Dye-ing for a Change!

Back in 2006, when my kids were still in college and blogging was the furthest thing from my mind, Coach and I decided we needed a new couch for our family room. After much deliberation and shopping at various furniture stores, we went with our then-college-age-daughter as a tie-breaker in tow and together we decided on this slip-covered, floral cotton sofa, which was (and still is) super comfy and sturdy with it’s foam and goose down cushions. After a while, as my tastes evolved and the room became more “rustic countrified”, the floral slipcover wasn’t working for me.

Somewhere along the way, I purchased a second slipcover in a brick red color at a discount (a mere $200!) but that became so drab and faded as well.

Back to the furniture store to have a new slipcover made, only to find that $700 price tag (that’s just for the cover, folks, NOT the sofa!) a bit too steep. At that point, I realized that my choices were to 1. Bite the bullet and have the new slipcover made or 2. Bite a bigger bullet and buy a new sofa, but Coach wasn’t buying either of those options. He suggested that I dye the red cover white (Oh, Coach…). So, I decided to try a third option: dyeing the floral sofa blue! What did I have to lose except a faded, floral slipcover? First, I washed the old slipcover in hot water and bleach to remove any stains and sizing in the fabric. You can see how they don’t quite match-over the years, the covers and cushions were washed a lot more than the main slipcover.

Grabbed a couple of bottles of Rit Dye in Denim Blue @ $2.67 each,

plus 2 cups of salt (I guess that helps the fabric accept the dye.)

I threw all of the cushion and pillow covers in the first load, then the main cover in the second load. I was a little nervous when I opened the machine top and saw a sea of indigo blue-the room is dark enough-I was looking for light and bright. But once they came out of the dryer, they were exactly what I had hoped for: a soft, washed-denim blue with a hint of the floral design.

So I redressed the sofa which looked great. BUT, that meant I needed some new throw pillows… and some new lighter drapery panels for the window directly behind the sofa. And a new throw to hang on the back of the sofa. And to paint the side table next to the sofa because that was blue too. Oh, and a new lamp for the table next to the sofa. After all that change, I was so excited about the new look! (You’ll have to excuse the “after” pic. I dropped my phone on the concrete floor while painting some wooden pumpkins this past weekend and am waiting for the replacement to arrive. In the meantime, the photos I’m taking are a bit off kilter and color : (

Then Coach came home and didn’t even notice. And then our daughter (the one who helped us choose the original sofa so many years ago) didn’t notice either. That’s OK- I notice, and the change makes the old sofa look fresh and new(ish), and for $6 (plus a trip to HomeGoods for all the new accessories), that’s a good deal! Have a terrific Thursday, everyone- make one change for the better today-even if no one notices-you’ll be glad you did! Susan