As evening approaches, you anticipate cradling up into a comfy couch or an overstuffed chair. The only problem is you've curled up once too often and your favorite piece of furniture is aching to be restored.
Or, you found a tattered brown couch at a garage sale for $50 and you'd like to dress it up.
How do you make it attractive?
Reupholstery is one answer, but it's not the only way to give a tired couch or chair new life.
Slipcovers--fabric that's matched, cut, sewn and fitted over existing upholstery--generally cost about $150 less per couch and about $100 less per chair than reupholstering. They are also removable for cleaning.
But perhaps their best advantage is their versatility. Slipcovers used on couches, chairs and ottomans can be made from an unlimited array of fabrics.
"You can have a spring look, a winter look, a modern look, a sleek look--just about any type of look you want," says Judy Mulder of Judy's Custom Workshop, an upholstery shop in Laguna Hills that has specialized in slipcovers for 16 years. "The basic piece of furniture fits into your room, and then you can just change with the seasons or your moods."
For that frumpy country English style popular at summer homes in the Hamptons, homeowners use traditional fabrics such as chintz, chambray, sateen, pique, linen damask, twill, gabardine, faille, antique satin, rayon and cotton.
For a warmer look, use corduroy, velveteen, some mohairs, imitation furs, tweed, herringbone and flannel. About 14 yards of fabric are needed for an average couch and 9 yards for a chair.
And you have a choice of trimmings. Flounces come in box-pleats, double gathers, swags, scallops, pencil pleats and kick-pleats. Lace tie-ups, large bows and detailed edgings such as piping, welting or fringe set between the various sections add an attractive finish.
Laura Ashley Home Furnishing stores have slipcovers available for their Baker furniture line. Depending on your choice of fabric--either cotton or chintz--the cost is about $1,400 to $1,600 for a couch and $600 to $800 for a chair.
Pierre Deux, a country French home furnishing store in Newport Beach Fashion Island, offers traditional cotton for about $40 per yard and chintz at $60 to $85 per yard. For tapestry fabric, or something equally as heavy such as a screen of the Duchess of Windsor's garden, expect to pay about $225 a yard.
Finding someone to make your slipcover is your next step.
