Some of This & Some of That

Because no one single thing is worth devoting a whole post to,  today I wanted to share a potpourri of things that are currently going on concerning the house in Hooterville .

Regarding the slipcovers that shrunk on my new sofa…

Aaaaaak!   It STILL makes me sick to look at it.

 

Anyway, as I mentioned here, I contacted the furniture store where I bought it (Matter Brothers).   They, in turn, contacted the sofa manufacturer (Capris Furniture, Ocala, FL).   The Capris’ representative was of the opinion that for this much shrinkage to occur, I HAD to wash the slipcover in HOT water, not cold.  Yep, they actually inasmuch called me a liar disputed  that I had washed it in cold water, air dried it a little, and put it back on the sofa while it was still damp.

The bottom line:  Capris Furniture refuses to do anything to make this right so one of the owners  of Matter Brothers, Tom Matter, concurs and will not replace the slipcover either.  Incidentally, I have not  washed the chair slipcover yet but I am sure it will shrink like the sofa slipcover did. 

I wish I was confident enough in my sewing skills that  I could just make my own slipcovers like so many of the talented ladies in Blogland are doing but I’ve had only minimal sewing experience and, in all honesty, I haven’t even seen my sewing machine in about 20 years. 

I did talk  to  a local experienced seamstress who can make replacement slipcovers for me (and she will PRE-WASH the fabric first) but it won’t be cheap and frankly, it’s an added expense that I don’t think I should have to incur for a 3 month old sofa (chair and ottoman).   I’m still thinking about that and a couple other possible options.

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As I come across things I think I can use, I pick up little odds and ends here and there for the house in Hooterville.

At Marshall’s I found an end table for the family room. It’s permanent place will likely be  next to hubby’s Lazy Boy recliner (shown in this post).  I thought the top drawer would be an ideal place to stash the TV and DVD remotes when they aren’t in use.

The lower section of the end table is a dark chocolate brown (not black as it appears in the photo).  I have not decided on a coffee table, a media console, or any other end tables yet but I thought the chocolate brown bottom and wood grained top should coordinate with just about any other wood pieces  I end up getting.

For the “pink and girly” guestroom (shown in this post), I found a soft pink coverlet and 2 matching pillow shams on eBay.  The set is from the Simply Shabby Chic line at Target.   I have  seen lots of these coverlet sets in cream or green in my local Target stores but I’ve only come across  JUST ONE  solid  PINK set.  But during a moment of insanity I passed it up and then, of course, deeply regretted it later. Don’t you just hate it when you do that?  

Needless to say,  I was happy to find one reasonably priced on eBay.  Even with shipping, I think it was a little less expensive than what I recall Target was selling it for.

At Marshall’s I found a pretty set of lace-edged pillow cases, also  for the “pink and girly” guestroom.  At Goodwill I bought a pair of white matelasse pillow shams with pink roses that were in pristine condition ($5.00 each).  Looks like they were never used.

After 35 years here, I am really, really, REALLY sad to be leaving the “My Cottage of Bliss” house (just ask my husband!) but there is a part of me that is getting somewhat anxious to get moved into the “Hooterville” house so I can put  the things I have been buying to use.  I want to putter, fluff and nest so it looks and feels like a home, instead of just a house.

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I’m still waiting for the kitchen remodel to begin.  My kitchen guy should be calling me any time within the next few weeks  to say he’s ready to  start tearing out the old kitchen and installing the new cabinets. 

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Before too long, I will be ready to start moving forward with the remodel of this  bathroom on the bedroom end of the house in Hooterville.   On the positive side, it’s a decent size with “good bones” but let’s be honest here:  it’s ugly.  I can’t even imagine why anyone would think it was attractive to use 2 different flooring materials in the same bathroom.  This bathroom also doesn’t function as well as it could.  There’s lots of wasted space and did you notice?  It doesn’t even have a mirror over the sink!

I’ve got some ideas about what I want to do in here but there are a few things I’m undecided about so I hope you will check  back because  I am planning to post more pictures soon and  ask  for your opinions/ideas.