Designed by stylist David Benrud for Pottery Barn, this room is built around a sofa covered in a twill dropcloth. Too often, dropcloth slipcovers can make a space look messy and thrown together, but a few carefully chosen design elements keep this room from feeling sloppy...
- Contrast is the key to this design. Clean-lined furniture balances the looseness of the slipcover, black frames make an impact against a white wall, and sharp angles are offset by a few curvy accents (like the guitar and the horse on the coffee table).
- A neutral palette helps the dropcloth to blend in with its surroundings. Natural wood floors and a jute rug ground the space in earth tones, light-colored walls make it feel airy, and dark brown and black accents add some punch.
- Lots of off-white is used to make the dropcloth seem like the intentional center of the room, rather than just a cover-up for a stained couch. Throw pillows, off-white walls, and even the accents on the coffee table tie into the tone set by the sofa.
- Blended textures keep the room from feeling boring. Knit pillows and a throw add interest to the sofa, while glass and steel tables provide a counterpoint to the softness of the seat.
- Pairs of furniture break up the bulk of the sofa. A dropcloth slipcover creates one large, unbroken shape at the center of the room, so it needs smaller pieces to provide balance. The two cocktail tables in front of the sofa echo the pair of photographs behind it, creating a rhythm that keeps the sofa from feeling too heavy.
Shown above: Pottery Barn Cotton Twill Dropcloth Slipcover, $99
It might look ok as long as no one actually sat on the sofa, or if people smoothed out the dropcloth every time they got up from the sofa.
view geckotoes1's profile
I love the relaxed, free, natural elements of this room - drop cloth covers are indeed perfect.
view Haunted_Studio's profile
It's going to get old when all your friends ask you "When are you going to be done with the painting?"
view LBhirise's profile
It looks good here, but it's photos like this that made my mom claim I should be able to throw a dropcloth over my old, 80s maroon, overstuffed loveseat. I kept telling her no... it would look like I threw a cloth over it.
Thankfully, we found a better solution & sold the old one (it was in good condition- just not good taste) and made a new one ourselves.
I like that this post points to the importance of the whole room needing tweaking to make this look work. "Throw a sheet over it" it aint!
view CozyLittleCave's profile
looks like a ghost to me. :/
view deebo's profile
Maybe at the cottage, but not in the home. Also okay if you're on a budget or don't intend to live in one place for along period of time.
I did similar to this when I first moved out on my own. Just threw a thick navy coloured cloth over a temporary futon.
view RBOttawa's profile
My taste is way more tailored. Not for me.
view queenbee1230's profile
Not my taste at all. Few couches would be so horrendous that I'd consider this an improvement. And if I were a guest in that living room, I'd be frantically searching for somewhere else to sit.
view heatherdazy's profile
I actually like this...in the photograph or in a display, but I just don't think this could translate well in real life. Like geckotoes (love the name) says, every time someone sits down, it'll have to be adjusted. But the execution here looks really good.
view fairydogmother's profile
One word: No.
view tpgirl's profile
Not buying the "look."
view tpgirl's profile
All I can see is furballs trapped under the part that touches the floor, or someone catching their heel as they stand up with a glass of red wine...
view sally305's profile
I like slipcovers, but this one is too loose. If it were a little more structured, then okay.
view junklover's profile
I did the same thing at my house. And after I got done painting, I removed it.
view ngnerd's profile
Not really buying the look, but I am very tempted to try it out. If it looks terrible, I can turn it into a proper fitted slipcover or repurpose it altogether.
view Wishin' I was in MIA's profile
Looks messy and looks like they're hiding something. It's a look you'd get sick of real fast.
view MansardRoof's profile
Sorry, still looks messy to me.
view kissum's profile
nothing is ever going to make a dropcloth on a couch NOT look messy
view matchjames's profile
Might work for the photo but it couldn't work in the real world. I've seen plenty of couches on Craigslist for sale for $300 with slipcovers like this and my first thought is, 'Yuck, wonder what's underneath?'
view dallas10086's profile
It reminds me of my family's vacation home. My mom would cover everything before leaving with drop cloths to keep the dust and spider webs off the furniture
view LoriSF's profile