When I picture the windows open in a room, I imagine warm sunshine streaming through as the wind gently blows the curtains. Fresh air hits me and I am compelled to take a deep breath. The refreshing energy fills my soul. Of course there are only certain seasons when it's practical to open the windows, but my goal is to fill my heart, home, and family with a beautiful serenity that always makes me think the windows are open!

Saturday, February 19

CPR Anyone? - Family Room Resuscitation

Well, I gave you a sneak peak of some trim I was painting the other night. And I will tell you that it’s for our family room. That room is in need of resuscitation. It just feels dead and dingy to me. Here is a before pic of the room (try not to cringe).  It looks very bare because it’s cleaned up.  Usually it is covered with toys from the kids.  I don’t bother putting décor items out (they’d just destroy them).  The tables are usually covered with books and puzzles anyway.

before room1

The first stop in my family room revitalization is the sofa.

before sofa

Actually the first stop was IKEA. Hubby and I made a pilgrimage to the huge store and picked up a few things including this slip-cover for their Hovas sofa.

I don’t actually have a Hovas sofa, but I have a sofa that is the same shape and just slightly smaller than IKEA’s sofa. And for a price of $49 I couldn’t resist buying this beautiful white canvas slipcover and doing a little of my own tailoring to make it fit. So with a little nip here and a little tuck there…

nip&tuck

… I now have a new (did I mention easy) IKEA slipcover to fit my Lazy Boy sofa. Shhh.. don’t tell. ;)

Next I needed to recover my pillows. I pulled some colors out of my fabric stash.  I wanted some with texture and remembered a blog post by Censational Girl about using a bath rug to make a pillow cover. As it happens, hubby and I had JUST bought some great bath rugs at Home Goods. And every time I go in the bathroom, my two year old runs in to lie down on the new rug. It’s comfy looking! So I thought this would, indeed, make a good pillow cover. Oh, and hubby’s response? “Go ahead; I know where I can get another rug.” Isn’t he great?!!

bathmat pillow3

I also found some inspiration for another pillow from a ruffled duvet cover at Urban Outfitters.  I’ve included a tutorial for you below.

~ Ruffled Pillow Tutorial ~

1. Cut out two squares of fabric the size of your pillow plus seam allowance.
 PillowTutStep1

2. Cut strips of fabric and make ruffles. Then, using a string attached to a fabric marker, draw an arc on the corner of the fabric as a guide for your first ruffle.
PillowTutStep2

3. Place your ruffle on the line and pin to keep the gathers from moving as you sew.
PillowTutStep3

4. Sew the ruffle on.
PillowTutStep4

5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you have as many ruffles as you like.
PillowTutStep5

6. Sew the two pieces together (right sides facing). Either add a zipper as I did or sew the fourth side after inserting the pillow.
PillowTutStep6

Ruffled Pillow


So after all that, here are the current updates to the room.  Still many more to go.

sofa update

bathmat pillow2

pillows1

pillows2

pillows3

Hopefully I can get the trim up on the wall this week and show you. It’ll be a HUGE change for the room! Can’t wait!!

Rebecca


Linking up at:






Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special The Lettered Cottage

14 comments:

  1. Oh what great posts you have here on your blog! I am new to the whole sewing thing, but you can bet that Im gonna be SEW HIP once i get the hang of it. Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a lovely comment! Please do try my recipe, and let me know what you think!

    My little fam LOVED THEM!

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  2. Rebecca,

    The Ikea slipcover is perfect! And your ruffle pillow is awesome. I have a very dark living room and am loving how light and open yours looks. (Had to laugh, too, about the "I don't decorate because my kids just destroy it" comment. MINE, TOO!)

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  3. Your couch looks lovely and refreshed! :) (and comfy too)

    Tnx so much for linking up at my party for the first time! I hope to see you back again in future weekends! :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. I might have to try that Ikea slipcover too. I've been wanting to make one but keep procrastinating and finding one to fit (reasonably priced) hasn't happened - I have those same shaped seating cushions. The pillows look beautiful! Great job!

    Roeshel

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  5. I'm looking forward to trying the ruffle pillow. I need one more little something on my bed! :) Thanks for sharing. I'm a new follower!
    www.shadytreediary.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great job on the slipcover - and the pillows. The ruffle one is too cute.
    Dropping by from How To's Day. Hope you come see the informal picture wall I did for my youngest daughter.

    Allison
    Atticmag

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  7. This is just another post convincing me that I. Must. Learn. How. To. Sew.

    This looks great! The UO inspired pillow is to die for.

    Best,
    Ashleigh

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  8. Your couch and pillows look great. Love the ruffles. I'm now following along.

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  9. Cute blog! I'm going to follow along! Love those ruffles on the corner of the pillow- great job!!

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  10. Update cont.. Thanks for the wonderful comment on my recipe that you tried! I love sharing great ideas! You are too sweet. And the soup will be delicous! have a wonderful week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What wonderful pillows! You did a great job with the ruffles. And the slipcover is wonderful, and what a great price you got. I recently made my first slipcover for a wing chair and it was such a job! In the middle of my frustration I was wishing I had bought one instead. I've enjoyed my visit to your blog this morning.

    Sherry @ A Happy Valentine

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  12. Hello from Greece my friends....
    Great posts you have here on your blog!Fantastic job!!I like ...
    ΣτάΛες στο ΓαΛάΖιο

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've had my eye on that UO comforter for awhile, but don't think my hubs would go for it. A ruffled pillow might be a good compromise. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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