Sometimes I get so caught up in sewing clothes for my children that I overlook just how useful sewing skills are for updating and improving my own living space. This spring when we cleaned out the cobwebs from our three-season porch and literally rolled out the carpet and put all the furniture back in place, I was quickly reminded just how much the patio furniture cushions were in need of help. They were actually holding together quite well, but the covers were stained in too many places for strategic pillow placement to hide. Spurred by some good sales on indoor/outdoor fabric and a few internet searches for cushion recovering tutorials, I decided to take the plunge and tackle a DIY porch makeover.
Here is the porch before the makeover.
Kind of headed in the right direction, but stalled. We bought the furniture during a great end-of-summer sale our first year in this house. And the next summer, armed with my newly acquired sewing skills, I pumped out a handful of throw pillows. And … well, that’s about it, folks. It’s kind of sad, because this porch was one of the rooms we really fell in love with when we decided to buy this house. The shuttered arches, exposed brick, the sheer size of it. It’s the kind of porch where you can envision yourself enjoying a nap, or a cool drink, preferably both, during the warmer months. But there have been so many more pressing house projects that required our attention, once the porch was outfitted with a place to sit, it has been allowed to languish in a half-done state.
And now for a look at the other side of the room. Shall we laugh, together?
This ridiculously large and outdated television was in the finished basement in our previous house. But when we moved to our current house, the stairwell to our basement playroom wouldn’t play fair and refused to allow the TV entry. Apparently builders and architects in the 1920s didn’t envision televisions the size of a small car as a household necessity. I can clearly remember acknowledging defeat after a long day of moving, and telling the movers to “just put it on the porch” until we came up with Plan B. Well, nearly three years later, Plan B did not materialize. (Actually, for the record, I had several Plan Bs, but they mostly involved the use of chainsaws or sledgehammers, and my husband refused to hear me out.) It is surprisingly difficult to unload a television such as this. Every charity group we called said “no”. And so it became an impromptu sideboard for family dinners on the porch and a drop point for all sorts of outdoorsy, summery stuff — bug spray and sunscreen bottles, sunglasses, water bottles, butterfly nets.
This year I decided I needed to get my act together and help move the porch project along. I became highly motivated to take on this project once I saw how much it would cost me to replace the cushions if I purchased them from the retailer where I originally bought the set. But lest you think this story has a truly happy ending, I’ll admit I only made it about three-quarters of the way through my makeover. Since autumn has officially arrived, I’m punting on the rest of the project until next spring.
Here’s the progress I did make:
New: color scheme, cushion covers, throw pillow covers, side tables (one purchased at TJMaxx, one from a woman who was dropping off furniture at goodwill), lights, and a couple plants.
Reused: furniture, rug, cushions (recovered), pillow inserts, lanterns.
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The other side of the room is where my efforts fell short. I tackled the dining set and convinced my husband (confession: there was much threatening involved) to remove the television, but the space still looks kind of bare and needs some finishing touches. Next year!
The patio dining set was a hand-me-down from relatives. In addition to making cushions, I updated the set by spray painting it to match the color of our sofa and chairs. I used a Rustoleum spray paint with primer that was indicated for use on metal and suitable for outdoor use. It also said it could be painted right over rust; so I simply wiped the set clean and sprayed it. Very easy (this was my first time using spray paint), and completely satisfying, especially when compared to the cost of a new dining set.
I had never sewn with outdoor fabric before this project. The pillow covers were made from Waverly Sun N’ Shade outdoor fabrics. I love these quilted fabrics; the quilting definitely dresses them up a bit.
I used Richloom Solarium fabrics for the sofa and chair cushion covers and the dining chair cushions. In general I didn’t find the outdoor fabrics to be difficult to sew, although the sofa/chair fabric was a little slippery. Outdoor fabrics are made from synthetic, as opposed to natural, fibers to combat mildew and fading from sun exposure. I appreciate the function of the synthetic fibers in this case, but I’m definitely a natural fiber kind of girl.
Recovering the cushions was pretty straightforward. Truly, the most time-consuming part was measuring and cutting the fabric. I mostly followed this tutorial by Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer. Admittedly these are not fancy cushion covers; I definitely took the easy way out. The originals had piping around the edges, which is a look I prefer, but (1) I could not find any store-made piping for indoor/outdoor use to my liking that would coordinate with these fabrics, (2) I was too lazy to make my own piping, and (3) adding piping would make this project more involved and I was committed to the fast and easy approach. These covers also do not zip on and off. They will remain on the cushions until they become too soiled or ripped, and I make new ones. I toyed with the idea of adding a zipper, but a wee little miscalculation on the amount of fabric I needed (and purchased) for the main cushions quickly removed that option from the realm of possibility. Perhaps I don’t have poor math skills but rather was subconsciously sabotaging my fabric order to spare myself the extra effort involved with zippered cushions!
Although it’s not my usual mode of operation, I don’t mind having taken the fast and easy approach with these cushions. I had two main objectives here. One, I wanted the cushions completed early in the season, so that we could actually enjoy them this summer. I finished at the very beginning of July, just a week and a half after receiving the fabric. Considering the speed (or lack thereof) at which I sometimes get around to completing home decor projects, I’ll count that as a win. Second, I wanted the cost and effort ratio of this DIY project compared to purchasing new store-made cushions to be very compelling. I definitely won on this point, as well. The combined cost of all the fabric for the cushion covers, pillow covers, as well as the dining chair pads and fabric was slightly less than the cost of new store-made cushions for just one of the chairs in our furniture set. Seriously. I did buy all of the fabric and materials on sale (sometimes combining sale prices with loyalty coupons); but even if I need to replace the covers in a couple years (and since I have young children, I think that’s pretty much a given), I’m still waaaay ahead of the game.
In case you’re wondering, the television now resides in our garage. Shall I take wagers on how long it will be there?