Revamping furniture in a rented property

Hi there.

I currently rent a gorgeous townhouse, really modern, gorgeous beams in open plan living and dining area and extensive floor to ceiling windows.

My problem…. the 321 sofa group within the property is, dare I say it, ditzy. The fabric is a cream and beige combination with a leaf embossed pattern. Style – very traditional. The furniture I have is a combination of beech and black/grey.

I was wondering how I could go about bringing everything together in a common theme while modernising it. Unfortunately I cant afford a brand new sofa and to be honest, don’t think this one could be moved out easily, lol. Have also researched covering this one however it seems really expensive as all covers appear to require to be custom made.

So….. can I mix the leaf pattern with plain cushions, stripes, other fabrics? What colours would you suggest (I like the idea of greys however have no idea how that would look)? Do you know where I could buy sofacovers which can be tucked in or stretch to fit?

Sorry for all the confusion and bombardment of questions and thank you for any assistance/suggestions anyone can offer.

Cheers!!!!

I see what you mean.
How about buying a simple plain throw using that, adding some colour with a few cushions?

Inexpensive and effective.

Thanks Tony. I had thought about that but I have a thing about throws – I don’t really like them and think they have the risk of looking untidy. lol. No pleasing some people eh?

I wonder what kind of cushions would fit in tho – plain/patterened? fabric? colours? etc.

A lot of sofa covers are a bit naff to be honest as well as being expensive. Bemz ones are really cool but they are only designed to cover Ikea sofas.

I agree with Tony and think throws and cushions would do the trick however I agree they can look quite untidy.

If you’re handy with a sewing machine (or have a friend who is) you could try making your own covers.

Failing that, why not have a chat with your landlord, it might be they don’t like the sofas either and bought them as a stop gap. You could even offer to try and sell the existing ones on Gumtree or eBay and put the money towards some new ones.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I know what you mean about throws, they do have a habit of looking very untidy. Alexandra has some good ideas, you could try asking your landlord what’s the worst they are going to say?

Thanks guys, some good ideas there. Just gonna pluck up the courage now to ask my landlord…… lol

Do it! Nothing ventured, nothing gained

I agree!

Keep us posted.

K, so I chickened out of asking my landlord – lol, bravery is not my strongpoint. I did however pay a little visit to Ikea and got some plain cushion covers in mocha, brown and cream colours, a brown rug and some throws in different shades of brown which I have just folded and put on the back of the sofas/chair.

Looks good – a lot cosier and detracts away from the gawdy pattern on the suite. I think I was trying to make the place look really modern and trendy which wasn’t going to work with the sofa so instead have gone for a cosy, homely look which I’m really happy with.

Thank you both for all your help and advice – really appreciate it!!

Trace

Sounds really nice, at least you now have something that fits in with the surroundings.

Enjoy!