Decorating with Slipcovers for All Four Seasons
A New Interior Design Scheme for Summer, Fall, Winter & Spring
Sep 28, 2009
Wouldn't it be nice to have a new sofa three or four times every year? The good news is that with slipcovered furniture, any room can be instantly transform and change just like the seasons do. A well designed slipcover immediately gives a piece of furniture new life and a launching point for a whole new seasonal redecorating theme or color palette.
A fabric slipcover (often offered in heavy duck cotton and soft natural linen fabrics) is a wonderful way to update any home's decor. With the variety of patterns, colors and styles offered by niche retailers, department stores and direct to the customer manufacturers, it just takes a little legwork (or web browsing) to find the perfect covers to create stellar interior design concepts in a home. It is an easy DIY project that is suitable even for a beginning. Since the slipcovers are most often purchased, no sewing skills are required.
In the last five years or so, fabric slipcovers, once very costly, have come way down in price and are now affordable enough for more homeowners, and certainly the preferred choice over new furniture for the budget conscious home interior decorator.
Winter
In the winter folks tend to spend a lot more time indoors. Home becomes a haven from the harsh elements and dreary sunless days. A home’s winter décor scheme should provide warmth and an air of coziness. When deciding the fabric for slipcovers in winter, think warm, cozy and cuddly and choose fabrics like velvet, chenille and corduroy. Colors should be on the rich scale; ruby red, forest green and midnight blue are all excellent choices. For a light color choice, consider an oatmeal beige or silvery sage green.
Spring
Spring is, of course, a time of renewal. For spring inspired slipcovers, think about florals and slubby linen fabrics. With color in this season, the sky is the limit but stay clear of dark colors. Fill the room with airy lightness with a color palette in the pink, pale green, sky blue and buttery yellow tones. If the room is already busy with accessories, floral drapes or wallpaper, choose a single color for the slipcover. The trick here is to pull a dominant color from the existing draperies or carpet and purchase slipcovers in that hue.
Summer
Summertime and the living is easy… fabric slipcovers and the tone of all interior design should be easy also. Ticking fabrics in cotton, pale florals and nautical inspired stripes are all excellent choices for slipcover fabrics. Lighter weight fabrics such as polished cotton and Irish linen are lovely in a summer inspired room. For the summer months, crisp white slipcovered furniture is elegant yet casual – very Nantucket.
Fall
Autumn is often the favorite season of many but can present design challenges. Slipcovers can solve that dilemma with an easy and inexpensive way to restyle, refresh and rejuvenate a room for the harvest. Stay clear of cliché decorating in fall – no Halloween or Thanksgiving inspired themes. Fine for decorating the front yard or the dinner table, but in overall home decorating, they never translate well into effective interior design.
Simply making a change that is a departure from summer will have the project room looking new and ready for the coming months. Stay away from summer whites, pale yellows or baby colors. Instead, think about using earthy tones that reflect nature at this time of year – crimson red, burnt orange and chocolate brown work very well.
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