Tag: home decorating

diy, featured

How to refresh your Throw Pillows | DIY


I recently published a post that referenced my old “one-design-for-all” throw pillows and what I did to transform them. Sewing pillow covers are so easy and do not require a lot of time. Anyone can do it! I decided to make the envelope style pillow covers because the zippered style intimidates me. Installing zippers is a no-go area for me. I’ve never even used my sewing machine zipper foot. But I’m sure I’ll sum up the courage to use it someday.

Check out a tutorial for sewing this pillow covers here by Melanie Ham.

So here are the before and after photos of my throw pillows:

Before:

Transformation in progress.

AFTER:


As you can see I was very ambitious in completing this project. I bought various prints of home decor fabric and got to work. I wasn’t very particular about having perfect angles so I cut my fabric into 20 x 40-inch pieces. Basically, these pillow covers are one-piece covers. Nothing fancy!

So do you all have any “one-design-for-all” pillows that need to be brought back to life? Try this project now. You will be amazed to how much difference these can make to update your living space.

Thanks for stopping by,

Abi

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;}
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */

Subscribe to our mailing list

DIY Home Decor, featured

DIY Throw Pillow Covers

lovingthesimplethings


I recently published a post that referenced my old “one-design-for-all” throw pillows and what I did to transform them. Sewing pillow covers are so easy and do not require a lot of time. Anyone can do it! I decided to make the envelope style pillow covers because the zippered style intimidates me. Installing zippers is a no-go area for me. I’ve never even used my sewing machine zipper foot. But I’m sure I’ll sum up the courage to use it someday.

Check out a tutorial for sewing this pillow covers here by Melanie Ham.

So here are the before and after photos of my throw pillows:

Before:

Transformation in progress. 

AFTER:


As you can see I was very ambitious in completing this project. I bought various prints of home decor fabric and got to work. I wasn’t very particular about having perfect angles so I cut my fabric into 20 x 40-inch pieces. Basically, these pillow covers are one-piece covers. Nothing fancy!

So do you all have any “one-design-for-all” pillows that need to be brought back to life? Try this project now. You will be amazed to how much difference these can make to update your living space.

Thanks for stopping by,

diy

How to Customize your Throw Pillows with a Sharpie | DIY

Any home décor enthusiast will tell you that throw pillows can easily add some pizzazz to your living space. It can add color and texture to a boring sofa. I personally love pillows and think they can be a playful addition to your home. A blank sofa without pillows is just blah! In my home, my kiddos don’t let my pillows rest. I’m constantly asking them to stop touching, throwing or stepping on my throw pillows. Yep!, somehow my pillows make it to the floor and then get stepped on. Mind you these pillows have come a long way. They are the boring generic pillows that are sold with sofa sets from your local furniture store. What I’ve done to bring life to them is to cover them with removable pillow covers. I bought some home decor fabric from Joann Fabrics and DIY-ed some 18” x 18” throw pillow covers to cover up my hideous one-design-for-all pillows. 

There’s nothing wrong with covering up your pillows with home décor fabric, but now you step things up a notch and customize your throw pillows. You can draw on plain fabric to make your pillows look exactly the way you envision.

Inspiration pillows from http://www.bhg.com

As you can imagine, I had to try this great idea out the same day I saw the post on bhg.com. So when I the kiddos had gone to bed, I embark on this customized pillow journey. I used a light colored pillow cover I had and I decided to write a phrase rather than draw a pattern. I chose “HEY love” because it’s playful and flirty, hehe. I used a pencil, fine-point and regular point permanent markers. I initially drafted the phrase in pencil, traced it with the fine point and went over the letters with the regular point marker. The next thing I did was to make the polka dots with the bronze marker.

So here it is….

img_0487-1

img_0488

img_0434

So there you have it! I hope I have inspired you to make your own custom throw pillows.

Share your thoughts and don’t hesitate to share.

Xoxo,

Abi

DIY Home Decor

How to Customize your Throw Pillows with a Sharpie

lovingthesimplethings

Any home décor enthusiast will tell you that throw pillows can easily add some pizzazz to your living space. It can add color and texture to a boring sofa. I personally love pillows and think they can be a playful addition to your home. A blank sofa without pillows is just blah! In my home, my kiddos don’t let my pillows rest. I’m constantly asking them to stop touching, throwing or stepping on my throw pillows. Yep!, somehow my pillows make it to the floor and then get stepped on. Mind you these pillows have come a long way. They are the boring generic pillows that are sold with sofa sets from your local furniture store. What I’ve done to bring life to them is to cover them with removable pillow covers. I bought some home decor fabric from Joann Fabrics and DIY-ed some 18” x 18” throw pillow covers to cover up my hideous one-design-for-all pillows. 

There’s nothing wrong with covering up your pillows with home décor fabric, but now you step things up a notch and customize your throw pillows. You can draw on plain fabric to make your pillows look exactly the way you envision.

Inspiration pillows from http://www.bhg.com

As you can imagine, I had to try this great idea out the same day I saw the post on bhg.com. So when I the kiddos had gone to bed, I embark on this customized pillow journey. I used a light colored pillow cover I had and I decided to write a phrase rather than draw a pattern. I chose “HEY love” because it’s playful and flirty, hehe. I used a pencil, fine-point and regular point permanent markers. I initially drafted the phrase in pencil, traced it with the fine point and went over the letters with the regular point marker. The next thing I did was to make the polka dots with the bronze marker.

So here it is….

img_0487-1

img_0488

img_0434

So there you have it! I hope I have inspired you to make your own custom throw pillows.

Share your thoughts and don’t hesitate to share.

img_7705-8

img_8641

diy, featured

DIY Cushioned Accent Chair Makeover

lovingthesimplethings

Have you ever wished you could reupholster your furniture in a few easy steps without breaking the bank? Today I will be sharing my DIY vintage chair makeover project that required re-upholstery and what I did to bypass the detailed and tedious process of re-upholstering a cushioned furniture.

By the way, I forgot to take before photos of the chair because I was too excited to get my hands on it and make it over. However, I’ll take a stab at describing its before condition.

This chair was a light oak color and the cushion was covered with a large print floral (sage, brown) fabric. From the looks of things, the chair had been previously reupholstered and my plan was to reupholster it again. I was going to throw the chair a reupholster-reupholster party. My plan was to revive it with a fresh wood stain and a contemporary fabric for the cushion part of it. Mind you it only cost me $6.99 :).

The materials I used include:

  • Heavy/Medium Home Decor Fabric
  • Wood Stain
  • 3M Sand Paper/Sand Foam
  • Paper Towels
  • Small nails/Utility Staples
  • Hammer/Staple gun
  • Screwdriver
  • Paint brush (to apply wood stain)

So you ask, what is the trick I used to bypass the tedious re-upholstery process?

After unscrewing the cushion from the chair, I placed it in a 20” x 20” inch pillow cover that had been previously removed from a throw pillow. It was the best casing for the cushion! (I did not bother to remove the old fabric or replace the foam or plywood or cardboard or any other parts from the cushion.) On the underside of the cushion, I then pulled the fabric in several directions, starting the middle, folding it flat and nailing it into place to form a smooth finished look.

Before I sanded the chair frame
While sanding the chair frame

Next, I took the chair frame outside to sand. I sanded it with a 3M sandpaper, wiped it down several times with a damp cloth and let it dry.  Then I stained it with some Red Oak Stain, which I previously used in my DIY Bookshelf Nightstand Project.  I applied several coats of stain until I was satisfied with the results. I attached the cushion back onto the frame and tada!!!

I really enjoyed working on this project and you can too! It makes a great accent chair in my living room. I’m satisfied just walking past it. It brings me joy, hehe.

Feel free to leave a comment or questions for me.

Happy DIYing,

 

diy, featured

How to reupholster a chair | DIY

Have you ever wished you could reupholster your furniture in a few easy steps without breaking the bank? Today I will be sharing my DIY vintage chair makeover project that required re-upholstery and what I did to bypass the detailed and tedious process of re-upholstering a cushioned furniture.

By the way, I forgot to take before photos of the chair because I was too excited to get my hands on it and make it over. However, I’ll take a stab at describing its before condition.

This chair was a light oak color and the cushion was covered with a large print floral (sage, brown) fabric. From the looks of things, the chair had been previously reupholstered and my plan was to reupholster it again. I was going to throw the chair a reupholster-reupholster party. My plan was to revive it with a fresh wood stain and a contemporary fabric for the cushion part of it. Mind you it only cost me $6.99 :).

The materials I used include:

  • Heavy/Medium Home Decor Fabric
  • Wood Stain
  • 3M Sand Paper/Sand Foam
  • Paper Towels
  • Small nails/Utility Staples
  • Hammer/Staple gun
  • Screwdriver
  • Paint brush (to apply wood stain)

So you ask, what is the trick I used to bypass the tedious re-upholstery process?

After unscrewing the cushion from the chair, I placed it in a 20” x 20” inch pillow cover that had been previously removed from a throw pillow. It was the best casing for the cushion! (I did not bother to remove the old fabric or replace the foam or plywood or cardboard or any other parts from the cushion.) On the underside of the cushion, I then pulled the fabric in several directions, starting the middle, folding it flat and nailing it into place to form a smooth finished look.

Before I sanded the chair frame
While sanding the chair frame

Next, I took the chair frame outside to sand. I sanded it with a 3M sandpaper, wiped it down several times with a damp cloth and let it dry.  Then I stained it with some Red Oak Stain, which I previously used in my DIY Bookshelf Nightstand Project.  I applied several coats of stain until I was satisfied with the results. I attached the cushion back onto the frame and tada!!!

I really enjoyed working on this project and you can too! It makes a great accent chair in my living room. I’m satisfied just walking past it. It brings me joy, hehe.

Feel free to leave a comment or questions for me.

Happy DIYing,