Sofa Makeover (Mabel, You Lose)

The definition of wallow: “to roll oneself about in a lazy, relaxed, or ungainly manner.”





Anyone that’s been reading this blog for very long has heard me bemoan the epic battle of the couch. My couch, AKA: The Green Beast, has been squished within an inch of her life. The back cushions are virtually pulverized, and every inch of fabric bears the aroma ‘a la Mabel’s butt.’ You can understand why I’ve been at the end of my rope.

But sadly, once I reached the end of my rope I discovered there was not enough money in the family purse for a new couch. And the vintage, retro one I’ve been hoping to stumble upon in a thrift store has yet to appear. SO… my sainted mother-in-law Linda swooped in to help.

First, we bought (and when I say we, I mean Linda) a two piece stretchy slipcover from Target. I cannot say enough good things about this stretch material. It really doesn't shift or wrinkle like a lot of other slipcovers I've had. Plus, the separate slipcover piece for the seat cushions really keeps things in place.

Then we did away with the horrendous back cushions and bought some new pillows at Joanne’s. Linda made some fun pillow cases for them using the red pattern fabric on the two outer pillows and plain duck cloth on two center pillows (in the first picture I have a red throw over the center pillows).

But if I want an entirely neutral couch, the red patterned pillows flip over and match the center pillows.

So there you have it. The new sofa makeover. And in case you’re thinking, “Um, Mabel is just going to do the same thing to those pillows,” you’re right. But when I leave the house now, I flip the cushions up. It’s a veritable “Wall of China” for dogs. She stands in front of the couch and her little schnauzer eyebrows bend into a frown. And I giggle and say, “Mabel… you LOSE!”

*** A few of you have asked what kind of camera I use. Matt actually just gave me my Christmas present early, a Sony Cybershot H-10. It is a small camera (which is what I really wanted since I haul a camera everywhere I go), but so far takes some great pictures. DO NOT take the pictures in this post into consideration, I was playing with shutterspeed settings and these turned out oddly blurry.