EVEN IN FLORENCE, SLIPCOVERED SOFAS

A good friend of mine just returned from spending 3 weeks in Italy. His friend lives in a 45 (!) bedroom villa, by himself. Needless to say, he doesn't use all the space he has. The room he does use a lot is the living/dining room. As soon as I saw the pictures, I said, "Look, he has slipcovers!"

I can't tell for sure, but the fabric looks an awful lot like a light blue denim. Even with fresco-painted walls and 20' ceilings, slipcovers are appropriate. I just love it.

ANOTHER CHALLENGING CHAIR

This is the front view of one of two arm chairs my client wanted a slipcover for. Given the style, the slipcover has to be in two pieces.

Back view

The chair looks completely different with its new slipcover.

Tabs with covered buttons connect the skirt pieces together at the front and back corners.

Side/back view.

Because the chair has arms, I had to use snaps under the arms to keep the back cover in place.

Back view with both pieces of the new slipcover. I used covered buttons up the back, although once you unsnap the under arms, it just slips right off. Again, these buttons are strictly decorative and I used them mainly to tie the button tabs on the bottom piece to the top piece.

This slipcover is a good example of wanting a lighter look for summer, but not wanting to have the chair reupholstered.

BLUE DENIM, TOO

Except for the bleaching, everything I said about white denim slipcovers goes for blue denim as well.

This chair has a short, box-pleated skirt.

And, of course, my signature button-back closure. In this case, it was strictly decorative. I didn't even unbutton it to put it on. Still, I think it is just more interesting than a plain back.

And to those of you whose name was drawn for my 100th post giveaway, I haven't forgotten you. I have just been a bit busy. Be on the lookout for something in your mail very soon. And thanks for your patience.

ALWAYS POPULAR WHITE DENIM SLIPCOVERS

White denim has always been a favorite of my clients. It is durable, washable and can even be bleached.

It looks good with a gathered skirt.

It looks good with a tailored skirt.

It looks nice on a sectional.

A slipper chair

and on a regular occasional chair.

White denim always looks clean and crisp.

All of these pictures are of jobs I've done in the past. Suddenly, though, I have several clients wanting white denim slipcovers. (I'll be posting those shots once I get them done.) The one thing I do not do is to provide fabric to my clients for their projects. I am not a designer and I am not going to tell someone what they like. I'll make practically anything they want, I just won't tell them what they need. The one exception to my rule of not providing fabric is white denim. I do have it in stock (actually, under my bed.) If you are in the Southern California area and need white denim slipcovers, just let me know.

CHENILLE DRAPERIES AND PILLOWS

These draperies and pillows are all made from the same chenille. What you cannot tell from the picture is the draperies are lined with blackout and are extremely heavy. So heavy, in fact, that the installer had to use heavy duty supports to make sure the rods would not pull out of the wall.

For a more modern look, I did inverted pleats. Also, being on rings is much more contemporary than the traditional traverse rod.

The pillow on this chair has brush fringe and is the lumbar-style, which is just a fancy word for rectangle.

Because my client wanted the pillows to be super fat, I used two down forms in each pillow. Not the easiest thing to do, but it achieved the look she was after. Again, you cannot tell from the pictures, but the pillows are also fairly large - 24" x 24" because the sofa is over-sized.

Closer view of the brush fringe.

OTTOMAN SLIPCOVERS

One of the easiest and least expensive ways to update your living room or bedroom is with a new ottoman slipcover. The cover above has always reminded me of a dessert.

This is the first ottoman slipcover I ever did.

You can't tell the size of this ottoman from the picture, but it was absolutely huge - 42" square! That's about twice the size of a 'normal' one. I love the way I perfectly matched the stripes. It wasn't easy, but it sure turned out nicely.

This was a strange way to do the cover. The designer actually wanted the welting to match the fabric, which was really tricky to do. This is also an ottoman that has a removable cushion. Most just look like the 'cushion' should come off the base.

A small foot stool

Usually on round ottomans you need a gathered skirt because there are no corners. Doing this kind of boxed pleats allows for a more tailored look.

The fabric on this ottoman makes it hard to really see, but just the corners on it are gathered. The rest of the skirt is flat.

Ottomans are the only piece of furniture that I don't actually cut on site. I just take the measurements and then cut it out at home.

MY LATEST CREATION

I just love my new girl. She is made with chicken wire, a mannequin body, custom printed pink words on paper, pink glitter, pearls and 250 yards of tulle. She probably took at least 10 total hours to make. Not including the body, she is approximately 12"x 12"x 12" and with the body included, she stands about 15" tall.

I would love to have a dress just like she is wearing. Of course, I have no place to wear such a creation, but I would nonetheless like to have one.

LAST OF MARKET IN THE GARDEN

This picture was taken before the wind blew over this mannequin and broke one of its mirrored wings off.

Domestic Bliss

Prairie Home and La Maison Rustique

Breathing beside Us

Art Takes A Village

A Vintage Button In Time

More from The Barn

There are vendors I completely missed taking photos of because, even before the official opening time at 1:30p, people showed up and I had to get back to my own booth. As I've said before, the day was a wonderful success and a good time was had by all who participated and by those that attended. The important thing was we raised around $1500 for Jane's charity Art Takes A Village. I look forward to out next big event!

A GIFT IN THE MAIL

I arrived home yesterday from doing errands to find a package.  Everything about it was adorable, including the colorful packing paper.  

This wonderful collage in a tin was made by Katie of Ragamuffin Gal.  The details are amazing.  (My camera isn't capable of capturing it all.)  She used sticks and silk leaves and glitter and a pretty purple rhinestone.  In case you cannot read the banner on top it says, 'I need a little place to dream.'  How sweet is that?

Sorry for the blurriness, but this is the gift tag that accompanied my present.  Again, just adorable.  Thank you so much Katie.  I love it!