[I was given a discount for the fabrics used in this post from Fat Quarter Shop, however all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.]

I managed to surprise myself and finish the pillow covers for our family room makeover in just under two weeks. And it wasn’t the only project on my plate (or actually, my desk). I’m actually getting better at planning my sewing projects in a way that they actually get done. I used to wait until I knew I had a couple of free days to start and finish a sewing project, but I’ve realized that I can’t wait for vacation (or sick days, for that matter) if I want to get anything done. This time I split the project into several tasks (cutting, pressing, sewing etc.) and did each one on a separate night. I didn’t try to push the work too late (sleep is important!), and I got it all done in about 4 nights, without exausting myself entirely. I think that this worked well and I will continue working in the same way in the future. [Just a small pat on the back for me. Yey me!]

I decided to make the pillow covers using hook & loop tape (e.g. Velcro) closure for two reasons: 1 – I had a whole lot of it and 2 – I didn’t want to mess with the long zippers I would need for the floor pillows. I though about decorative buttons, but my experience with other pillow covers I made with buttons is that they don’t hold up very well under the wear and tear of children pulling at them. I have an excellent tip for sewing hook & loop tape later, so read on…

Ta-daaa! The first step of our family room makeover is done! And it “only” took me two weeks of getting in 15 minutes of pinning in here, and 10 minutes of sewing in there… Oh well, that’s how sewing projects happen in this house. V e r y    s l o w l y .

This is actually not the first time I’ve made a slipcover for this couch. I will not share the pictures of the old cover, because I find them embarrassing… What was I thinking when I chose that pattern? Ugh. Anyway, I have learned from experience, and this time went much smoother. Much less argggg on the way and much more being happy with the result.

Upholstery projects can be quite intimidating, but a slipcover is a good place to start, and I have some tips for you from my (sometimes bitter) experience.

It’s been over 6 months since we’ve moved, and it’s about time to get our act together and start decorating. We had a big “push” right after the move, obviously, but we’ve been stuck since.

The first room I decided to tackle is the family room. This is the room we hang out it – it has the Wii, a TV, a craft table for the kids and a computer desk, and it also doubles as a guest room. Eventually it will become a room for a child – so I didn’t want to put a lot of money in to it only to change it in a few years.

So: low budget, comfy for everyone, durable and washable are in order.

I started out with a more sophisticated vision in mind – grey with pops of yellow, which is definitely one of the trendier design schemes around right now. I filled my pinterest board with grey & yellow inspiration. But then I saw this rainbow bright living room and this “Confetti Pop” room and yellow went out the plain-no-curtains window and strong base colors came in.