THE NEWELL POST: Slipcovers and the chair of shame
For the first year or so in my new house, my living room was marked by mismatched chairs - survivors from various decades - handed down to help me begin my life as a homeowner. Most were decked in gold flowers or an orange chevron print. Perhaps the worst case was the youngest of the bunch, a burgundy-colored wingback chair. Not a family heirloom like the rest, my mom purchased the chair about a decade ago. But, after a couple of years in the garage and another in my house as an unintended scratching post for my cats, it was looking pretty rough.
Still, it was a good chair and I added it to my re-cover list. Unable to decide on a fabric for it, I did the other chairs first. The better the other chairs looked, the more the wingback evolved into an eyesore in my transformed living room.
I later decided on what I thought was the simplest solution - a slipcover. This appealed to me for a variety of reasons: A slipcover is easy to remove and wash and the cost is about half that of recovering a large chair. (Even with a good deal, I still figured to spend a minimum of $80 on 10 yards of fabric alone, plus another $100 for reupholstering.)
I began looking for a slipcover and discovered SlipcoverShop.com. I'm a big fan of this site, not only because it has covers for various types of furniture, but the site also offers arm protectors and covers for ottomans and pillows for a complete transformation. You can purchase ready-made slipcovers or order a custom cover, though it'll cost you more.
I found a ready-made wingback slipcover in a perfect it'll-match-anything color and was ready to order when I noticed the chair on the site had a different seat cushion than mine, a T-shaped cushion as opposed to my square cushion.
Now, it was my understanding that slipcovers, unless you have them custom-made, are not an exact science. On most sites I researched, covers for wing chairs were broken into large, medium and small categories with a range of measurements for each. You pick the category that best fits your piece and tuck the excess fabric into the folds of the chair. Figuring I could tuck in the excess fabric from the different sized and shaped cushion, I placed the order.
When the cover came and I realized my tucking theory wasn't going to work, I went back online to find a ready-made wing chair cover to fit a box cushion. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a match. Then I had a thought: If I couldn't make the cover fit the cushion, I'd make the cushion fit the cover. I measured the cushion's dimensions and headed to Joann Fabrics and purchased a piece of 3-inch-thick high-density foam to make a new T-shaped cushion to fit the cover.
Using the original cushion as a template, I cut the new cushion and excitedly placed it in the chair. My initial try was too deep and had 3 inches hanging off the front of the chair. I went to cut the excess off and then realized I forgot to take into account the curves in the front of the chair below the arms. Even if I'd cut the cushion to the appropriate depth, the curve would prevent the T parts of the cushion from sitting properly.
A thicker piece of foam would have solved the problem, but I hated to spend $40 in foam on this chair. My simple slipcover solution wasn't turning out as I had anticipated.
Then the solution came to me in a dream.
I was neglecting the perfectly good cushion I had sitting in my living room. I cut the new foam to the proper depth and stuck the old cushion underneath it to give it the proper height. Looking at it now, you'd never know the difference.
The slipcover cost me $68 (with a promotional code that covered shipping). The foam cost $20 with a coupon. I kept my total costs to half of my estimate for reupholstering, and my chair of shame can now sit pretty with the others in my living room.
Michelle Newell is an @home staff writer, first-time homeowner and practicing DIYer. She welcomes your feedback, suggestions and inspiration. Visit Michelle'sblog for more adventures from this first-time homeowner. Find us onFacebook.
