My Brown Slipcover Experiment

Cream Cotton Poly Canvas Slipcover

I’ve always made my slipcovers in natural or creamy white as a way to give my small living space a bigger, brighter feel.  Even when I make new covers to replace the old ones, I stick with this cream cotton-poly canvas, natural denim or off-white linen.

This has been my decorating style for a long time. It’s hard to imagine slipcovering my furniture in a darker color and loving it as much as my favorite pale neutrals.

White Linen Custom Slipcover

But when brown kept showing up this year in my workroom, in trend forecasts and in swatch books I started thinking beyond cream and white.

I wondered if the right shade of brown would work as a new neutral for my slipcovers.

Brown always looks so good in plush velvet upholstery and tufted leather pieces with rich, high-low patina.

Would brown look as beautiful in a more casual fabric like basic bull denim or flat cotton canvas? Would brown slipcovers make my small space feel smaller?

To find out, I decided to do a little experiment on one of my own chairs. Continue reading →

4 Tips for Designing Your Buffalo Check Slipcover

Buffalo Check Home Decor Trend

Pottery Barn Bryce Duvet, Anthropologie Edlyn Bench, Ballard Designs Curtain Panels, Ballard Designs Throw Pillows

Back in the 60’s my Dad wore a red and black buffalo check outdoorsman jacket. It was one of those iconic Woolrich or L.L. Bean styles. Even though I didn’t like the feel of that scratchy, heavyweight wool I thought the big, bold check was pretty cool.

Buffalo check fabric has come a long way since then. Today, it’s one of the most versatile and easy-to-mix patterns for just about every style of home decor: farmhouse, coastal, cottage, modern-country, traditional, contemporary, etc.

Classic buffalo, and variations, in a wide range of colors and sizes are showing up in designs across all categories of interior textile products: bedding, curtains, upholstered furniture, rugs, pillows and throws.

And, it looks terrific in slipcovers, too!

In today’s post, I share a few tips for working with buffalo checks to ensure the best look, feel and function for your slipcover. Here we go! Continue reading →

Make Your Own Beautiful Slipper Chair Slipcover

Slipper Chair Slipcover in White Denim

White denim slipper chair cover by The Slipcover Maker

The slipper chair. You might know this little upholstered armless piece as an accent chair. I think of it as the everywhere chair.

Thanks to it’s universal design and small footprint the slipper chair has become a favorite for  extra seating in living rooms, bedrooms, reading nooks, guest rooms, hotel lobbies, waiting rooms and offices.

And, for you DIY home decorators, it’s one of the easiest chairs to update with a custom slipcover. Yes, you can make it yourself! At the bottom of this post you’ll find several helpful tutorials to get you started.

But first, let’s take a look at some slipper chair inspiration! Continue reading →