apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Whatever you do, move those pictures down the wall a bit--they're too high. Better yet, keep the 3 dancers & line them up horizontally & remove the other one (with the white mat). Use the colors in the pictures--if you want to keep them--as inspiration for your cover. I'd definitely go bright & fun.

i would get the pre-made to cover up the bold and beautiful while i shop for the fabric i want.

you need to consider how much you want to spend on fixing up these pieces. a pre-made cover for the couch and the chair will be reasonably cheap at ikea or other chain stores (target, bed/bath) and they come in basic colors and the big plus is that the cover is removable which means it's washable. for the custom job, you need to budget for fabric and work (unless you know how to do it yourself) but what you get is exactly what you want :) you can pick the perfect color and texture. it may cost more, but no one will be able to say "i was looking at same couch at ikea"

to really preserve the clean lines of those pieces, I think custom would be the only way to go. but of course, that is going to cost some bills...

I agree w/ SQ - and move the chair over next to the left of the sofa to make a nice seating area...

...Meanwhile - You may find that custom-made slipcovers - while a better fit and offering many more design options including the ability to accommodate opening the sofabed without removing the cover - are much more than you'd like to spend on the hand-me-down furniture. You might be better off just selling these and getting something new that's more to your liking.

i agree with SQ and Bepsf...all the pictures are too high and that chair needs to get off the wall.

agree with elinka about considering price but you can't get a fitted slipcover at Ikea..those are only for ikea sofas.

"a pre-made cover for the couch and the chair will be reasonably cheap at ikea..."

IKEA slipcovers are only made for IKEA sofas. Don't waste your time and money trying to get a slipcover intended for use on another manufacturer's piece of furniture for yours. Furniture dimensions never match up exactly and they won't fit.

Hi Annabelle,

I design custom upholstery so I may have some insight for you. Very often recovering a sofa can cost almost the same as getting a new one. One benefit of having a slipcover made, is that they will put in a zipper around the deck so that you can open the sleeper without taking the cover off. I would look at all of the options and then decide how much you want to invest.

Apartmenttherapy may have some resources for re-upholsters in Chicago. Find out how much labor, pick up and delivery will be. For the sofa you will need about 18 yards, for the chair 9 yards. You can find discount fabrics online or at a chain store such as Joanne's Fabrics or Calico Corners. Decide if the sofa is good quality and if you want to invest in saving it. Compare this to the price of the pre-made. And compare all of this to buying a new one. Hopefully this will help you make a better decision.

Good luck, tracy

Agree with the above re art, etc.

Do you LOVE the bones of the sofa and chair? if so, get them reupholstered. That will be less expensive than a new set. If you don't love them, save up for a new set.

Forget those slip covers like "surefit" and the like. They're sloppy and a PITA to continually retuck.

Keep in mind that a professional reupholstery job can cost as much as purchasing a new sofa and chair....custom slipcovers are also pricey...probably $300 or more for this sofa with separate pillows. Is it worth it to you, and are the pieces worth the cost of rehabbing? We had a family heirloom chair reupholstered last year and it cost $700...we definitely could have purchased a nice quality armchair for that amount of money, but in our case, the history of the piece was important. I looked into having our couch redone, and it would have cost us over $1200....if I had that much cash right now, i'd buy a new couch. (This is the one I want http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=931&f=25881 )

Perhaps the ikea karlanda (a discontinued sofa from ikea) slipcover from bemz.com would fit your sofa http://www.bemz.com/index.php/page/shop/prod_id/2/model_id/28/pattern_id/43/ but you need to check the dimensions...it is $348 in this cute teal color.

Ready-made Surefit covers (which are what target carries) seem to be designed only for those round puffy armed sofas, not tailored sofas such as yours. Most ready-made covers are very bland, beige, blue or neutral greens...to appeal to the masses.

For the price of a custom cover you could buy a new sofa. So, I would suggest (a) going with a pre-made slipcover or (b) investing in a new sofa.

even if you go with the ones in the stores, remember you can always add color with stenciling, or just add colorfull pillows. and to make your own cover it is so simple just put the material over the couch and cut along remembering to leave enough on seams to tuck. it is easy.

Your sofa has very simple lines, I don't imagine it would be too difficult to make your own slipcover (if you're willing to put in the time/effort and are decent enough at sewing). You could pick any fabric in any colour that you wanted. I find this website really breaks down how to make a slip cover - http://slipcover.vrya.net/ good luck with whatever you decide!

I have a sofa of similar lines. After I made a simple slipcover for it I found an almost identical one at Bed Bath and Beyond for much less than it cost me to make.

However, making the slipcover was a good precursor to reupholstering the same sofa sevaral years and a new condo later.

Why not try painting the walls to take advantage of the existing sofa material which appears to be in good shape before you spend a lot of money. The sofa is not ugly just innocuous - a burgundy perhaps or a deep slate grey with some blue in it, but do avoid anything pastel. This will buy you some time to figure out what you like and then save for it.

One word for you: Craigslist.

It's a nice set, but it will cost a lot to re-do. And in my opinion slipcovers look sloppy. If you're not willing to decorate around the existing fabric, I'd help this couch and chair find a new home. I am sure you will get a decent price for them!

the sofa and chair might actually be considered high fashion right now. have you seen the 'everywhere these days' designer kelley wearstlers new looks!? just add some contrasting pastel prints, and some gold metallic things and you'll have designer quality decorating before you know it!

i am going to guess that since this is the first apartment likely money is not abundant. how about keeping as is. take the covers off the arms, that screams grandma. than pull a few inches from the wall and move those tables a few inches from the couch. you seem to have little clutter in your apartment so spread the stuff out rather than bunching together. next consider getting a new lampshade for that lamp on the left and a layer of a bright paint on the gold. also maybe a few colorful throw pillows and like the above reader move the pic in the white mat and lower the three dancing lady pics. just a suggestion ;)

Artwork looks the best when it's just below eye-level when standing.

I agree with the others, your art is too high.

I also agree with those that think you should just save up for new furniture. Get something cheap to cover them in the mean time if you really can't stand the pattern.

I agree that the sofa has good bones but unless you’re 70 and live in Boca you have to change that fabric.
I generally don’t like slip covers. They have never look smooth enough and move around. If getting it professional reupholstered is not an option, I would suggest doing it yourself. If you don’t feel like you have the chops to reupholster the whole couch, you may be able to get away with painting the body of the couch and recovering the cushions and making new armrest covers.
I would recommend painting the body of the couch a dark color to limit the amount of texture that shows. You could use the current armrest and cushion covers as pattern to make the new ones. I also recommend tufting the cushions which I think may hide some of the wear and add some structure.
I also agree that you need to move the pictures above the sofa and the chair down. Generally pictures should be centered at eye level.