much better than the navy we had before, and definitely an improvement over the red flowers! I found a brushed denim for a great price here, and with the impending deadline of hosting guests, ordered it in faith without seeing a sample. The fabric came and turned out to be almost the exact color of our paint in that room, perfect for the neutral, quiet look I was aiming for! I got lucky - if there was more time, I definitely recommend getting samples to make sure you are getting a color that works.

I was a little hesitant about getting a light color in such a well-used space, but it washes well and does so much for the room, that it is worth it.

I kept the slipcover design simple, partly because I had a deadline ;) A waterfall-style skirt saved some seams and eliminated several additional yards of piping.

All ready for some serious family time (and guests)!

Do deadlines help you get projects done?

Sherri

Every project/piece that I do has a story, it seems. It's part of why I started this blog, to tell the stories, because it's the stories of the furniture (and people!) that make this work so much more than just repetitive manufacturing. So, Facebook followers, you may remember this chair from a few months back...

A lovely antique rocking chair with a dropcloth slipcover (and those pleats!). Well, that rocking chair lives in a living room with this chair (also from awhile ago)...

An Ethan Allen chair with new ruffled slipcover, also out of dropcloth. Turns out that this chair has a relative who also resides in that room, a matching Ethan Allen couch who was feeling a little left out of the new-dropcloth-slipcover-loop. So my client decided to remedy that (see the matching chair peaking in from the corner?)...

Yes, it was time (it does have cushions - they were just removed before I got there). Sturdy and comfortable, but it was needing a fresh look. I love the rolled, tight back...

My client wanted to stick with the dropcloth theme and the ruffled skirt, but chose the 10oz version of fabric, since the couch is used much more often. My best friend for this project was my new ruffler foot - it worked great with the dropcloth and saved me a whole lot of time and frustration :)

Also new for this project was the extent of the cushion "rehab" required - I ended up removing not only the original fabric of the cushions, but also the inside muslin cover and the outer layer of Dacron. I replaced that layer with new Dacron and made new inner covers. Here they are with their new dropcloth slipcovers...

Fresh and clean and square! As with the chair, my client opted to go without piping for a simpler look.

The great part about this slipcover story is, not only did my client get a new slipcover, but she graciously allowed me to try something new - this was my first pin-fit on-site project. The couch stayed in her home, I went there to measure and pin-fit the piece, and brought it back to my place to sew it together. Having tried this, I think that my preference is to have the furniture with me when I construct the slipcover, but when that is not possible, pin-fitting on-site is a great alternative. Are you ready for the "after"? (Please excuse the quality of the pictures and the wrinkles - this was a quick install!)

It's a little wrinkled from being transported and a little less tailored than I usually make, but the client was very happy with the new look (the cushions had already been in use for a week, since I had brought them back to her earlier).