Sofa makeover: From Shabby to Chic............

I bought this sofa from Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Studio line a few years ago.  I love the shape of it, but it's always looked rather bland.  It came slipcovered in an off-white denim.  To be quite frank it's definitely more shabby than chic.  The slipcover, although very handy to slip-off and clean, needed to be constantly tucked in in the back.

I remember seeing this sofa on a blog and loved the blue chevron material.  It's a fun and stylish take on a classic loveseat shape.

from Alorahandmade

from Furbish Studio

I'd bought the chevron fabric for another project months ago.  But after coming across these pictures again, thought it would look great on the loveseat.  I debated about whether to make a slipcover or upholster.  I've made slipcovers before, and although they are time consuming, they're relatively easy to make.  But the chevron patterns lends itself to something more crisp looking.  So with staple gun in hand I got to work.

Looks better already

I draped the fabric over the loveseat back and seat and began cutting.  Fortunately, I had just enough fabric.  Also, as luck would have it, the loveseat is exactly the width of the fabric (and when I mean exactly, there wasn't even a millimeter to spare!).

Next step, staple.

The pink fluffy thing below the bass drum is not a cat toy, but my hammer!  It was a gift!

Wow, over three-quarters of the way done in just over an hour.  Easy peasy.  Next step, arms.

Staple, staple, staple.  Don't forget to pull the fabric tight, tuck-in, and secure with spiral fabric pins.

Now it starts to get a bit tricky.  I decided to do some piping like the sofa above.  Not so difficult, but when you only pull your sewing machine out every couple of years you have to relearn how to use it everytime. 
And the fact that the machine has a gazillion stitch options that I will never ever use, it's frustrating to say the least.

Keep smiling.  Secure the piping to the arms with upholstery tacks.

Almost done?  Not  a chance.  Aren't the last bits always the hardest?  Cut-out and sew on the front arm piece. 

Three hours later, I'd finished this one arm.  And then I was done.  No not done with the sofa, just done.  Hopefully I'll have it finished tomorrow, and I'll post some pictures then.  See you then. 



Trip to California

Last week-end we made an impromptu trip to the Bay Area.  We were there to do a bit of research.  Here is what we discovered.

We spent a few days in and around Danville, a pretty little town about 30 minutes east of Oakland.  The above picture is of the Danville Hotel & Restaurant, a Western themed building which is currently undergoing a major renovation.  I kind of like it the way it is, it looks like a Ghost Town.



We looked at a couple of houses.  The little yellow house is not typical of the homes in and around Danville.  It looks very charming from the outside, but teeny tiny inside and in need of a lot of renovation.



Many of the homes have nicer outsides than they do insides.

Can you imagine living on this street?  Peacocks everywhere!  Very pretty, but who cleans up the poop?

Of course I had to sniff out the nearest Anthropologie; set in a lovely shopping district on the outskirts of Danville.

We even managed to squeeze in a day trip to San Francisco.  Visited our old haunts including Kuleto's (where we got engaged 16 years ago!), Union Square, China Town, Versuvio, North Beach and even attended a wedding at Bimbos (it's a long story!).

We drank lots of yummy Californian Wine.  And look, what a find, Sofia in a can complete with handy drinking straw.  Now that's my kind of town.

Paint!!!

My Apartment Therapy Color Contest prize arrived this week on this:

Seriously.  Damian had visions of 15 gallons of paint looking like this:

Reality is, 15 gallons doesn't take up that much space.

They even threw in an extra gallon for good measure.

Thanks Apartment Therapy, Behr and of course you for voting for me!  Now which room to start on?

To view my entry go here and to see more pictures of the winning room go here.