Pink Floral Couch, Meet Ikea Slipcover

The plan for my basement studio was to always add in a couch, or seating of some sort where I could flop when I needed to draw. A lot of my work starts by hand, line drawn in pencil, traced with artist ink, and then scanned into the computer for manipulation. It's not very "inspiring" to draw at a desk. I like comfy. I need comfy. But...a new couch wasn't in the budget. And I do like to reuse, and be green where I can. So what does a girl on a budget do? Go steal one from your parents. :)

So here is the process on our slipcover story....

Step 1: I went to Potato Skins, a slipcovering destination here in Toronto and priced out a slipcover. It's a loveseat, how much could it be? Yeah, I'm in the dark ages because it was going to cost me approx $800. Ouch. :(

Step 2: Ask my Mom what to do. Really. This woman should have her own advice blog/talk show. She knows what to do, and how to save us money. Her solution..."Let's try Ikea!"

Step 3: Always trust your Mother. She found this. An Ektorp Loveseat cover for $49.99!!! AS IF! Dilema - it's BIGGER than my sofa, but bigger is better, as at least we'd know it would fit. And the price was right. :)

And soooo....


Above: Before, in my parents basement

And....


Above: With $50 Ikea Slipcover

Ok, so the cover is obviously too big for the couch, but I don't mind it at all. It's comfy. :) And...if I had the energy we could tailor it a bit more. And I could steam the wrinkles out (I just bought a steamer!!!)...but for now, she stays as-is.

And for the record, I know that I need to fluff up that couch with some more pillow inserts. But for $50, I'm living with it. :) I'm not sure HOW we're going to fill them up, but my Mom seems confident we can make it look a little better. :) (Any suggestions on how to fill up the pillows??)

For the record, I'm not knocking the $800 custom slipcover - as it would have been SO much more tailored, and probably look a whole lot nicer. If this were for my living room, I would consider it, but for my studio, the $50 version from Ikea is perfect.


(Studio shot...Mak the Cat claiming the couch)

More studio shots will come soon, we're slowly getting it put together, but right now it's my busy time for "work" so it's a bit of a mess. ;)
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Side story - When Aubrey was moving the couch with my Brother last night (thank you!) Aubrey noticed the make of the couch. It was made by Cooper Bros. - and Aubrey said..."That company used to be in our family." Ummm...Really? Apparently my Mother in Law's cousin married a Mr. Cooper and that was who owned it. (It has since been sold). So, a little piece of neat history, my childhood couch, to my new house, made by my Husbands family. :) I guess it was meant to be.