Budget Decorating With Slipcovers
Budget decorating is all about making the best of what you've got – and this principle is particularly relevant when it comes to furniture. Buying a new sofa and arm chairs can be very expensive, with the cost running into hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. But, if you've got tatty or old-fashioned looking furniture letting down the appearance of your whole room, but no spare cash to spend on a new suite, don't worry! Fortunately there is a money-saving alternative to buying new furniture – use slipcovers.
When I moved to my first apartment, practically all my income went towards rent and bills, which meant that if I wanted to decorate and make the place feel like home, I had to do it on a tight budget. I trawled my local thrift stores for secondhand furniture, and found several bargains, including a shabby old sofa. It was really cheap, but the downside was it looked seriously dated, with dark brown wooden legs and armrests. The seat itself was soft and comfortable, but those wooden arms were annoyingly hard and always seemed to get in the way.
Luckily for me, my girlfriend at the time was the creative type. I had briefly considered getting a slipcover for the sofa, but thought it would look odd, as the arms weren't like those on a modern sofa. However, my girlfriend came up with an ingenious solution. She went out to the local craft store and returned with a load of foam batting, which she proceeded to wrap around those ugly arms until they were nice and padded. She held it in place with string. It was so simple!
The sofa was beginning to look better already, but to complete it's transformation, I got online and tracked down a great value ready made slipcover, the "one size fits all" type. I chose one in a neutral beige color, thinking that it would last longer as it would blend in with any color décor when I moved to another house in the future. When it arrived, it was easy to fit it over the top of the old upholstery, and it fitted well over the foam batting. I tucked the excess bits of fabric into the gaps round the edge of the seat, which gave it a neat finish. The slipcover also had a "skirt", which was perfect for hiding those awful legs!
Since then, I've used slipcovers on all sorts of secondhand furniture I've acquired over the years, including a pair of wing chairs and a set of everyday dining room chairs that I like to dress up for special occasions. So, if you're looking for a way to give your furniture a makeover on a low budget, slipcovers are an affordable and versatile solution.
