Sofa Revamps and Rental Woes

Hello! I’ve been recently reassessing my big furniture items and I’ve realized they’re all grey, or shades of grey. Which is fine, really I don’t mind. I love me some grey. I think it is such a sophisticated colour and makes everything look more…expensive and up there. I mean check out Alaina Kaczmarksi’s grey sofa look in her apartment below.

Isn’t that fabulous! Read more about it below:

https://theeverygirl.com/alaina-kaczmarskis-lincoln-park-apartment-tour/

I love that apartment, its genius! I love how she’s managed all that on a shoestring budget, goes to show with a little patience and creativity you can make your house a home, yes I’m talking to you sad people who hate their rentals(talking to myself). There is hope!=p

But that being said Im really wanting to freshen up and lighten up the general house mood and I wish I had lighter sofas, something along the lines of oatmeal or off-white.

Im helping my mum redo our house (more about that later) and we’re sticking with really light coloured fabrics for the sofas and all other upholstery to add “fake” light because back home we have really bad windows and get virtually no sunlight! All the mood boards, and fabric samples are really making me want a white makeover for our own little abode.  But then I breathe a sigh of relief when I remember how my little human climbs the sofa with his sticky jam covered hands and I suppress my scream and think oh I’ll just wipe it off later or throw it in the wash!

Tip for to-be-mothers, charcoal grey (not black) is generally a very forgiving colour. My husband chose the Ikea KIVIK as our first ever family sofa, he insisted he wanted that because it was the comfiest thing he had ever sat his butt on. Considering this was our first “proper sofa” purchase I don’t really know what he was comparing it with. But I didn’t mind, I thought from a financial point of view, it was affordable, and it was okay looking, ( I had some DIY planned for the legs that I’ve never been able to do) and I could wash the covers so we went for it. I chose the grey and 2 years later with a toddler, I think it was the best decision I made! Let me add here I don’t really think we’re supposed to wash the ikea covers at home, that is what the instructions say at least, but I don’t bother much and usually throw the KIVIK covers in the wash and they come out like brand new. That is one thing I absolutely love. I am the laziest person on this planet, I will sit on my sofa sipping my fourth cup of tea watching my toddler mutilate the sofa and everything else he can reach and do absolutely nothing except feel a general sense of doom and despair. And if I can get my act together and wash my sofa covers at home and get my couch looking brand spanking new, then anyone can! I do think I will stick to slip covers or removable covers in the future. Its so convenient its unbelievable.

What it looks like currently! Chunri throw and jewelled cushion from www.tkozi.bigcartel.com

Back to my furniture woes, I really like grey, but again we live in a rental and so don’t have much option to change things around and our tiles are a really ugly shade of grey too, so generally everything ends of looking sort of sterile and grey, so I try to bring in colour through throws and other fun textile pieces. Im planning on layering kilims on a natural fibre jute rug in the lounge. Anyway I did a few sofa looks here, not on our KIVIK though, this sofa is from Bakers and Shuhandler’s in Mt Lawley (http://www.bakershuhandler.com.au) , a surprise gift from my mother when we moved houses! One of the better, nicer pieces we own, but sadly not the comfiest. Im appalled at how uncomfy and generally flimsy it feels considering the price. =$ But it looks pretty so I’ll compromise.

Vintage patchwork textile piece from www.tkozi.bigcartel.com (used to sell)

I did a sofa revamp series, part of the #oneroomthreelooks on instagram. And I was pleasantly surprised at how new it looked. I mean obviously we know you can change how something looks with pillows, throws and textile pieces, but we don’t see just how different it can look till we compare it.

Used a silk thread embroidered textile piece here, from Tkozi as well.
Vintage Malir Marvi mirror embroidery throw from Tkozi

Check them out here side by side,

What do you think? Yay or nay?

Happy sipping!

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