The Wonderful World of Slipcovers

With the previously discussed dog paws and muddy backyard, and given the fact that the dogs have the run of the house and are allowed on the furniture, you can probably imagine that keeping the furniture in any sort of presentable state is quite challenging.

Years ago, we started using slipcovers...an obvious solution, since stuffing a whole couch into the washing machine is not very practicle.

But slipcovers have always had their drawbacks. Sure, they look nice and tidy, until you (doG forbid!) sit on them, and then your whole living room looks like an unmade bed. And all that endless tucking and tucking and tucking! How many fingernails have I bent backwards, all in the name of creating a rumple-free appearance for ten fleeting seconds?

Enter the modern age of slipcovers and the latest in slipcover technology: stretch fabric and the separate seat slipcover! As a long-time slipcover aficionado, of course I receive the Sure Fit, Inc. catalogue. Imagine my feelings of delight and awe when I first saw these amazing products.

A year ago, I bought two sets for the L-shaped couch in our living room. Long experience taught me how to select the color: shades of dog fur and dried mud. I ordered swatches that (from the on-line pic's) seemed promising, and when they arrived, I laid them out neatly on the dirtiest part of our old, floppy, wrinkled, once-cream-colored slipcovers. The Stretch Pique in taupe was the winner. It was light enough to hide the white dog fur, dark enough to hide the black dog fur, and muddy-colored enough to allow us weeks or even months between washings. Happiness! I paid full-price ($130 each...ouch), but they were worth it!

That left the loveseat by the sliding glass doors in our dining area/family room. Underneath, it's a hideous, stained yellow-ish thing...which is covered with a sloppy, baby-s**t brown-gold-ish slipcover. It's a favorite hangout for dogs (who tend to hit it as soon as they come in from outside--it is next to the sliding glass doors, afterall), and humans alike (I sit there every morning to drink my tea--I've switched from coffee to tea, but that's another story.) Its popularity means it's always both mussed up AND filthy. Awesome:
I didn't want to go with the taupe again...I mean, some variety is called for, isn't it? Also, I just couldn't stomach laying out another $110 (the price-break they give you on the smaller loveseat covers) on home decor, when I could use that same $110 for a hotel at a Flyball tourney, or 5 1/2 months Flyball dues, or a new dog crate, or some other worthwhile expense.

So it must have been fate that made Sure Fit, Inc. send me an email, just after I'd finished our income tax returns (refund, cha-ching!), which featured a 20% off coupon that was usable on clearance items...and there, when I clicked on the clearance tab, was the Stretch Elegance Separate Seat slipcover for a loveseat, in gorgeous mocha. One American Express card and 9 calendar days later, this beauty was mine, for half-price--including shipping!

It's darker than is truly practical for white dog fur, so we will have to be a little more studious about fur removal (I'm thinking one of these once a week might do the trick). But the price was right, and it really neatens up that area.

I get a feeling of...I can only describe it as relief, when I see a tidy space where there was once a distressing mess. My eyeballs just go, "aaaaahhhhh." I love that feeling.