How to Redecorate a Living Room in a Day with No Money

When we lived in Santa Fe, our house had a 27 inch door through which anything we took into the living room or kitchen had to pass. We really wanted a sofa but there was no way we could get the one we wanted through that door. Our solution was to buy a futon. That has worked out pretty well as we have used it for a guest bed several times. The cover I ordered for it was green. I mean really green. I had wanted a forest green but this one is bright Kelly green. That was OK in our tiny Santa Fe place but we didn't even want to try it in our current living room. For a while,we just left it off. The natural cotton didn't look that bad. However, a dog and a light colored couch is not a great combo and eventually, something had to be done.


A few years ago, I fell in love with a discontinued Ralph Lauren bedding fabric and found a canvas duvet cover on eBay. I never quite got use to using the duvet cover and finally just gave in and replaced it with a comforter so I had the duvet just hanging out on a closet shelf.

I decided that it would make a great cover for the futon.
It looks a little bit off the stripe in the photo but that has been corrected now that we have been sitting on it for a few weeks.

There was enough fabric left over (the duvet was queen size and the futon in full size) to cover the rocking chair.I also made pillows for the ends of the futon and a small on to go on the cedar chest where I also put a small rug that I had been using on the table next to the futon.


I took a runner out of the closet and put it on the table along with some cut flowers.


I had chosen the fabric pattern in the first place because I thought it looked great with this poster by one of my favorite artists, Donna Howell-Sickles. I bought it in Telluride in the early '90s. Of course, I moved it from the bedroom and put it over the living room mantle.



The whole project took 7-8 hours. I did it in 2 afternoons but could have done it in a day if I had started early enough. Since I already had all of the materials, this project cost nothing.