Operation Move-out is going to begin tomorrow morning.
That is, the owners of the house we are currently and temporarily living in are coming to move out their furniture and belongings. This wasn’t the original plan when we moved into the house. Rather, they were to spend a year abroad and we were to occupy the house, store our stuff, use theirs, and then mosey on our merry way as the good Lord directed.
Four months into this year long arrangement there was a change of plans and now the homeowners are back six months early and moving their things to a new house, while kindly letting us stay on as tenants. The only hitch with this plan is that in my valiant efforts to purge and downsize significantly when we sold the New Old House, we sold our bed and all of our upholstered living room furniture. Oops. We have been shopping for a new sofa but darn if the wait isn’t 6-8 weeks for most sofas to be delivered from the manufacturer. We may be sitting on the floor for awhile around here. Maybe a long while if I can’t get over my sofa commitment phobia.
Slipcovered, English roll arms, exposed turned feet . . . very pretty.
Straight arms, slipcovered, slightly modern but oh so cottage chic?
It’s a tough call. And a big financial commitment. Maybe i should just pull up a metal folding chair and think on it for awhile . . .
If you have young children and light colored slipcovered furniture, how has this worked out for you?
- Do the slipcovers wash well?
- Is it a big ugly chore to launder them?
- Any words of wisdom before I jump in with both feet?
And then, of course, there is the bed. Or lack of one, I should say. Thankfully we should be able to get an inexpensive bed frame and I am on the look-out for a reasonable upholstered headboard. Or a free afternoon to DIY one like so many others out in blogland.
Did you see Kate’s DIY, below?
I wonder if she and her jigsaw make house calls?
I will let you know how things transpire . . .
Hope your Christmas was oh-so-very-Merry!
Wow, you will be busy! I don’t have light colored slipcovers, but have read several blogs by women who do and they love them (Nester being one). We have an upholstered sofa from PB that is upholstered in Microfiber suede and is awesome…everything comes out of it with just a bit of soap and water!! I think you could easily make an upholstered headboard like Kate’s, you have the talent for it!!
I have had slipcovers as long as I have been a mother and they have been awesome. I am careful about my kids eating (only in the kitchen) so I don’t have to wash that often…I have one slipcovered sofa in a cream color that I have only washed maybe 3 times in 7 years.
Also…I remember when we first moved into this house and we had only a few things…I gave away most of my old stuff away…and I LOVED my house empty and unfurnished…my kids loved it also. I crave it even now!
i’ve had great success on craiglist…and you may just score some great furniture that has been replaced by something new at this time of year. you won’t have to wait…use the search box and enter pottery barn, ikea or the like to find the style you’re looking for. even an antique piece re-upholstered would be a shorter wait. …just a thought 😉
judi
Ah, every great plan has a few curve balls thrown into it, doesn’t it? While this one is kind of expensive, at least it is fun?
I love white, slip-covered sofas and upholstered headboards… good luck with your search and can’t wait to see what you come up with!
love the sofa in the first picture…seems more classic or something…
we haven’t ventured out into creamy white furniture for the sofas…but my friend in CA swears that it’s easy. ???? can’t imagine!
I have slipcovers in my family room in a pale gray blue and yes I do have to launder them! It’s a bit of a pain because You can only do one or two cases at a time, but I don’t fret about the sofas knowing I have that option. They do feel a bit slouchy to me, I prefer a more tailored piece, so I may have my old ones recovered in a sensible taupe or gray someday soon.
xo
Kate
Yep, me and jigsaw have suitcase and will travel.
🙂
Slipcovers are a wonderful with children, pets and adults!
I recommend purchasing an Ado fabric that is machine washable. Their fabrics are wonderful 118″ wide and you can railroad them, perfect solution for slipcovers!
I would also hire a professional to make them for you. This way you can design how they will install on your furniture piece.
I love using Velcro for the furniture frame: easy on, stays on, easy off, easy wash, and easy on again. For the cushions I always spec zippers, buttons, or a pocket fold(a little less expensive, you can’t flip cushions over, but you can rotate them – rotating front to the back, helps your cushion just as much as flipping.
I’m so sorry their taking their things early! I ventured out this year and purchased a slipcovered sectional and as of this week, it is going down the road. I always dreamed of the creamy white home…until I had it. It was too much to keep it looking nice and I noticed that most people seemed uncomfortable to sit on it when visiting…worried like they might get it dirty. With a toddler and 2 dogs, I literally was washing it every week or so to keep it looking nice. Too much time and effort were spend on laundering and taking and putting the slip back on. I heard so many people say “it’s so easy and nice”, but I never found that true. While I’ve found microsuede to be so duable and easy to clean, we have pets and with the hair, we finally decided on a coated leather. Wipe on, wipe off…and it fits my personality since we both grew up on farms and ranches. Good luck with your decision!!
Hey there Erin,
We have the english roll arm sofa and love seat slipcovered and I love that I can wash my slips whenever they get dirty. I agree with Becky that if you have messy kids and pets and they are white slipcovers that you will spend a lot of time washing them. I read one blogger washes hers every week! Yikes, that is a lot of energy both physically and environmentally for sure. We don’t have kids and when we had a large black fur kid she was not allowed on the furniture so I didn’t have to wash ours too often. I love them though and wouldn’t do anything differently for us.
If you have them made for a sofa remember to prewash your fabric before they are made in hot and tumble dry so you can do that when you wash the them as well and then you won’t have shrinkage.
Good luck!
Sandra
Erin, what an appropriate post for today as I spent the last 2 days washing our very light, off white/beige pinstripe slip covered sectional sofa. I have 3 boys, ages 10, 8 and 3 and let me tell you that is the best money we ever spent! We originally planned on purchasing it at Pottery Barn but got frustrated with surcharges, delivery fees, etc. so we ordered it from Macy’s. It did take 8 to 10 weeks. But I wouldn’t have anything else. I know people get scared and take them to be laundered but I put ours in our front load washer and dry on very low on the damp dry setting and then iron. Ahh..just like sleeping on clean sheets and smell heavenly.
P.S. I do have a no food rule in our family room, but don’t let that deter you, my boys have found many loopholes, so indeed that sofa has had chocolate, jam, and most recently candy cane stains-all washed right out. Slip-covers are a mom’s friend!
1. I have two 20 something brothers living with me, a husband and a 10 month old boy-4 boys total.
2. I have a white slip covered sofa and two armchairs in my living room, which is not our main living area. (Our den is.) We still do a lot in the living room though.
3. I got them from ikea…I’ve always wanted white.
4. I wash the slipcovers once a year (they could probably use 2-4 times a year), I definitely break a sweat putting them back on after washing, which takes about 20 minutes.
5. Replacement slipcovers are $40ish for the sofa, $20ish for the chairs. Boo-ya!
6. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I LOVE LOVE LURV my white furniture. (If the Nester can do it with 4 boys, then I can do it too!)
Oh dear, lots of prayers for you as your plans have changed! I have a slipcover, but don’t have kids…I’m in college which is arguably even worse than having kids! (: It washes right up! But, it may be a better investment to just get a nice PB upholstered sofa in a darker color (dark taupe, beige, chocolate, or gray) because slip covers don’t last as long as upholstered sofa’s do. You can always get a throw blanket to drape over the couch, too. I hope everything works out and you find a bed and couch soon! (:
PS. you could totally make Kate’s headboard!
as you know, we had beautiful cream colored delicious sofas bf children. I then had to get them cleaned monthly. No matter how hard I tried those little hands always got them dirty.
I don’t know about slipcovers…mine is cheap and i loath it. I’m sure there are better options…but I’m not a huge fan of them. Choose a darker fabric and get a good “harrison”…lol
Kate, you wouldn’t kid a girl! 😉
I am a mom of 3 kids, now 13, 12 & 8. I will never go back to upholstered furniture!! I love knowing that I can throw the slipcovers in the wash as opposed to the panic over a stain that won’t come out of upholstery!! I have an Ikea couch that is very comfy & has worked very well (sometimes they run a special where you can get a free slipcover with the purchase of a furniture piece). If making your own slipcovers, be sure to wash & dry the fabric 4 times before sewing. That is what my slipcover queen did! I posted about my kitchen chairs (slipcovered) here:
http://cathymarquardt.blogspot.com/2010/11/slipcovers-painted-white-kitchen-table.html
Best of luck to you Erin!! hugs, Cathy
I bought a white slip cover sofa (pottery barn that I got at Down East for $600!) about 9 months ago and I haven’t regretted it once! I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. And ya, it gets some smudges on it sometimes but mine is really easy to wash. I can do it in a couple hours. I do it about once a month. If there’s a bad spot, I just use a bleach pen on it when it first goes in the washer and then again between rince cycles. Works like a charm every time. They aren’t no maintenance, but mine hasn’t been high maintenance either.
I say go for it. I’m loving the first one!
Have you seen this one?
http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=STY&ItemID=16f08db&RefPage=X6&deptID=0&catID=0&cmOrigID=16f08c1&cmPosID=4&CmCatId=searchresults
It is very comfy in person too!
I have white slipcovers and they can be a love hate. I just washed them before a new years party and put them back on, only to discover the arm had a stain that I hadn’t noticed. Which means, I would have to take it apart again and rewash. Kind of a pain. And, honestly, while I love them, lately I’ve been dreaming about a sensible brown chenille or beautiful velvet. Especially in winter!
http://theinspiredroom.net/2010/04/12/6-things-to-consider-before-you-choose-white-slipcovers/comment-page-1/
I had slipcovered sofas and while I do love them, I found that with a little boy and a little dog, I was having to wash them entirely too often, and they were such a hassle to pull on and off. We purchased white leather instead… and so far… it’s been great! (I know, it sounds crazy, but it wipes clean with a wet cloth– the only thing I’ve found that will stain it so far is pasta sauce– and we have spilled everything from grape jelly to coffee! We purchased a natuzzi (or Italsofa) from Raymour and Flanigan. You can see it in our space here. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lhmazxcCTLU/S6z3yVJmL6I/AAAAAAAABpk/YjG4Ee6nTvE/s1600/IMG_5116.JPG
I felt like it had the look of rolled arms that I liked about slipcovered sofas, but with the easy-wipe down of leather. We did have to special order it in this color though.
Hi,
I love my white slipcovered sofa! Sometimes the before and after washing has been dramatic. I highly recommend slipcovers!