Can you help me with this decorating problem?

What complicates things is that the furniture is rounded and the cushions are rounded, too. In addition, the cushions have piping on their edges. Plus, the cushions appear to be free-standing, not stapled onto the furniture like seat cushions. Depending on how badly you want to undertake the effort, you could just simply take a sheet or piece of fabric and put it around the cushions. If you know someone who sews, maybe they can sew a cover. It’s an odd shape, so it’s not like you’re going to find a cover in a store. You might get a cushion that has a square back and then have the two rounded pieces of wood sticking up in the back, which is not too bad. As far as the seat part goes, it’s a weird shape, too, with the cut outs for the wood. For that, too, you might just get a regular cushion but it won’t fit snugly into the wooden part.

Exactly, @jca. Rounded, piping….I wish my Mom was here.

The cushions are free standing…but I could remedy that! Then I suppose I could just wrap new fabric around them and staple them to the glider wood. I’ve re-covered tons of dining chairs just that way, but they’re all square.

Maybe you could cut the fabric off the old cushions so the piping doesn’t interfere with the new covering.

THAT’S an idea! And you know, I could use glue-on Velcro to hold the new fabric in place instead of sewing. It would just mean never flipping the cushions…..

Ha ha! I’m out there looking at stitching with greedy eyes. One thing I AM good at is ripping out stitching!
I think that’s be best idea. The foam is already cut to specs. ....

Thank you thank you!

Are the cushions loose cushions? If they are making shams for them is super easy and you can remove them and wash in the machine. That would be great! If you have a sewing machine you could probably make them. If a lot of measuring sounds too demanding you could just cut a piece of fabric big enough to go over one side of your cushion and down the four sides and then add about four extra inches on each side, machine stitch a 1.5” hem, thread a piece of elastic through the hem, and you would have elasticized washable cushion covers. I love doing this kind of little proejct.

It’s not the measuring. I can measure for building shelves, book cases, garages, extra rooms, and I can build them, but I don’t sew, @MollyMcGuire.

Come live with me for a while, and bring your sewing machine!

Check this out @jca… painting upholstery. It’s interesting. But I decided against it. I did a bit of sleuthing about and found that we actually do have an upholsterer in town, so I’ll take the cushions to her and see what it will take.

Thank you for your suggestions guys.

And here is a picture for you!

@Dutchess_III: I knew about painting upholstery but it seems cold and like it might crack. Post an update about what the upholstery person will charge. It may be a great price and you can pick your fabric! Exciting. It will look like new!

It actually looks new now, but like it’s 1981 or something. All that mauve and blue. Sooooo U-GLY!

Yeah, you can pick something current and it will look like a million bucks (providing the upholstery person’s prices are not crazy).

Yep. We will have to see about that. Put it can’t possibly be as bad as buying new cushions. They’re like $50, $90 EACH from what I saw! No way in hell.

So I guess something like this is out of the question or like this. You could try dying the fabric a solid light color and then stamp a design you like. Or just dye it dark enough where the design won’t be seen. I like the idea of making it white, and then color the piping and buttons navy blue. Make sure it doesn’t say dryclean only.

Oh, you found something! How nice!! Thank you @Pandora!

I have another thought. How do you think this would work: I found a lady in town who actually does upholstering and I took pictures of samples she had. Here is the fabric and color I want to use, the avocado. I don’t know what to call it though, so I can shop for a good price on line.

Now, can’t I just cut thin boards, like a plywood, to shape, glue the cushions on the boards, wrap the fabric around and staple it down to the boards? The cushions are already pre-cut to fit that exact chair.
I have several dining chairs where the seats are detachable, and that’s how they’re designed, and that’s how I re-cover them.
That way I could just change fabric whenever, almost at a whim.
And, best of all, I wouldn’t have to sew shudder.

Do you think that would work?

I would pick something with a tighter weave that is easier to be dusted off and fabric that is better weather resistant.
I do like the idea of the plywood. Just be sure to attach a little batting around it to soften the edges. Like the way they do with the arm of chairs when attaching leather. You don’t have to staple the cushions. You could simply have the lady make string ties so you can tie it to the post on the side or long enough to wrap under the chair to the legs. If is has a small skirt it will cover the ties. at least in the front.
.

You’re right about the fabric. I just figured since it was listed as indoor/outdoor it would work, but now I feel a different material would be better. I’m on the hunt now. This site is driving me nuts. So much pretty pretty and I’m not even a girly girl! The outdoor material seem to be polyester…is that a good material for outdoors?

I’m going to be doing this myself….I won’t be stapling the cushions. I’ll be gluing the cushions on a piece of wood then wrapping the the new fabric around the cushion and stapling it on to the wood. That’s in lieu of sewing an entire covering that you then zip the cushion into. I mean, the cushions will still be free to pull off to clean underneath or rescue a grandkid something or something.

Here is a picture of what I mean. And picture two.

Since that’s on a chair outside, and noone would see the bottom, I didn’t take great care with how much fabric was left over to staple. The swing, though, I’d be more careful of the back cushion since it will show to some extent. I could always staple a cover to the board and the staples on the back of the cushions. Fold the edges down and staple them, like this.

How do you think that might look?

Also…here is what I’m kind of trying to match with….the colors in this funky cool think I found.

Instead of staples try using velcro so it’s easier to remove, wash and put back again or change without making a ton of holes in the wood or fabric. Get long strips of velcro. It won’t go anywhere without you peeling it off.

I do think the fabric you linked will work.

…There you go! Good idea!

K. Now I have to rescue my cushions from the upholstery lady….

LOL

@Dutchess_III: What was the price from the upholstery lady?

Shit…for what I wanted, $28 a yard! The least expensive was $21. Plus $60 for labor. And I agree with @Pandora….that wasn’t really what I wanted. I can get what I do want, or should have, for about $9 to $14 (I won’t go any higher) on the internet, and $0 for labor.

She estimated 4 yards to do the job.

But Decisions, decisions! Argh!

Ok, exactly what do you want? Something that is an eye popper that will be the focus and tie into other things and cheer up the porch, or something that will blend in? For blending in, and complimenting the trellis design, I like this one, for an eye popper that will still work with the design but maybe make it less noticable, I like this one. I love the second one. You could buy both and have one for spring and summer and one for fall and winter.

Well, I’m kind of wanting to blend to these colors, and even that style. It’s just a tin thing I found somewhere. I want warm, I guess. Maybe paint the all wood chairs to match too?

Ok, so you want to match the burgundy/ maroon color more? Look at this one. That pot trellis is old fashion and so is paisley. It has the same colors in it as well.

Well, I’m thinking more colorful….This, maybe? It kind looks like it may be blending some darker reds in. .... Or this?

Ok my designers…next question. Now that I have a course of action, attaching the cushions to a board then stapling or velcroing the cloth to that, my next questions are:

1. Do I leave the original fabric on and just go over that?
2. Do I take it off so I’m working only with the foam cushion?
3. If I leave it on, do I take off the buttons on the seat, and take out the “quilting” stitches on the backs, and the piping?

I found this site: http://www.upholster.com/howto/

Thank you but that is 10,000X more complicated than what I’m contemplating, and I didn’t see any suggestions as to whether I should remove the tacking or just lay over it. What are your thoughts on it?

I’d take the fabric off and so you’re just covering the foam with the new fabric. Take the buttons off and cover them with the fabric. That’s the way upholsterers do it – they start with a naked foam.

Oh, I’m not going to reattach the buttons or re-tack the back. I don’t care for that look anyway.

My dining room chairs have about 5 layers of different fabric on the seats, from where I changed it over the years. Kind of a time capsule. Kind of cool.

I guess…..I’ll just reupholster over the old, as is. If it puckers, or causes problems, I guess I can tear it back down and start over.

OK, Ladies. I placed an order for $1 samples of these patterns.

I also ordered a cool fish sample to see if it would look right to cover the cushion of a new toybox I got.

@Dutchess_III: Do you have a staple gun? I do – it’s a great thing to have and less than 20 bucks at Walmart.

Oh, I have a staple gun. And hot glue gun And contact cement. And liquid nails. And a nail gun. And a screw gun. And a caulking gun. And a table saw and a jig saw. And every tool a person could want to build a house or a new pantry in the kitchen and I know how to use them.

I just don’t have a sewing machine because I hate them. Well, I had one for years and years, that I picked up at a garage sale for $25, and I built some stuff with it, most notably the entire back end of a pop up camper, but the disagreements got to be too much, so…. This was a couple of weeks ago, when I was afraid I’d pull the beast out and try to work with it again on this project. That is not good for me mentally.

OK, ladies. Don’t know if you’re still following, but I got 6 different physical samples sent. I’ve been studying on them for a week.

Made a decision yesterday and bit the bullet and ordered about $130 worth of fabric today. I decided on this for the glider, and this for the cushion on the toybox.
I’ll send pics when I’m done, if you want to see them.

You’ve been so much help. Thank you.

On Saturday I saw a sewing machine, a “Singer Simple,” for $50 at a used furniture place. Was soooooo tempted….but I didn’t do it…...

@Dutchess_III: I’m still following!

I just googled “Singer Simple” and see it’s 89 dollars on Amazon, so 50 bucks is not that great of a deal, in my opinion. You don’t know what you’re getting with a used machine, unless you test it in the store. I do like the fabrics. I especially like the “Jungle” for the toy box.

You’re doing the cushions yourself or did you decide on someone else doing them?

I looked at Amazon too and saw they were about $90.

I’m doing them myself. Next step is to get a piece of 1/16 plywood and trace the pattern of the cushions.

Thank you for following! You want my autograph? :D

Gotta go. Have a couple of Realtor’s open houses. Man I hope they have donuts!

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