Slipcovers Save Sofa From Landfill

Being environmentally friendly and doing one’s bit to save the planet is a hot topic these days, and my friend Molly tries her best to live a green lifestyle.  She grows her own organic veggies, rides a bike and buys secondhand stuff whenever she can.  She loves recycling other peoples unwanted things, and this is particularly true when it comes to furniture for her home, which is full of an eclectic mix of secondhand sofas and chairs.

I was visiting recently and found Molly having a bit of a dilemma. You see, she’d recently redecorated - using eco-paint of course - and as a consequence was beginning to really notice how bad her living room furniture looked.  The brown velvet loveseat certainly clashed somewhat with the yellow and orange armchairs and floral sofa.  She had become so concerned with trying to give her room a makeover that she was even contemplating buying new furniture.

This was unheard of - in the history of our friendship I’m not sure Molly’s ever bought anything brand new.  But what was stopping her was the thought that her old couches and chairs would end up in landfill - something that went against all her environmentally conscious beliefs.  She didn’t think anyone would want her furniture even if she gave it away on the freecycle website, just because of the outdated and unfashionable upholstery.

This is when I mentioned furniture slipcovers as a solution.  She hadn’t thought of this before, but quickly came round to the idea.  The seats were perfectly functional and had a lot of life left in them, just looked awful.  So by fitting ready made slipcovers over them she could give them a whole new look and avoid contributing to the garbage mountain at the landfill site.  I’d never really thought about it from this perspective before, but sofa slipcovers could be considered a green decorating option - they prolong the life of your old furniture and help you make the best of what you’ve got.  Not to mention saving you the cost of an expensive new suite.

So, if you like the idea of recycling old furniture, giving it a new lease of life and keeping it out of landfill, slipcovers are well worth considering.