Simple, Cheap, and EASY Way to Temporary Re-cover Cushions for Under 30$!

How many times have you seen a great piece of furniture that only needs maybe a new cushion or fabric? The entire area or piece of furniture can be totally uplifted by simply adding or changing a little bit of fabric....But who truly has the time to reupholster tons of things?!

 I'm sure those people exist but I am not one of them! There is always so much going on and I am always looking for easy shortcuts for these home projects without sacrificing durability of the piece AND without sacrificing the visual appeal. So my solution? A hot glue gun and some fabric! I know it sounds like it wouldn't work BUT it does and let me show you how...oh and note, this is just how I did it. may not be the "right" way but it worked for me and was super easy! This technique, I would imagine, would also work for other cushions types and styles!



First, this is how the window seat looked when we first moved in.A great window with the original owner's cushions. Not very exciting and a great space to do more with! This is a working progress but I want to show you the first project I started with and it's those ugly cushions!

These look so out of date, dirty,and the overall style is just not appealing. These badly needed a cheap yet quick update.

 I started by getting my fabric. I went to Walmart and purchased 5 yrds. of the fabric I picked out, which was a very nice red to compliment the top of the window seat which was painted a soft olive green. I also happen to LOVE red as an accent colors in many ways. 5 yards cost me around 27.00$ for the type of fabric and style I chose but the prices range. Definitely would cost less than 30$ for any similar project.

I measured each cushion's length (ea. measured approx 44. in.) and added them all together to get my total (44 + 44+ 44=132 in). Then I also measured the height of one cushion (2 in.) and multiplied that by 3 (the amount of cushions I have-all cushions are the same height) which would be 2x3= 6 in. for height and doubled that number to account for both sides of each cushion. I add my length and height together (132+ 12= 144 in) and this is the TOTAL amount I will at least need to cover all cushions. 5 yards is 180 in. so I gave myself a little extra to work with and help cover the back. I hope this isn't too confusing and makes sense...

 The picture above shows that the fabric will cover the cushion entirely, which is what I want.

Measuring the length and the height allows me to know how much I need to not only cover the surface of the cushions but to have enough for my fabric to cover the side as well. I also took a measurement of the width to ensure the fabric I got would be wide enough to reach and cover both sides. I needed a fabric at least 12 in. wide and I had no problem finding one.

Instead of measuring I simply laid my fabric out smooth, laid the cushion and eye-balled where to make my cuts. You may want to measure to be more accurate but my cuts worked fine and even if they were jagged or messed up, you will see why that doesn't matter in a few steps...

Then I used my trusty hot glue gun and hot glue sticks (both of which I already had, so this project only cost me the fabric!). I folded one side at a time, used the hot glue to adhere the fabric to the cushion and held it for around 30 seconds to allow the glue to set. Because I don't really care about the cushions, I am not worried about a little glue on them. Plus, hot glue (once dried) is usually easy to remove. The added third bonus of this is because the fabric can also be taken off, it can be reused AND I can re-cover the cushions with a new fabric anytime I want a change!! And all it will only cost me the cost of fabric...pretty neat huh?!

The glare from the window makes the picture below a little fuzzier than I wanted but it shows what the cushion looked like once the fabric was folded and glue into place. I wasn't worried about the white line down the back of even the very visible "gift-wrap" fold BUT these are the cushions for the window seat. They are rarely moved and never turned. The bottom will never be visible to the family or potential house guests. Actually, several people who already saw them assumed that I bought new cushions! When I told them I just re-covered the old ones, they assumed I had sewn them! WRONG on both counts, haha! This quick and easy fix allows for a cheap and fast new look without going through the pain or expenses of reupholstering or buying new ones to fit your window size!

       

So after a coat of soft olive green paint on the inside of the window and "new" red cushions, this is what it looks like now!

I really love how the red and green play off each other, without looking like a Christmas theme! Now, are they 100% perfect without any flaws....no. But they also do not look shabby at all and really have altered how the window area looks!

Even the cats enjoy laying by this window. They ended up loosening a little bit of the corner of the right cushion as seen in this photo, which I simply used a few straight pins to hold the fabric in place on the cushion.

 So here are the after pictures! It was morning and the sun was not working with me so it looks darker than it is in the room. I love my new red cushions! As soon as we rearrange our living room and move our couch out of the way, I will be sure to take a straight on photo from eye level. Looks a lot different than the before photo at the top! What do you think? Would you use hot glue and fabric for a quick redecorating?

NOTE* My window seat was built with the house BUT WITHOUT ANY STORAGE! They built the seat and completely closed it off! Our next project with this window is creating storage into our existing window seat, super fun and efficient! Stay tuned to see how we did it and how well it worked! :-)