I have a couch and a loveseat that are both in woeful shape. They’re stained and battered and make my living room look far shabbier than need be. Someday, they’ll be replaced outright but it’s not in the financial cards for at least a few years.
Reupholstering is a bigger job than we have any interest in right now, so one of those slipcovers that fit over the whole thing is probably the only option.
Anybody have any experience with these things? Anything to watch out for for?
I’ve never really used one before, but I do remember thatBrylane Home has quite a few and at a decent price.
Ok, I take that back. Long, long ago I did have one for my couch. It was kind of a pain to keep readjusting it, but it did look much prettier than what was beneath it.
I’ve purchased covers from Surefit.com. I prefer the “fitted” stretch kind over the looser ones. The first one I got was a cotton duck fabric that was a looser fit, sort of drapes along the bottom and ties under the arms of the loveseat. It gets baggy along the bottom and while the seating area stays fine, I’ve had to constantly readjust the bottom so the thing doesn’t drag on the floor. Plus, the cotton “duck” material is a fur magnet like velcro and is terrible to keep clean. I ended up buying a king-sized fleece from Target when they were on sale and covering the cover with that until I got around to buying an entirely different cover.
Now I have a stretch cover on the loveseat and I like it much better. It’s off the floor on the bottom, and the fabric is much softer and easier to get fur off (and doesn’t attract as much in the first place). It’s an easy update, and I think it looks nice. I haven’t had to keep re-tucking either of the covers like I’ve heard people mention as a drawback.
I’ve been adjusting and readjusting my mom’s slipcovers since the day I put them on her furniture. They do look really nice while they stay in place, but any amount of activity on them causes them to need readjusted. And by “activity” I mean the simple act of sitting on the couch.
The other problem is that I have washed hers for her and they were so wrinkled that I had to iron them before I could in good conscience return them to her furniture, which was a massive pain because they are effectively really large and unwieldy fitted sheets.
I believe the covers I’m describing are the exact same design and fabric as those described in SeaDragonTattoo’s post.
In my lifetime, my mother used stretch slip covers, that didn’t stay in place, and fitted non stretch velour covers that did.
I bought a cheap slipcover at Target for our microfiber loveseat that I destroyed in the process of trying to clean it. (Water + microfiber = gigantic grey water stains everywhere, apparently.) No matter how deeply I tuck it in, it comes untucked almost immediately and leaves my living room looking as though there’s a giant brown prune in the middle of it.
I am looking forward to buying new living room furniture at some point in the future.