Sticky Children and Slipcovers

My children are messy.

They are sticky, snotty, purple marker wielding balls of energy that destroy furniture.

Back when the hubs and I got married, five years this summer, we purchased a living room set that included a couch, loveseat, and an overstuffed chair with a matching automan.

It was on sale, in beige. I wanted it.

I was concerned about the color though. I asked the trusty salesman, what about when we have children? (When my husband and I have children, not the salesman and I.)

The trusty salesman replies, "Oh don't worry about that. We have this great stain resistant spray you can purchase at an additional cost. It works great, nothing will stain. It's amazing!"

I believed him. We bought the whole matching set.

The trusty salesman lied.

Everything single spill, mark, dot shows on the furniture. Even water stains it. Its ridiculous!

I purchased slip covers for the couch and the loveseat awhile ago from potterybarn. They are good enough for now. They are basically a loose sheet that I tuck around the furniture, and if they get messy I just throw them in the wash.

Lately I've been saving every last penny for the new house, so I needed to find a free way to cover the automan.

I had some small fabric pieces that had covered our dining rooms chairs when I bought them a couple years back, in my scrap bag.

I draped the fabric over the automan and pinned it into place. I wasn't too worried about matching the stripes or anything. I ~~am lazy~~ was going for a casual look.

I didn't have quite have enough fabric, so I took some scraps to fill in the middle. I purposely miss matched the stripes so that the evenness wouldn't matter.

I ran it through the sewing machine.

And bada bing, bada boom...

Sure, it's less than perfect.

If I had taken more time, the seams would probably lay a bit smoother and I could've pieced together a better looking middle. But honestly, the kids took terrible naps and I was in the middle of the project and just really wanted to finish it.

It gives me a good template for the next time, and for now it's so much better than what it looked like before.

Now when the inevitable sticky, stain ridden monsters, called my children, roll all over the new slipcover, I can throw it in the wash.

Oh happy day.

I wouldn't trade my children for a clean beautiful house but I do love when I find a compromise.

Have you ever purchased microfiber covered furniture? Do you love it? Hate it? I love hearing from you!

Have a lovely day!

Posted with Blogsy

Comments

Changes

I was cleaning today, which gave me time to think, and thinking always leads me here. The house is 'weekend messy', so decided to clean my floors, because The Nester says if your floors are clean the rest of the house feels clean too, even if it isn’t. I have found that it is pretty good advice, so when everything else feels chaotic, I clean the floors. Of course for me, cleaning the floors also means picking up the toys, shoes, clothes, etc. so that I can even begin to vacuum, which naturally leads to a cleaner home as well. While cleaning up I began to think about how this blog has evolved over the years, from a desire to write like The Nester about home, into what it is now. I started writing this blog when I was dreaming of building a new home. Then plans changed, life took turns, and we ended up in a home so different than I expected and so perfect for our family. Somewhere along the way I realized that home wasn’t in the walls that went up or in ...

The Farmer

I trust that, by now, you have all seen the commercial heard round the world. You know, the one that stopped all action and silenced a nation when the soft rumble of that voice drifted into living rooms on a Super Bowl Sunday. Yes that commercial . Paul Harvey's voice, unmistakable in its sincerity and beauty, spoke of a people whom work from sun up till sun down with no recognition. He spoke of a people whom care for their baby animals and pour their blood, sweat and tears into helping them grow. He spoke of a people, so foreign to many in the world today. He spoke of a people whom many have forgotten. He spoke of a people; my people. The farmer. I am a fourth generation farmer married to a fourth generation farmer. Together we are raising the fifth generation. We don't do it because its easy, it's not. The hours my husband spends working rival that of any doctor or lawyer I have ever met. We don't do it because it's profitable, some years it...

Summer Lessons

Making our house feel like home in the summer feels more chaotic to me than the slower months. November through March, when its dark early and bedtimes come swiftly, meals are slow cooked all day long, and warm light comes from houses in the evening hours, just naturally lends itself to an aesthetic of quiet and calm. At least for me. Summer lends itself to late nights out, days where we are only home long enough to drop piles by the door, eat and leave a mess on the table, dirty more clothes than a small country in a matter of days, and the chaos of home just seems unsettled and rushed. I am going in circles most days, feeling like I am not accomplishing anything and yet spinning and spinning and trying to not tip over. And yet... And yet, a couple times a month someone asks me “How do you do it all?” I feel like I am that analogy of a duck on the pond, I look calm on the surface, but underneath my feet are kicking like crazy. And really that is just o...

Simple Home and Happiness

Search This Blog