The spring is finally here and many of us are taking the opportunity to have a really good spring clean. This may involve some rearranging of rooms and even some redecorating, however as this is a time of uncertain economic conditions many of us cannot afford to spend too much on non-essentials. There are some other ways that we can freshen and update our furnishings. Walls and floors can be cleaned, painted, and polished, furniture can be rearranged or recycled within the home and soft furnishings can be given a makeover.

Despite the move to a more minimalist approach to dressing and decorating homes most still contain some basics such as a dining table, sofas, comfy chairs for relaxing, and perhaps some appropriate storage. Sofas and chairs can be given a new lease of life with a little bit of effort, and without having to spend lots of money. As long as the sofa or chair is still usable and doesn’t require reupholstering then it should be very inexpensive to revitalize the furniture.

How to give that tired sofa a new lease of life:

Buy a throw and drape over the sofa, the throw may be patterned or plain depending on the decoration in the room. Throws can also be made from old blankets or duvet covers. The great thing about a throw is it can be laundered very easily to freshen it up and also it is easy to switch throws around from one item to another.

Cushions can be bought quite inexpensively but they can also be made very easily from the likes of old curtains. Basically, take off the original cover and use this as a template for a new cover cut out two rectangles of material and sew them together on a sewing machine or by hand, the original cushion insert can be washed and recycled into the new cover. There is also a fashion for knitting cushion covers, many patterns, and different wools can be found easily and cheaply. You can have different cushions to match or contrast the sofa or room décor.

Charity shops are an excellent resource when it comes to revamping a sofa and giving a room a make-over. It is very easy to pick up quilts or plush curtains in charity shops, these can be washed and used as throws or made into cushion covers. It is very easy to make throws or cushion covers and only basic sewing skills and a good oil for sewing machine are needed, it is even possible to cheat by using iron-on Velcro strips to keep seams together.

Just giving the sofa or chair a really good clean will help to update it, most fabric sofas can be cleaned with warm soapy water and leather sofas can be cleaned with baby wipes. Cushion covers can be removed and washed to help refresh and brighten them; they could be easily dyed for a very quick revamp.