Annie lives in San Francisco and works at a number of creative freelance jobs - she is an assistant to an interior designer, a senior sales associate at Jonathan Adler and she blogs on her site, Poetic and Chic. She sent us photos of her creative solution for making an ottoman slipcover - jump below for the colorful "after":

Here's what Annie had to say: When I mentioned that I wanted to re-upholster or even sell my ottoman, the designer I work for suggested making my own slipcover. Since I sew quite a bit, I had brought home a number of discontinued fabric swatches from the Jonathan Adler store (both JA & Maharam) and thought these might do the trick.

After a bit of tinkering and working the patches, I came up with a fun and colorful design that really improves the whole room. I thought the grommet rings that were a part of each swatch added a cool bit of texture, so I left them in... Overall, I'm very excited it worked out so well! I love that the boring, drab medallion fabric is now done away and that there's something new, bright & modern in its place.
Check out more of Annie's style: Poetic and Chic
Images: AnnieWilson/Poetic and Chic
Comments (30)
This is great! I have a ton of scrap fabric laying around - this might be next on my project list!
This is a great idea!
I have an ugly old ottoman in my living room - this may be just the ticket to recovering it.
Thanks!
I like the grommets. Kind of feel like I would kick that poor orchid off the ottoman by accident though.
Modern and cozy. Neat.
Good idea but not my aesthetic. Reminds me too much of Patches the Sad Clown.
looks like you do a lot with a small space, house tour?
I love the project, and may try one some day! Personally, I'd probably pick a color spectrum (read "cool colors") and a pattern style or two (read "solids and stripes") but that's just personal taste.
not my aesthetic either, but i think it would look nice in a children's play room.
I agree with some of the other comments - good concept, but the colors and patterns are all over the place for my taste.
Looks like a fun project to make with your kids. Not my idea of 'modern' or sophisticated in any way though.
ouch.
@felttipjr and others above: Judgmental negativity is for squares. This looks awesome, and I love the grommet rings!
I think less colours or patterns would look better too. Since when is having a different idea of what looks good being judgmental? It'd be a sad world if we all liked the same thing.
I think it's a cool idea and really works in your space. I like the weight of the fabric, it is stiff enough to hold it's shape and not contour to the old lines of the attached cushion.
I liked it better before. Just kidding. It's not really my taste, but it's a definite improvement and you can't argue with the price--free!
i love it- well done!!
It's awesome. I love the way the grommets add texture and a bit of punk attitude.
Man, I lLOVE the fabric *before*.
Would be good in my boho-vibe place.
I prefer the original
Both are awful : )
Seriously, mean comments with a smile? I bet you're super awesome in real life.
The slip cover is AWESOME.
I have an ugly, old, secondhand couch with recliners on both ends. Wonder if I could do something like that by sewing the pieces to the couch? It's sturdy and very functional. Just hideous.
I love it! As a broke interior design student I've thought about doing something simular to this a number of times. For now I use old table cloths and curtains for furniture covers and look forward to the day I can at least afford a sewing machine!
I LOVE it!! I love combining different colors & textures & I am totally inspired by the result! I do a lot of piecing together with lots of bright colors & textures as well, with my upcycled bags!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/radgirldesigns/5556936391/in/set-72157626343821462/
I truly love seeing projects like yours--they get me motivated to get busy on my own projects and give me new inspiration!!
i luv it
It's well-done, but I liked the shape of it without the cover. And the upholstery fabric isn't bad up close (but you need to be that close, and it depends on what else is in the room....)
That would be a, nah.
Sorry if this is rude, but when I see that ottoman, I can't help but think of a patchwork pillow my grandmother has that one of her old-lady friends made for her..except that the patches are all the same size on the pillow. However, I'm pretty much in love that telephone pillow you have on your couch!
Totally not ldigging all the snarkiness.
I think it's fabulous and fits very well in your space with the colors and styles. It is a lot of pattern, but I think they coordinate very well with each other. It's obvious how you got to work for a designer. :)
Don't dig patchwork. It's too midwest. I do like the phone pillow and some of the other cool elements in the picture though. But the ottoman is like…POW… Imma OTTOMAN!!!!