one white armchair, two black cats and a greenish brew in the tub

how does a doodlebug solve the problematic combo of 2 black cats and white slipcovers?

"the klappsta armchair is a halfway-respectable looking chair, and very comfortable. you can buy heavy cotton slipcovers for it, which I highly recommend, since the upholstery only comes in unwashable off-white. unfortunately, the only color choices for slipcovers are white, navy blue, or tomato red. the knoppe footstool comes with a slipcover as well, in a similarly limited color range ... i think there might be four choices instead of three. since, at the time, navy blue and tomato red worked with pretty much NOTHING in my home, i went with the white.

white headache

so there i was, with two black cats. and white slipcovers. horrid. i eventually decided to throw the dice and try dyeing them. i used two tins of dylon hot water dye. as an apartment renter, i don't own my own washing machine, so i had to do the dyeing in a big rubbermaid storage bin in the bathtub! boiled water in every single pot and kettle i owned, and went for it, spending a full half hour stirring up the fabric (three pieces - chair cover, chair seat cushion cover, and footstool cover) with a bamboo pole. turns out, it's probably better to do this in a proper washer for reasons beyond the physical labor aspect.

the color i picked was called 'olive green' and i wound up with lime green instead. or maybe that's dylon's idea of olive green. or maybe i should have used one more tin to make it darker. regardless, i decided i liked the color (after my first initial fit of hysteria), and many friends have said my dye job has caused them to reconsider some ikea furniture they passed up previously!"

green envy

and now they lived happily in doodlebug's crafty jungle of a home.

do sneak a peek. it's lovely in there. a snug little place bursting with plants, pizzazz and personality. check out her diy stuff like the bamboo mat headboard, bookshelf console, the brilliant kitchen makeover and oh yes, the mural (below). awesome, doodlebug. and lucky kitties. link.

other armchair slipcover hacks:
> customised ikea armchair slipcovers
> hate the fabric colour? just paint it!
> claire's quick chair cover up

tags: ikea, klappsta armchair, knoppe foolstool, dylon, fabric dye, doodlebug