An IKEA Refresh

February 16, 2015 Sherri Rice

It's fun when the friend of a client contacts me and says "I want to get on your list!" So, I was excited to get to this project - an IKEA couch and chair. And the fabric would be dropcloth. Here are the pieces before, with their original IKEA slipcovers...

I haven't looked at IKEA slipcovers lately, but these ones had no extra opening to make them easier to take on and off, and, over time, they had shrunk a little. My client was very excited to have covers that she wouldn't have to fight to get on and off! She provided the 10 oz dropcloth and specified a pleated skirt. Lots and lots of pleats later, here they are...

Hard to believe those are IKEA pieces! And, by the way, she has the cutest house :)

She requested piping only around the skirt, so the rest of the seams were left clean and simple.

The furry member of the family was eager to try them out...

Lots and lots of box pleats (with a 2" turned hem)...

And then, because these pieces float in the room, we had to dress up the back...

I know I said in an earlier post something about buttons needing to be functional, well, I'm eating my words now ;) My client wanted the button look, but wanted the security and streamlined look of a zipper. So, did both - underneath the button placket is a functioning zipper. And now the slipcovers go on and off with ease!

And aren't her pillows gorgeous?

These pieces are destined for a keeping room in Tennessee (I so love the idea of a keeping room!), so my client is playing with different ideas for accessories - I can't wait to see them in their new home!

Do you have IKEA slipcovered pieces? What do you think of how they work for you?

Sherri

It's All About the Velvet

January 29, 2015 Sherri Rice

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook (it's where are the fun is, you know ;)), you will have seen some velvet goodness happening in my workroom. This is the project... My client contacted me, looking for covers for her couch cushions. She has a leather couch and a largish puppy who was leaving his claw marks on the cushions.

As you can see, her first line of defense was to flip the cushions so the full leather sides were underneath. But, of course, this was not the look she was going for. So, covers were in order. She has a collection of South American textiles and thought that a rich velvet would complement these best. We found a delicious chocolate cotton velvet that was an almost perfect match to her couch!

After...

The fabric was very nice (lots of colors at fabric.com :)) and was a good weight - there was measurable shrinkage, but otherwise, it washed and dried beautifully. We added piping edges to the cushions and made arm covers as well. I made the arm covers extra long, so they would tuck under and be held in place by the back cushions.

August Blues - Velvet Cushions and Arm Covers

Velvet can have a tendency to "creep" against itself when it's being sewn together, but this was minimal with this fabric.

Looks comfy to me!

I hadn't had a chance to work with velvet on this scale before; I think I might need to see what other velvet projects I can come up with :)

Do you have velvet in your home?

Sherri

Builder Basic to Personality Filled - A Kitchen Update

January 16, 2015 Sherri Rice

We purchased our then-5-year-old builder-basic house 9 years ago, with the intention of adding personality and character over time. Well, SLOWLY we are getting there, so I am very excited to show you our {mostly, for now} finished kitchen! I seem to spend a lot of time in this room (go figure!), so it has always been a priority to have it functioning as best as it can, and looking good in the process. It is a fairly generous size, as kitchens go, and has large windows that face east - I love morning sunshine! But, the cupboards and finishes are very basic, and as a result, have been showing their age quickly. A full remodel isn't in the budget, so we have been looking for ways to make it "us" on a VERY tiny budget.

This is what we started with (this picture was taken a year after we moved in)...

And this is what it looks like now...

Much better! It's really been lots of smaller projects that have added up to a completely different look. We started by changing the lighting, replacing some of the cabinets with open shelves, painting the cabinets that were left, and putting new flooring in. I talked about our breakfast bar here- it's been one of my most viewed posts! And I shared our kitchen table journey here. I won't talk about all of the rest of the changes here, but if you want to know more about any of the details, let me know in the comments.

The biggest change we have made since the breakfast bar project is raising the cabinets and installing a shelf underneath. I first saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it could work because it could give us more closed storage and enable us to move some of our everyday things off the counters. It worked and I love it! I won't give you step-by-step instructions, as others have already done that, but I thought I would show you how it works for us. And maybe it will inspire your own kitchen makeover!

Our adventure in cupboard rearranging started with the "hutch" we made that is located on the other side of our fridge...

We removed the upper cabinet and the lower cabinet doors. Then we installed shelves from Ikea (here) and I made curtains out of ticking for the lower cabinet. We also painted it a slightly different shade of white and used different drawer pulls, so that it looked distinct from the rest of the kitchen cabinetry.

The day we took those cabinets down, I REALLY just wanted to take them all out! But, I know myself and know that a little closed storage is a good thing :) This hutch is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen! It holds all our everyday dishes and has become our breakfast center...

Taking the cabinets down, and then putting them back up, was definitely a two-person job. We didn't put them all the way to the ceiling because we needed to get a hand (and a drill) in that space to screw the cabinets back to the wall (and if they were any higher, I wouldn't be able to reach anything!). The new small-scale crown molding around the top finishes them off. The cabinet over the microwave needed to stay in place, so we made a little niche area. I think it makes the cabinets more interesting.

We put up beadboard wallpaper for a backsplash and installed the shelves. We used 10" boards since I didn't want the shelves to be as deep as the cupboards. The brackets were unfinished wood and came from Home Depot.

It was fun to organize the shelves with our often-used (and pretty) things - the baskets hold spices, tea fixings, and dog paraphernalia).

We initially painted the shelves and backsplash a different white (Benjamin Moore Cloud White) than the cupboards (a mystery color). But, then I tried to touch up the finish on the upper cupboards and realized that my touch-up color was not the same as the initial color (has anyone else done that?). Since I wasn't certain we could match the original color, we ended up painting the upper cupboards (again!) in the same color as the shelves and backspash. And I like it better :)

If you are wondering about our "island," it is a vintage table I found at a local re-sale shop. It was originally intended to be a desk, but then we had to do a furniture shuffle and it ended up being our island. The "garbage" cans (also from Ikea) hold our dog food a little more stylishly than the plastic bins we were using.

And if you were wondering where our kitchen table is, this is why it didn't make it into any pictures (warning: full disclosure ahead)...

The projects never end! We are in the process of putting up crown molding in our family room and this has become our worktable. At least the breakfast bar gives us somewhere to eat ;)

One more look...

August Blues - Kitchen Before and After2

Have you done any low-budget kitchen upgrades?

Sherri

P.S. Many thanks to the Professor for entertaining and then following through with my hair-brained ideas for our kitchen and to my dad for painting many of the cabinets, not once, but twice!

Happy 2015!

January 7, 2015 Sherri Rice

Happy New Year, friends! Yes, I realize it's already January 7 (where is this year going?), but this is only the second day that the boys have been back at school, so I have been trying to get my ducks in a row after the holidays. I just wanted to share a couple of things and then I will get back to slipcovers (and maybe some diys - have you been following along on FB and IG?).

First, for the last few years I have been choosing one word for the year (you can see my previous words here and here). This year my word is Faith. I chose it based on this quote by Angie Smith in a recent She Reads Truth devotional:

"The kind of faith God wants—the kind that is credited to us as righteousness—is that of Abraham’s, who believed in spite of his circumstances (Romans 4:19-21).

It’s the belief that lifts our heads from the words on the page and looks to the God who speaks them over us.

It’s the trust that comes when everything around you says, “impossible,” and yet you dare to hope anyway.

It’s the audacity to believe that His promises apply to us."

I love that last line; I wrote it on the chalk board above my desk right away. Faith, real faith that has God as it's object and isn't just a feel-good notion, really is audacious, isn't it?

In the past few months, as a family we have started down some paths that, regardless of the outcomes, are requiring ongoing faith in God's promises and purposes. If and when I am able, I will share more. For now, this is the word I need.

Second, and on a lighter note, I thought I would share my top 3 posts of 2014. It's always interesting to see what grabs peoples' attention :)

3. Designer Couch Makeover

2. Dropcloth and Pleats

1. Wing Chair Slipcover 2.0 (technically published in 2013, but mostly viewed in 2014)

Wishing all of you a wonderful new year!

Sherri

Dressed Up Dining Chairs

December 26, 2014 Sherri Rice

Happy day-after-Christmas, or Boxing Day as it's known in Canada (and other Commonwealth nations)! I am home in a quiet house with the boys, while the Professor takes his family out to check out the sales. It was a good Christmas, in spite of a couple of us having the flu (yay for Tamiflu!). I hope you enjoyed your Christmas as well. I was hoping to share this project with you before Christmas, but flu happened and Christmas came anyway, so here it is now :)

I have done a number of projects for this client over the last few years...

Those chairs are among my most pinned projects! Dropcloth has been the fabric of choice, so we stayed with it for this project for the dining room. Here are the chairs...

There are 4 side chairs and 2 arm chairs in the set. These chairs have great sentimental value, so my client wanted something special that would blend with what we had already done. We decided on a gathered skirt with horizontal pleats, like this...

August Blues - Antique Chair with Ticking Skirt

But, it was a challenge to make the ruffles go all around the back because of all the spindles. And, since the seats were just wood, my client requested a little padding for the seat area. And here is the after...

I made a pocket for 1/2" foam to be inserted in the seat area (the foam can be pulled out so the rest of the cover can be washed). The ruffled skirt attached to the back part of the seat with tabs and velcro. Grosgrain ribbon joined the ends of the skirt.

The side chairs required a slightly different treatment at the back, because of the additional spindles that jutted out from the rest of the back...

The gathers and pleats were such simple, but pretty details!

It was fun to set them up in my kitchen :)

Don't you think they fit right in? Special touches for some special pieces :)

Sherri

From Our House to Yours...

December 25, 2014 Sherri Rice

Just popping in to wish you all a Merry Christmas...

... may it be the loveliest of Christmas seasons, wherever you find yourself, with whoever you find yourself - and may it be just what you need to be ready for the New Year!

Sherri

More Linen Loveliness

December 6, 2014 Sherri Rice

Linen has been the fabric this fall, at least in my workroom. And I am not complaining! This time, the project was slipcovers for a pair of Ethan Allen club chairs with attached back cushions and the matching ottoman - well-loved, but in need of refreshing...

My client chose a creamy white weighty linen - Glynn linen from Covington. This linen has a beautiful weight and comes in lots of colors. I pre-washed and dried it, and then got to work. Here is the after (pillow is mine)...

This linen covered the high-contrast print better than we anticipated, so an underslip was not necessary. My client loved the double corner pleats I had done on a chair for my Mom, so we did the same here. And I left them unpressed to add some feminine flair to the simple design.

As these chairs may go back to their printed version at some point, we left the back cushions attached, and just covered them all in one piece.

And now these pieces are ready to take their place, just in time for the holidays.

Do you have any linen pieces in your house?

Sherri

Rustic Charm

November 26, 2014 Sherri Rice

I took a little break from all the linen to work with grain sack fabric for this pair of chairs. finished and delivered just in time for Thanksgiving :) My client found these chairs and thought they would be great extra chairs to have on hand when extra seats are needed. I think she said they originally came from a vintage travel trailer (great pieces can come from lots of different places!). They are sturdy and the perfect size for extra seating, but they definitely needed a new look!

We decided grain sack fabric would be perfect, so she purchased a couple of pieces as soon as Decor Steals posted their selections for sale. I LOVE this fabric (you can see another grain sack project I did here)! And I think a simple slipcover design shows it off best...

Just top-stitching along the seams...

And then a little something special for the back...

My client's reaction? "Those buttons are so me!" The best compliment :) In this case, the buttons are purely decorative - the chairs are straight enough that an extra opening is not required.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sherri

Welcome to August Blues - I'm so glad
you're here! August Blues Slipcover Studio strives to enable your home to better serve its purpose, by providing you with quality custom slipcovers that enhance the appearance and functionality of your furniture pieces. Established in 2011 and located in Denton, TX...Read More

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