The Great Couch Renovation

(Check out tons of other fun renovations at Kimba's site, on DIY Tuesday!)

Here is our couch. Pretty, at least pretty back in 1960. Yet it is a hide-a-bed, which provides us with guest space, and it is definitely serviceable and fits our little apartment well.
However, it doesn't match the rest of the room and so my first idea was to get a King size flat sheet, put that over it, tuck it in, and make it work.

Ugh. So tacky.

So the flat sheet sat dormant, in a little corner, for 6 months.

Two days ago I decided that enough was enough and I was going to use the sheet one way or another. Months of mulling over how to cover the massive floral velvety print and keep the hide-a-bed accessible led to a big culmination. It took 12(+/-) hours, 3 days, some sewing, some furniture tacks, some brainpower, lots of patience, hiding the rough edges, but it completely paid off! Here's what went down over in Apartment 101:

I cut off the end of the sheet, and tacked it to the front, complete with pleat (which adds a nice touch I think).

It was a little tricky to pin it up far enough but give clearance to pull out the bed. As I found out, this was the easiest part.

The cushions were pretty easy...not necessarily pretty underneath, especially to fit around the end sticking out. I had no idea what I was doing, so I patched together a pocket for the end, and then made basic pocket corners. An elastic gather holds it in place.
Next were the sides. Looking back, I could have attached them to the removable part of this, but I chose not to. This will lead to figuring out a way to nicely cover the arms.
One square of fabric, tucked, tacked and hemmed.
I needed one King sheet for the cushions, arms, and front, and I used another for the back of the couch.
This was tricky. It involved tugging, folding, pinning, more tugging, straightening, more pinning, and then carefully pulling the whole thing off to stitch seams. They worked on the first try! *Huge sigh of relief*

Up next, after the back was in place, was to attach decorative ties. I like decorative, and I wanted that cute extra touch. It also helps keep things in place.
This is probably my favorite part of the entire couch.
The back is completely covered.

And...*gasp*...you can see where we hide our speaker cords!

Now, drumroll please! After all that process, it was completely worth it! I took our steam iron to it to get out the majority of the creases. (No, I don't wash or iron before I sew, and I know that's probably naughty of me.)

Anyway...

TADA!

I love it.

Cost:
2 King size flat sheets, Mainstays from Walmart: $28.00
2 pkg. furniture tacks from Walmart: $2.34
Elastic cording from Walmart: $1.17
Grand Total: $34.41

(I'll be expecting my promo check from Walmart in the mail...)

Home Tour: Ava's Room

So, I've realized just how hazardous everything can seem when a baby is in the picture. Currently, the hassle is Ava's room, which also doubles as the office. This means that her place to sleep, play, dress, etc, is also inhabited by wires and such. I think we need another wall or something. However, I am taking it one step at a time and looking for creative ideas...for now, I'll give you a tour of the updates and such that have been happening...

These are the curtains that used to be in her room. Then we had problems with drafts, and mold buildup, so Scott put plastic over the window. That was great! Only then we had to deal with condensation that soaked the curtains. They were heavy enough that they didn't dry fast, and that left stains and a nasty smell.

Somehow the stains are hard to catch in a photo. So take my word for it.

I was going to make sheer curtains, but when I found these for $14 at Walmart, I couldn't pass it up. Voila! There are many bonuses involved with these. 1) They don't hold moisture, so they don't get musty and soaked. 2) They let in a lot of natural light, so during the day I don't use the electric light in Ava's room at all. 3) They look so pretty with the white lace curtains. Also, the lace curtains now have pink bows tying them up.

What? You say that this shelf has about a hundred safety hazards involved with it???

My plan is to use some of Scott's big flat disk weights on the very bottom, and I moved everything that wasn't Ava safe up, and put a cover over the shelf that has electrical cords on it. So now this will work until we can afford something sturdier.

I just had to show you these shelves...I love them. :)

Ava absolutely loves looking at this dress when she's supposed to be napping. :) It used to be mine, and was too perfect for her room.
The desk was rotated, and there is now an "A" in place of the angel ornament, which moved to the Christmas tree.

The picture I linked to in an earlier post. My goal is to get a different mat to better portray this.
Here's my other problem: Cords right by Ava's bed. I need a screen or something so she doesn't stand and pull on them. Old shutters, hinged together, would be perfect!

Well, as you can see, everything is a work in progress around here. I have a dream to paint my little girls' room pink, with white wainscoting, and white shelves and frames, and delicate rose patterned bedding. But that will have to wait, and I'm content to do so. For now...it's making it safe for a little girl that is probably going to be just like her mommy and daddy and be curious about everything...