Furniture Slipcovers Blog: GetSlipcovers.com

I have to say, I’m feeling rather pleased with myself today.  I’ve received my order of matching sofa and loveseat slipcovers and earlier this morning I thought it was about time for the moment of truth.  I have to admit that even I had doubts over whether something as simple as a slipcover would work in this situation, but thankfully my fears were groundless and my new ready made slipcovers have succeeded in totally transforming my furniture.

Let me explain.  In my sunroom there’s an old and tatty sofa.  You know the sort – it looks like it’s seen better days, and if you dare sit on it you find yourself engulfed as the cushion are so soft.  But it’s so comfy and I’ve had it so long, that I can’t bear to part with it.  It also happens to be covered in red velvet.  Since I moved in, this sofa’s been the only seat in my neglected sunroom, and until now I thought it looked OK.

Then a couple of weeks ago, my sister was having a clearout and offered me a loveseat that she didn’t really have space for in her new place.  I’m a sucker for free furniture, so I jumped at the chance, thinking it would be useful to have another seat in the sunroom.  However, I hadn’t anticipated just how badly its orangey floral upholstery would clash with the red velvet sofa!  And the modern style of the loveseat made the sofa look even more dated.

Anyway, I thought that slipcovering both the seats would be worth a try – seeing as I couldn’t possibly make them look any worse!  I looked at the range of loveseat slipcovers from Sure Fit, and was relieved to find that the fabric I liked was also available in their sofa slipcover size.  I decided to go ahead and order a set of the satin stripe slipcovers in a light and neutral stone color.  And, as I said before, I’m really happy with the result.  With a bit of tucking round the edges, they fit well and stay in place, and the skirts are brilliant for hiding the fact that the loveseat has wooden legs and the sofa doesn’t.  All in all, this is a perfect example of how slipcovers can be used to give random bits of furniture a posh new look without costing a small fortune!

What a fantastic idea!  I see that Sure Fit are currently running an “ugly couch contest”, where the owner of the ugliest couch wins their choice of 10 Sure Fit slipcover products plus $5000 cash to give their whole room a makeover.  Sure Fit want to demonstrate just how good their slipcovers are by finding the nation’s most unattractive couch and using one of their pre-made sofa slipcovers to give it a stylish new image.

If you’ve got a battered old couch that could do with a facelift, I’d say entering this competition is well worth a go!  All you need to do is send a photo of your couch to Sure Fit, along with your contact details.  The closing date for entries is 3rd August.  They will then review all the entries and post the pics of the ten sofas they consider to be the ugliest on their website, and visitors will be able to vote on which is the worst.  The three finalists with the most votes will then be invited to New York in September to appear on the “Live with Regis and Kelly” show, where the overall winner will be chosen by the studio audience.

If you think your couch is a contender for this fabulous prize, click here for more details on how to enter.

As a result of my dinner party the other night, two of my friends who were there have both discovered the joys of using slipcovers in their own homes and are happily raving about how great their old furniture now looks! 

It all began when the conversation turned to how I gave my dining chairs a makeover – everyone present agreed that the slipcovers made the chairs look stunning, and wanted to find out more so they could do something similar in their own homes.  They were impressed with the simplicity of the design and how easy it is to fit a slipcover, as well as the fact that they are washable.  But I think what really swung it was the low prices!  They couldn’t believe how cheap it was to completely change the look of their battered old seats.

Happy to pass on my discovery, before they left, I gave Sonia and Tamsin the web address for Sure Fit so they could go ahead and order their own ready made slipcovers.  Within a few days both of them had gone ahead with their online orders and received their new sofa slipcovers.  However, it wasn’t long before my phone started ringing with the message being “help! This darn slipcover doesn’t fit right!”.

Oh dear, I thought.  They were so excited about their new furniture covers and now they don’t fit and it’s all my fault… Anyway, with trepidation I rang Sonia first of all.  When she explained, it was a relief to me to find that I could easily solve the problem.  Sonia was trying to fit her slipcover over her old 1980s leather sofa, but every time anyone sat on it, the slipcover slipped out of place and looked terrible.  I told her not to worry, as all she had to do was pop down to her local craft store and get some foam batting to put over the seat before fitting the slipcover.  Three days later she called back and told me this trick had worked a treat and her sofa had been totally transformed.

Tamsin’s problem was also solved with a trip to the craft store.  Her issue was that her sofa has narrow wooden arms, so there was a whole load of loose fabric when she tried to put the slipcover on, which made the sofa look ridiculous.  However, following my advice, she wrapped some foam batting around each arm until they were nicely padded.  Then the slipcover fitted much better and in the end she was really pleased with her sofa’s makeover.

I’ve just heard that Sure Fit are having a special “Christmas in July” sale, and are offering a 20% discount on all their slipcovers.  This is a great opportunity to get hold of some nice new sofa slipcovers and give your living room an elegant new look for summer.  I’m also thinking ahead to next season – I’m on the look out for some pretty stretch slipcovers in autumnal colors for when I give my furniture its autumn makeover!  I love the fact that you can shop by color on the Sure Fit website – it makes it much easier if you’ve chosen your color scheme and are specially looking for a deep blue wing chair slipcover or a pale yellow ottoman cover, for example.

This offer only runs until the end of the month (30th July), but you’ve still got a few days left to place your order.  Remember you’ll need to use Promo Code FFCJ when you order online to make sure you get your 20% off.  Click here to go directly to Sure Fit’s site.

This weekend I had 4 friends over to dinner, so as you can imagine, I spent most of Saturday frantically preparing.  I carefully planned out my day so I did the shopping in the morning, leaving the afternoon free to prepare the meal and clean the house.  I always like to make a good impression when I have guests round and love to add those special touches to make my home look welcoming and beautiful.  However, as this was the first time I’d entertained since decorating the dining room, I especially wanted everything to be perfect.

As a rule, I aim to keep one room, my living room, looking neat and tidy all the time – so if friends call in unexpectedly, at least I have somewhere nice for them to sit.  As I’ve mentioned before, my sofa slipcovers do a great job at making my furniture look its best, and help give the room an inviting feel.  And as well as making my sofas and chairs look attractive, my slipcovers give me peace of mind that my furniture won’t get ruined if friends call in whilst walking their dogs!  No matter how hard they try to keep them off, it seems most of my friends’ pets can’t resist jumping up on the sofa.  Muddy paw prints and that horrible wet dog smell are what I’m left with, but at least I can chuck a dirty slipcover in the wash.  It’d be much more work to scrub upholstery clean.

Anyway, on Saturday my focus was on making the dining room look amazing.  I’ve recently painted the walls and had a new carpet fitted, and hung lovely new curtains.  I’ve got a couple of pretty houseplants that give the room life, and a few favourite pictures on the walls.  However, in my efforts to decorate the room, I haven’t had time to buy a smart new dining table and chairs.  I know the sort I’d like, but at the moment my decorating budget is better spent elsewhere, as I have a perfectly functional dining table that I use everyday.  It’s good and sturdy, and is a decent size.  But as it’s used daily, the chairs have a bit of casual, well-worn appearance, which isn’t really appropriate for the sophisticated dinner party I’d envisaged.

Fortunately I’d given this issue some thought earlier on – in fact, as soon as I’d set the date with my friends I started worrying about what they’d think of my tatty dining chairs!  Thankfully I found the perfect solution from Sure Fit – dining chair slipcovers.  I’d never tried this kind of furniture cover before, but given the success of my sofa slipcovers, I thought I’d give them a go.  I opted for a set of deep burgundy ready made slipcovers, which are designed to fit over most standard size dining chairs.  I chose ones with a straight skirt, ideal for hiding the scratched old wooden chair legs and for giving my everyday chairs a luxurious new look.

They worked a treat, fitted brilliantly and were the finishing touches that my dining room needed.  The meal went really well, with lots of fun and laughter, and I could relax knowing my home looked its best thanks to those slipcovers!

Sure Fit are currently having their semi-annual clearance sale, which means they’re offering 20-85% off selected slipcovers – while stocks last.  Once word gets out I’m sure these bargains will be snapped up like hot cakes!  It’s well worth checking out what’s on offer, as there are some great discounts to be found. For instance, if you’re looking for chair slipcovers, the Basic Tweed Separate Seat Chair Cover is only $19.99 (it was $79.99).  There are some big savings on loveseat and sofa slipcovers as well, including the pretty “Amanda” range, where a one-piece or T-cushion slipcover is only $39.99.  Anyway, you can see what takes your fancy here: Sure Fit Sale.

The other night I was chatting to my cousin on the phone, and she was telling me all about the recent party her housemates had in her student house.  Anna’s only 19 and now she’s at university she’s discovering for the first time the trials and tribulations of living in a shared house! 

It seems that one of the boys she lives with decided to invite everyone he knows round for a house party to celebrate his birthday, and as students and young people generally do, they consumed vast quantities of alcohol and food.  A lot of drunken antics ensued, and in the course of the evening several drinks got spilled.  It was only when Anna resurfaced late the next morning that she discovered a massive red wine stain on the sofa, along with various grubby food marks.  Apparently she’s spent ages with a stain remover trying to scrub the upholstery clean, but she hasn’t been able to get rid of it completely.  If only she’d used a slipcover!

Her other housemates don’t seem worried about it – after all, the sofa belongs to the landlord and not them.  But Anna is fed up with cleaning up the boys’ mess and is rightly concerned that the landlord might charge them for damaging his furniture.  I of course suggested she buy some cheap sofa slipcovers to protect the sofas from future spillages, as it’s going be cheaper in the long run to buy a couple of slipcovers than to have to pay to get the upholstery professionally cleaned.  She also liked the idea of being able to put a dirty slipcover in the wash after a party, rather than spending the day after on her hands and knees trying to clean the upholstery!

Speaking to her actually reminded me of my own student days, and how the landlord took a big chunk from our bonds at the end of term to pay to get the sofa and chairs cleaned – if only I’d known about ready made slipcovers then!

I’ve reached that age where it seems like nearly all my friends are having babies.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve nothing against babies, it’s just that I’m not really used to having one in my house – it’s only when my friend Vicky brought baby James to visit this weekend that I realized how un-baby-friendly my house actually is!  I mean, I don’t normally think twice about leaving stuff on the coffee table – things likes pens, books, and of course coffee.  How was I to know that James was going to take such delight in constantly trying to grab all these things, throwing them on the floor or putting them in his mouth?  It was only a matter of time before a cup of coffee inevitably ended up all over the floor – and what a nightmare I had trying to get the stain out! Grrrrr.

Fortunately, my sofa and chairs fared better than the carpet.  I’ve learnt from experience that whenever I entertain, someone is bound to spill their wine or drop food on the sofa – and that’s just the grown-ups!  Knowing a little person was coming to stay, I made sure I was prepared and fitted my favorite cotton twill slipcovers over all the furniture in my living room – just in case.  Although all my chair and sofa slipcovers are washable, the twill ones seem to be extra-tough and have kept their shape and color even though I’ve washed them loads of times.

And come Saturday afternoon boy was I glad I’d planned ahead, as I don’t think my sofa would have recovered from what was about to happen to it if it hadn’t been protected with a slipcover.  I’d just been thinking how cute and well-behaved baby James was, despite the coffee incident, when all of a sudden he decided to puke – that’s right, he managed to get a load of baby-sick all over the seat of the sofa!  Vicky was horrified as she’d earlier been admiring my furniture and didn’t actually realize that it was the slipcovers that made the sofa and chairs look so smart – she thought James had ruined my expensive upholstery.  Luckily the slipcover did its job, and the mess didn’t soak through onto the upholstery underneath.  I jumped into action and swiftly removed the soiled slipcover and threw it in the machine, and replaced it with another one – just in case of any more accidents!

There’s a lesson to be learned from this story, so here’s my advice – if your friends bring their delightful new bundle of joy to visit, make sure you get some furniture slipcovers on your sofas and chairs, or you’ll spend the rest of the week scrubbing some very nasty stains out of your upholstery!

I’ve just heard that Sure Fit are running a special 4th of July promotion.  If your slipcover order comes to $150 or over, you can get a 25% discount. To claim this discount, you’ll need to use Promo Code JUL4 when you order online. But hurry – this offer expires on Friday July 13th. To view Sure Fit’s fantastic range of ready made slipcovers, and to take advantage of this offer, here’s the link: Sure Fit 25% Off Promotion

Sure Fit is an established company that’s well-known for selling quality chair and sofa slipcovers at affordable prices.  Their semi fitted slipcovers are designed to fit standard sized sofas, chairs and loveseats and come in a variety of fabrics and colors.  Their stretch slipcovers are especially popular, as these have a high Spandex content to give them a wonderful form fit.  As a dog owner, I don’t know where I’d be without my washable slipcovers, and Sure Fit has a range of “pet friendly” covers made from material that can stand up to dirty pets!

Anyway, I love a bargain, so I’m off now to check out this offer and get my 25% discount while I can!