Re-purposing (the Beauty of Slipcovers and Covering Worn Out Pillows and Furniture)

A friend of mine had a wonderful idea for some old chairs she replaced in her dining room.  The chairs were covered in a beautiful brocade fabric--but they had seen better days.  Her two lovely cats thoroughly enjoyed hiding underneath the skirt of the chairs; and the top was perfect for a scratching post.

The chairs seemed too nice to throw out--so after a quick brainstorming session--the decision was made to purchase slipcovers and distribute the chairs among her girlfriends, keeping one for herself.  Each of us would choose the color slipcover to match the decor of our own homes.  Then, we would all get together to personalize the slipcovers with sewing, embroidery or painting.  In my case, my chair personalization involved none of these creative techniques--instead I used a fantastic product called Badge Magic.  It's basically double-sided tape for fabric.  

The transformation was amazing!

The slipcover matched the decor in the room where I placed the chair--and the "art" (if you can call double-sided tape "art") made it a one-of-a-kind piece.  The whole project involved no sewing on my part and possibly 45 minutes of finding and cutting scrap pieces of fabric.  

The success of this project made me think about other furniture transformations that  I've made over the years.  As I walked around our home, I found three other re-purposed items that could have been thrown out based on their looks alone.  

I transformed a donated striped green and white couch to a fantastic red piece that we've used for hundreds of booking readings before bedtime.  All it took was some skillful internet shopping, a gift card to Macy's, and recovering some old pillows with new fabric and the project was complete.  And for those wondering, I did sew the pillows (it was the only thing I could sew at the time!).

Then there's the matching ottoman, also green and white striped that became a stylish window seat with the help of some beautiful fabric and the phenomenal sewing skills of a dear friend.  This is one of my favorite places to sit in the morning--and to think--the entire thing could have taken a fateful trip to the town transfer station.

Finally, one of the biggest conversation pieces in our home is a 12 foot church pew.  In our old house, it served as the entry way bench, school backpack holder, shoe cubby, coat rack and time-out chair.  In our new home, I thought it deserved a little more respect.  It was placed in a sunny spot that someone could curl up with a good book or have a nice conversation.  Once again, I pulled out my trusty striped fabric and enlisted the skills of my sewing guru friend.

This was the most sewing intensive project in that it involved fitting the fabric around two foam seating cushions--I was now entering into 3 dimensional sewing!  And, although it took me several months of starting and stopping, I was thrilled with the end result.

What once was an old church pew is now a lovely space to enjoy the sunshine coming through the windows.

I'm hoping you have a clearer picture of re-purposing and what it means.  It's definitely part of the green focus of recycling and reusing what you already have.  How does it relate to organization, design or style?  

We all have things around our home that either don't serve a purpose or we no longer love.  We hang onto those items thinking, "I may need this one day" or "I can't throw away a perfectly good painted neon green coffee table."  After a while, your house may be home to many of these items--and now you are living in a space that's either cluttered, not well-designed, or completely does not match your style.  

With a little creativity (and sometimes the help of a friend or two), the thing that was once an eyesore in your home can become one of your favorite items.  Re-purposing can be as simple as taking a cardboard shoe box and turning it into a charging station for your cell phone, tablet and ipod--or it can be as daunting as my church pew cushion sewing.  Regardless of the project, I'm certain you'll feel a certain sense of pride and satisfaction knowing you have given new life to something you already own.