Making Old Look New

I am having a "slip cover issue" as well. My children and I LOVE our sofa and love seat in our family room. They are comfy and fit perfectly in the room. However, our cats have destroyed them, by using the sides and backs as scratching posts. In my frequent search for slip covers, I have found that my sofa design, is not available anywhere. The front of the bottom cushions, over extend on the sides, embracing the bottoms of the arms. Most slip covers that I have found, are for square bottom cusions. Also, the back cushions are attached to the sofas, and are overstuffed and fluffy. We don't want to give this comfort up, and would really love to just recover them. I do not sew. And have no time to try to learn. Though I am open for any creative ideas or suggestions.

Take a favorite photograph to a film store and have it printed on canvas and blown up. You'll be amazed at how it transforms a room. Another favorite tip is changing cabinet and drawer pulls. Find some great ones for your child's room, and play around with different styles for adult areas--art deco, crystal antique, marble modern, etc. to transform a cupboard, kitchen or dresser.

Buy a bunch of paints and stencils to re-design some old furniture. Use random tiles to design a mosaic piece or glue on some old jewelery. This can take some time and thought but the result is a piece of art created just by you,

Speaking of fabrics, I like to buy beautiful fabrics/saris/silks/embroidered pieces and use them as wall hangings or drapery in my bedroom. So many that I have picked up around the world ended up in storage bins in my garage until I realized that they didn't always have to be art, they could be used for a purpose in the home.

Hey Isabel, I don't have a pattern for you but your post reminded me of something cool I did. I found some gorgeous silk shantung that I used to create a window treatment in my old house. When i moved, it didn't work with my new windows but I didn't want to get rid of the fabric because I loved it and it was in such good shape still. I have an iron bed that I was debating getting rid of but I decided to weave the fabric in between the iron designs of the headboard. It looks amazing - it created a whole new look for my bed and my bedroom. It does look really cool. Just a thought for giving a new look to old bedroom furniture.

One of the things that has saved me tons of money and helped reinvent my living room time and time again is slip covers for sofas and chairs. You can find them occasionally at Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel (I'm not a huge fan of all the slipcover sites online - they're a little "country" which isn't my style) and then accent those with inexpensive pillows. Has anyone ever made slipcovers before? I have some great fabric I'd like to use but I'm not sure where to find a pattern.