Drop Cloth Sofa Slipcover

Rene at Cottage and Vine has been hosting a drop cloth project party this week, highlighting all the wonderful ways to use this versatile and affordable fabric for purposes other than painting.   Visit her and the other partiers and get your creative juices flowing for the new year!

I seriously wish I'd known about drop cloths back in late 2008/early 2009 when I scrimped and saved, then searched (and searched...and searched some more) for simple, affordable curtains to hang on the plethora of windows in my living area and bedroom.  I probably could have gone with a muslin, but I had my heart set on linen or at least the look of it.

Target did finally offer a nice, simple linen/cotton blend that I snagged on sale for about $16 a panel, if memory serves. And you better believe I cleaned off the shelf when I had my chance! We have no visible neighbors, but still it's creepy to know someone could see straight into the house from the road. Or from a lurking position in the woods.  No, no, I'm not paranoid in the least! <rolls eyes> 

Though I missed the boat to have drop cloth curtains, once I a) learned about drop cloths on the Interweb and b) met a local seamstress and interior designer who makes slipcovers, I knew a drop cloth slipcover on my leather camelback sofa would be in my future.

Here's the sofa before:

Woo-eee!  I'd forgotten just how brassy those nailheads were.

It was originally my mom's, but she gave it to us when we moved into the house three years ago. She felt it was too bulky for her place, which is was, But it was scaled perfectly for our new living room.  Plus, it's ridiculously comfortable, accommodates my 6'2" husband nicely, and leather was ideal for a rough-housing, dirty baby boy.

The only problem with it was the unrelenting BROWN-ness of it.

Until this year, all the (inexpensive or hand-me-down) furniture in the living room was a shade of brown. Throw that on top of all the wood in the house on the walls and floors, and it was just too much of a good thing.

So, I systematically painted the side tables and hutch, one of the two rocking chairs, and found a few pieces  to introduce a cottage feel. That just left the couch.

I've coveted the IKEA Ektorp and classic Pottery Barn sofas (who hasn't though?) for years, but I couldn't possibly justify purchasing a new couch when we were in possession of a perfectly good, but BROWN, one.

Enter Kara, seamstress extraordinaire.

{P.S.--For you local folks, Kara and her business partner, Karan, own an elegant and eclectic shop called Spruce, located in Hillsborough just off I-85.  They don't have a Web site, but an antiques blogger featured the store in an October 2009 profile that provides an accurate synopsis of Karan and Kara's offerings, along with plenty of photos.}

Kara worked her magic and whipped together a beauty of a slipcover.

Simple, clean and exactly what this space needed!  Check out the cording details for that extra somethin' somethin':

 

Hello, lovely nubbies.

Kara and I also made pillows and (with much patience) she taught me how to sew cording and how to sew a zipper.  See, I'm not completely allergic to sewing machines!

The fabric is Waverly's Rose Sonata in Tea Stain.

Okay, just one more shot of my "new" sofa that I love to doze off on, because drop cloth is infinitely warmer to lay on than leather in the wintertime...

This post brought to you by the magical, transformational abilities of a seamstress sewing with drop cloths.

This project is also linked to:


Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry