update your ikea sofa

If you own an Ikea sofa or armchair and are tired of the current slipcover,and Ikea's selection is boring you, check out Bemz, www.bemz.com. On this website, you can choose an Ikea frame, click on a fabric swatch and watch it transform. What's even cooler is that, free of charge, you can order 6 swatches to be sent to your house from their headquarters in Sweden. I sent away for some and had them within a couple of weeks. They offer 68 quality cottons and 22 linen/cotton blends in solids, stripes, florals and other fun geometric prints.

Now, I don't have an Ikea sofa or chair, but I do have two tub chairs and a wing chair that need either recovering or a new slipcover. I thought that maybe I would measure my chairs and compare with Ikea's dimensions to see if they might fit. Bemz prices are pretty reasonable considering the diversity of fabric selection, the quality and the fact that they will hug your Ikea piece like a custom sewn slipcover.

kitchen coordinates

In my kitchen, I have a cute little buffet that provides much needed storage and counter space along a wall which was once empty. My mother-in-law and I found it at an antique mall in Port Orchard, and I knew on the spot that it would be the perfect piece to fill that void. While the curtains, a small print black toille fabric, were cute, they just didn't fit with the valance I already had. Also, I have always struggled with the color and design of the vinyl tile in my kitchen. It is mostly black with a green diamond shape right in the middle. Sort of retro, and not my style, it was installed by the previous owners. I had been ignoring it,since the green really did not fit into my scheme.

Last week, I realized that I already had the perfect fabric to unite the floor, the buffet and the valance. About a year ago, my mom and I were shopping in Illinois at a discount accessories store called Old Time Pottery. There was a huge table with home decor fabric remnants on sale for $5/yd. As luck would have it, I found two great bundles of yardage of two Waverly fabrics I had been wanting to buy. So I did,without knowing exactly what project I would use them for. A great lesson in creating your design sense, is to snatch up those items that inspire you when you first see them. Hold onto them long enough and you discover their purpose.

Here are a few before and after pics. I still intend to find a kitchen rug that incorporates all of the colors and maybe with a splash of summer orange to add zing.