Blog posts of '2019' 'October'

Undecorated dorm rooms can feel like unwelcoming and impermanent structures. Turning your dorm room into a home, however, is easier than it may seem. With a few simple decorations and accessories, you can make it feel like home.

Make it cozy

Invest in some comfy additions to make your dorm room welcoming and homey. Most dorm rooms either have drab carpet or uninviting tile. Mask this with a fluffy rug. If possible, loft your bed and add a couch or some cozy chairs underneath for a cute reading nook-feel. Get a few cute throw pillows for your bed, a couch or futon, and a matching throw blanket for a cohesive color scheme. Bonus Tip: When choosing a color scheme for your dorm, opt for cool colors in light tones. These will make your space feel bigger and more relaxing—and come finals week, you’ll be thankful you made your room cool, calming colors.

Make it useful

College requires a lot of reading, studying, and time on your laptop. Make enough space in your room for school work. Make sure to decorate your desk—but most importantly, have pens, paper, and a laptop charger in reach. Sometimes, writing a lengthy term paper at your desk can get distracting, and a change of scenery can re-inspire your creativity. A wedge can turn any surface into a chic study spot. Push it up against the wall and utilize that fluffy rug for writing, or lay the wedge in your bed for a cozy and warm night of homework. Bonus Tip: College can get messy—make sure to invest in wedge bolster covers to protect your versatile wedge from spills, dirt, and more. These are also fun because you can switch out colors each season for a festive feel!

Make it yours

Fill your dorm room with things that make you happy. Take any décor from your bedroom that makes you feel at home. You can also head out to a thrift shop for cheap items that speak to you. No home is complete without photos, so hang pictures of your family and friends around your dorm. Bonus Tip: If you put things you like in your dorm room, it will feel like home. Fill it with things that make you feel welcome and cozy.

An apartment won’t fully feel like home until you’ve outfitted it with the proper décor. We’re likely to amass a collection of furniture and personal belongings over time, but one generally has to work from the ground up. It’s best to evaluate what to start with, and there are some necessary staples. Here we list some furniture your apartment can’t go without.

A Bed

While this should go without saying, we can’t make this list without including a bed. While needing a bed is obvious, which one you choose is incredibly important. This is the piece of furniture you’ll want to take your time finding, as a subpar bed isn’t going to do your sleep pattern any favors. If you must cut corners, consider getting a twin or full-size bed instead of a considerably larger one.

A Desk

While this may seem optional, we think it’s important to have a designated workspace in your home. Working from a couch or your bed can cause you to become easily distracted—and it may even make you want to take a nap. You can generally buy a small desk at a good deal, and you’ll find that it’s helpful for completing many projects.

Drawers

Be it a dresser or coffee table with storage beneath it, drawers can store not just clothes but any other items you may accumulate. It’s easy to find yourself among unintentional clutter. You’ll do yourself a favor by creating a storage plan ahead of time.

A Bookshelf

Next to drawers, a bookshelf is another useful storage option. It’s tempting to have boxes full of books sitting in your closet for the first few months after moving, so you’ll want to take care of these before they collect too much dust.

A Dinner Table

If your apartment is small, you don’t have to invest in a large table. A bar table is often a smart, space-efficient option. You can also make do with TV tables for a while until you have your décor completely mapped out.

A Couch

An ideal area for unwinding, a couch is a must-have in any apartment. Many people advise using your bed for only sleeping, but you’ll want to have another area that’s also comfortable. Additionally, this is essential for movie nights with your best friends. Though you may slowly work your way up regarding furnishing your home, you can still show your personality from the very beginning. One way you can do this is by using slipcovers that match your taste. Invest in affordable and aesthetically pleasing options, such as daybed wedge pillow covers. We have an endless assortment of slipcovers in our catalog, and they’re sure to give your apartment the personality it needs.

A slipcover is a handy way to put a new spin on old furniture; however, you may experience a few difficulties during application. It’s common for these covers to refuse to stay in place. While this can be incredibly annoying, there are a few ways you can navigate this issue. If you’ve been having a hard time keeping your slipcover secured, follow some of our easy tips.

Make Sure You’ve Bought the Correct Fit

The most important thing that you can do is make sure you’re initially purchasing the correct fit. A slipcover that’s too big is going to cause a lot of issues in the long run. If the current cover you have is notably large, you may consider investing in one that better suits the size of your furniture. You can ensure more accurate measurements by purchasing the covers for the cushion pieces separately.

Properly Tie the Strings

If your slipcover fastens via strings, make sure that you’re tying them correctly. You’ll want to ensure that they’re fastened tightly to the bottom edge. If the strings are long enough, and your furniture allows it, you can also double wrap them.

Tuck in Extra Fabric

Make sure you completely tuck in any extra fabric beneath the cushions using the proper tension. You may have to lift the cushions, as a weak tuck isn’t going to stay in place for very long if you’re constantly standing up and sitting down.

Use Velcro

You can consider applying Velcro to the outside of the slipcover and the inside of the couch. Methodically adhere the Velcro to the slipcover to ensure the placement will hold. If you put it on the very end of the fabric, you’ll still have some excess that can slip out. If you’re covering a leather couch, consider attaching rug grip to the inside of your cover.

Reapply the Cover

If you find yourself consistently adjusting your cover, you may want to bite the bullet and remove the cover and start from the beginning. When you take it off, wash the cover to remove any wrinkles. Then, start from the beginning and pay close attention to how you’re fitting it. If you follow our advice, we’re confident that you’ll have a beautiful—as well as comfortable—piece of furniture. If all else fails, look to Slipcover Shop We’re a reliable company with competitive prices who can provide you with a custom replacement slipcover.

Whether you buy it new or used, furniture is still an investment. Ideally, you want to get the most out of whatever you buy. This isn’t just friendly to your wallet, but to the environment as well. That being said, everyone has a different living situation. If you have children or pets, you can expect regular wear and tear. Fortunately, no matter your circumstances, you can take certain steps to guard your furniture against deterioration and to expand its lifespan. Here we share a few tips on how you can achieve this.

Invest in Slipcovers

You can easily protect your couches and chairs by installing slipcovers. If you buy one of quality, it will keep your furniture in good shape for years to come. These covers are generally easy to clean, and some are even stain-resistant. When you take the time to explore your options, you can find anything from the perfect futon cover to mattress coverings.

Finish Wood Furniture

If you have any wood furniture pieces, we highly recommend applying a finish to them. This will protect them from environmental effects such as stains, scratches, and sun damage. It’s also advisable to reapply your finish every few years in order to keep the furniture in the best shape possible.

Use Coasters

Our parents always stressed the importance of using coasters for a good reason. It only takes a few minutes of a cup sitting on a wood table for that unattractive ring to form. If enough of these rings populate, your table will become an unwelcome eyesore. Invest in a set of coasters and keep them on your table so that guests know to use them.

Add Stuffing to Couches

Over time, the cushions on your couch will inevitably begin to deflate. This isn’t just an eyesore—it’s also far from comfortable. At this point, you may be tempted to drag your couch out to the curb, but you can be kinder to your budget by instead trying to rehabilitate the couch. All you’ll need to do is unzip the cushions and add in some additional stuffing.

Keep Furniture Clean

Make sure you keep all your furniture clean in order to prevent the elements from eating away at it. Keep an eye on the ingredients in your cleaners to ensure they aren’t too harsh. Depending on the materials your furniture is made out of, you may need to collect different cleaners—in this case, one size does not fit all. If you need a handy cleaning method for your couch, consider steaming it once in a while.

Tighten Screws

A loose screw can result in damaged furniture. Say your desk has a wobbly leg—apply too much pressure, and the entire structure can collapse. The impact can cause splintering, and the item may be rendered unusable. Regularly check for and tighten any loose screws to maintain your furniture’s stability.

Slipcovers provide an attractive and versatile option to protect your furniture and update its look. As with anything else, you will have to wash them from time to time. A benefit to slipcovers is that they’re far easier to clean than furniture with cloth you can’t remove. Maintaining your slipcover’s cleanliness will help them last longer, and we created a short list of ways you can do this.

When You Should Clean Them

As a basic rule, we recommend you wash your slipcovers at least four times a year. This may vary, of course, according to your lifestyle and where you keep your furniture. Patio furniture slipcovers, for example, may need more frequent maintenance.

Look at the Tag

While you can apply our tips to any type of slipcover, different fabric types may have additional instructions. Make sure you know the manufacturer’s instructions before you throw the piece into the wash.

Wash it All at Once

It’s handy to have slipcovers that come in more than once piece, as using separates such as zippered cushion covers can provide a better fit. If this is the case, do not wash only one piece at a time. If you do, the pieces may begin to fade unevenly. With this in mind, divide the wash into two different loads if you think you’ll overload your machine.

Pre-Soak Your Covers

You may be tempted to use bleach for tricky stains, but we recommend you try other methods first. Dab some mild soap on the stains, and do a pre-soak before the actual wash. If the stains stick around after this, we recommend you pay attention to how much bleach you use, as it can be too abrasive on these pieces.

Don’t Use Heat

We suggest using the no-heat setting if you choose to put your covers in the dryer. Heat can cause too many wrinkles and could potentially shrink your covers. You will also want to place the cover back onto the furniture while it’s still damp. This will help keep the pieces free of any wrinkles and make sure it fits back on your furniture when it dries.

Trends change every year, and we all want to be a part of the next big thing. When we update our homes, we want them to be modern and to last. To help you achieve this, we’ve created a guide on how to create a modern living room, and we’ve tailored it to blend styles that have been around for years with ones that have had a recent surge in popularity. We’re sure that if you utilize this balance, you’ll have a living room that truly aligns with the times and your personality.

Use Textures

A room can often feel as though it lacks true dimension. You want to introduce a variety of textures to your room to give it substance. There are many potential textures, and you can choose the ones that best align with your tastes. Whether it be stone, fur, or knit, a bit of texture makes all the difference. You can also create texture by playing with shapes; add a bit of dimension with unique shapes such as octagons or triangles.

Play with Reflections

If your room feels a touch small for your liking, use reflections to open things up. These can be as literal as mirrors, or you can use pieces with reflective surfaces, such as a gas fireplace with clean glass doors. The less obvious solutions, such as the fireplace, give a feeling of more space without overwhelming any one area of the room. Other suggestions for reflective surfaces include coffee tables or metal lighting structures.

Add Some Matte Black…

As far as color goes, the white blank canvas look that we’ve held onto for so long is bowing out at last, and its opposite has taken center stage. While white always seemed to suggest the future, today’s designers want to focus more on the present. Matte black feels current, and it’s the current favorite of many designers to use in furniture, flooring, and wall color.

… With a Pop of Color

While we suggest bringing in everyone’s favorite muted color trend, we also recommend adding something that serves to enhance this. An all-black room can feel depressing, but not if it’s done right. Pops of color, such as an accent wall, pillows, or piece of furniture, add a bit of fun into the mix. We recommend using bold colors, such as a neon green or salmon, to create a stark contrast with matte black pieces.

Change Fabrics With Slipcovers

You may want to keep your living room current, but you can’t buy all new furniture and throw pillows every year. Switching out fabrics is a cost effective and economical way to easily change your living room’s look. You want to be sure, however, that you invest in high-quality fabric that fits your personality. Purchase custom pillow covers and custom sofa slipcovers to update your current furniture and pillows. This will allow you to repurpose the same pieces for years to come.

Create Transitions

You can certainly play with opposites, but you should still create a sense of cohesion in a room. Be thoughtful as you decorate, and be sure that everything in the room contributes to the overall picture. You also should make sure your choices allow one thing to flow into another. If you want to take things a step further, don’t create a stark contrast between your living room and the rest of your home. The transition between the living room and the room that leads into it should feel seamless.

Use Functional Pieces

If you look hundreds of years back, most people were sure that everything in their home was completely functional. There was no spending time and money on things that weren’t useful to their way of life. Everything in your room should serve a purpose—even your artwork should inspire emotion from those who view it. Decorators today get clever with the ways they create functionality, and use tricks and furniture pieces to conceal drawers and televisions when they aren’t utilized.

Sustainability

How you impact the environment should play a large role in determining your furnishing decisions. More and more homeowners want to work toward respecting the environment every day. Invest in furniture that’s meant to last as opposed to chic pieces made with cheap materials. Wood furniture is always a good addition to any home. Eco-friendly flooring has also increased in popularity, as many people choose to install long-lasting bamboo or laminate floors.

Install Wallpaper

You may remember the wallpaper in your grandparent’s house was completely outdated. Like anything else, however, wallpaper is making a comeback. People use it in creative ways, such as on accent walls or furniture. You can purchase wallpaper in many patterns, and you’ll likely find something to suit your tastes. The one thing to keep in mind is that wallpaper is incredibly difficult to remove, so you need to commit to your decision.

Create a Bar Cart

It isn’t uncommon to have a bar in your basement, but people today like to put forth minimal effort from time to time to get their drinks. A bar cart isn’t only convenient, but it’s also an aesthetically pleasing addition to any room. There are several different styles you can find bar carts in, and you could even convert a completely different piece into one.

Have Large Windows

If you can fit it into your budget, consider installing large windows. Lighting is everything, and natural light is the best option on the market. Large windows are economical in that you use less energy, and they instantly open up a room. They’re also beautiful in any room, and they bring in some much-needed sunshine.

Make it You

Ultimately, you can follow any trend you’d like, so the most important thing is that you create a room that reflects your personality. Your home is meant to reflect your tastes and who you are as a person. It’s fun to integrate trends into our home, but it should be ones that we actually like. If someone says that minimalism is in but you like displaying multiple decorations, don’t think you have to get rid of them. Decorate your space how you want, and you’ll never go wrong.

Slipcovers are the unsung heroes of furniture preservation and restoration. Investing in one is an easy way to completely renovate a room without having to get all new furniture. Before you buy a slipcover, it’s important to be sure you invest in one that’s right for your needs. It isn’t merely about the color and pattern, as there are other factors that should go into selecting the right one. To help you make the right decision, we’ve created a brief guide on how to choose the perfect slipcover for your furniture.

Take Measurements

The very first thing you should do before you buy a slipcover is measure the piece you’ll cover. An ill-fitting cover will look sloppy and make a room feel unkempt. A properly fitted cover, however, looks clean and refined. Create a checklist of the things you should measure, which includes the following:

• The entire length from one arm to the other
• The width of the arm
• The cushions when placed side to side
• The height of the couch from the top of the cushion to the floor
• The height of the entire piece, top to bottom

The Fit

While the proper fitted cover is in many respects related to the measurements you take, there are other factors that go into choosing the perfect fit. There are generally different shapes to account for. For example, if the arms of your piece have sharp edges, you wouldn’t want to get a cover made for rounded arms. For the ideal fit, you may want to get a slipcover that comes with several pieces as opposed to one.

Material

This is one of the most important choices you can make, as the material you use plays a large role in determining your couch’s comfort. You want to avoid choosing one that is too heavy or that slips out of place. Cotton is a popular choice because it’s breathable and easy to wash. Polyester is resistant to wrinkles and usually keeps its shape well. Suede is often one of the more comfortable options, and it’s more resistant to stains. If you aren’t sure what slipcover is right for you, many companies will send swatches at no charge and can create a custom slipcover to suit your needs.

Good staging is key to selling a house. Staging can generally go one of two ways, and you risk turning away potential buyers if you don’t know what you’re doing. Many buyers require the full picture in order to imagine themselves living in a home. Additionally, the right décor can enhance the best parts of a building. As such, you should educate yourself on the different ways to create the perfect scene. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive guide on how to stage a home.

Be Sure the Home Photographs Well

Many sellers stage homes with in-person showings in the forefront of their minds. This is certainly important, but you should also consider the buyer’s real first impression—the online images. These will determine whether or not they buyer decides to request a showing in the first place. As you stage the home, keep in mind how it will appear in pictures. While it’s easy to assume that everything will look just as good on camera as it does in real life, this isn’t always the case.

Use Thoughtful Colors

Generally, lighter-toned neutral colors are the recommended palette for anyone looking to sell a home. This isn’t a bad piece of advice, as these colors appeal to anyone. They allow all demographics of buyers to project their own design ideas onto the home as they imagine it in their minds. This isn’t a bad rule of thumb, but you still want your home to stand out. Buyers often see full lineups of homes bathed in beige, and they’re all likely to merge together in their minds after a while. A way to make your home stand out without being gaudy is to feature an accent wall. This will make an impact on the buyer and create an impression that will stick with them. As they filter through all the beige in their mind, the color you’ve chosen for the accent wall is certain to stand out. There’s a fine line between bland and tacky, and you’ll want to learn how to walk it.

Don’t Crowd the Home

When it comes to staging, there is indeed such a thing as too much. When you’re selling a building, the furniture is meant to frame the home. You should thoughtfully pick your furniture, which should serve as a suggestion to buyers. You’re trying to show how the home can look when tastefully dressed—but remember that the décor isn’t what they’re buying. You want to impress potential buyers, but the actual building is ultimately what should make an impact. Make the furniture an accessory, and be sure it doesn’t camouflage the actual structure of the home. Ultimately, you’ll have to consider what the home actually needs. Don’t add in objects that are too niche or that the average homebuyer wouldn’t own. Couches, coffee tables, and wall hangings are items you can expect to find in the average person’s home. Mobile bar carts and vanities are potentially unnecessary items that may eat up too much space.

Use Slipcovers on Outdated Furniture

There comes a time when some furniture is not what it once was, to put it lightly. However, you might not want to invest a large amount of money into something you’re not actually selling. Fortunately, there’s no actual need to replace this worn furniture. Instead, you can update pieces with slipcovers, a solution that’s both easy and economical. A custom zippered slipcover will fit your couch as though it was always a part of it. You can also use the same furniture for several showings by having a few different colored covers to match any setup.

Create Cohesion

Ideally, one room will naturally transition into the next. You don’t want to throw off buyers by leading them into an area with too drastic a scene change. Every room has a different function, but they should all seem as though they’re owned by the same individual. Be sure that the colors and textures you use fit together in a believable fashion.

Suggest Space

Almost everyone is looking for a home with space. Square footage, after all, is one of the first things we look for in a listing. This point circles back to the concept of not overcrowding a house—remember, no one wants to feel claustrophobic, and buyers will quickly reject a home that feels as such. Light colors, curtainless windows, and minimal furniture are all ways you can show off a space. Some homeowners are willing to sacrifice square footage so long as they can still feel as though they have room to move around.

Highlight Amenities

A large selling point for many properties is their amenities. Modern features that are energy-efficient and easy-to-use largely impact our lifestyle—as well as our carbon footprint. Don’t cover up these features; instead, find ways to highlight them. While these amenities aren’t additions, they’re still an important aspect in the staging process.

Don’t Forget the Finishing Touches

Choosing furniture for the staging process generally isn’t the most difficult part. You’re essentially selecting items that everyone has in their homes. When it comes to the finishing touches, however, things can become more difficult. One of the general rules of staging is to not make the area too personal. You want it to appeal to a wide audience, so quirky decorations aren’t necessarily the best bet. You want to suggest that a family could live there, not that one already does. A lack of decorations, however, can make the area seem more sterile and therefore less accessible. Choose simple decorations such as candles and clocks to add a bit of livability to the home. We recommend adding a few wall hangings, though perhaps not portraits. Abstract paintings will generally appeal to everyone, and you can add a few mirrors to create the illusion of more space and dimension.

Keep it Clean

It’s important that you keep the home you’re showing immaculate. You’ll want to keep up with cleaning and maintenance throughout the entire marketing process. Be sure to dust, and sweep and vacuum the floors every few days. Even a small bit of dust on a mantel can make an area seem stale to particular buyers. If no one is using the home while you’re selling, this maintenance should be fairly simple.