Welcome back to Week #2 of the One Room Challenge! In case you are just jumping into the fun, this is a six week challenge where designers from all of the country makeover their room in just six short weeks, sponsored by Calling It Home.
Over the next six weeks I’ll show you sneak peeks into my room, along with my DIY & Tutorials. But besides the messy “during” photos I wanted to do something different for my readers this year. Throughout the six weeks I created a special series of freebies just for you!
If you want the full set of One Room Challenge Inspired Freebies, find them all:
Get access to every Free Guide + Tutorial + Shopping List HERE
And my hope is that these freebies will help YOU decorate your dream room as we go along this Six Week Challenge. Maybe you can use them now, or save and file away for later when you decide to tackle that home decor project. Enjoy! And let me know which ones you liked and what you want to see more of in the future!
Let’s recap:
Week #1: The Plan
Week #1 I came up with a plan to transform my boring Family Room into a Cheery Farmhouse style room that welcomed cozy family movie nights. For Week #1 I created these Mood Boards to be my Master Plan. Missed that post? Check it all out HERE! As a FREEBIE for all of my readers I created:
and…
Get both of these “Shop This Room” Guides in my Design Freebies Library
Week #2 (Today): How to Style a Sofa + Killer Pillow Combinations
Anyone else get slightly overwhelmed by the idea of filling up an entire sofa (a sectional in my case!) with pillows??? For Week #2 of the One Room Challenge I wanted to tackle how to decorate my new sectional sofa.
You don’t want to go the Great Aunt Doris style of 112 pillows, but you don’t want a plain, sad old sofa either. What’s a girl to do? No matter your style or sofa, you can use this formula as a Cheat Sheet to style your sofa:
I chose three of my favorite Design Styles (Boho Chic, Coastal Casual & Modern Farmhouse) + three different ways you can style your pillows-there is something in here for everyone!
Get this FREEBIE Style Guide + Shopping List HERE
These pillows start at just $6 each! (Yup, I’m looking at you Buffalo Check Plaid) so if you need a new pillow for your sofa (or bed, or bench…) these won’t break the bank.
I’ll be honest with y’all…I spent WAY too much time searching for the “perfect” pillow for my Farmhouse Family Room Makeover. As in, it’s 11 PM, I’ve been scrolling on Pinterest for hours and I’m on Lifetime Movie #2 of the evening, and super grumpy (as is my husband who has to hear LMN in the background!)
That’s when you know you have Pillow Problems.
So I don’t want any of you binging out on the Lifetime movies while getting overwhelmed by the 100,000,000 choices out there! I did some One Stop Shopping for you and came up with these four different combinations…all from Society 6 (total gorgeous eye candy over there, jump on over and check them out)!
No matter what your style, if you use this formula, you’re going to have a Killer Pillow Combo:
Whimsical* (Something Bold or Fun) + Small Pattern + Large Pattern
*If that seems like a little too much for ya, swap out the “Whimsical” with a solid color, as my own Mother would most certainly do
Get this Freebie Style Guide + Shopping List HERE
Just think of yourself as a bartender and you are making a Pillow Cocktail.
So what else have I been up to during One Room Challenge this week? This week was all about my sofa and pillows. So let’s start with the sofa…ever since moving into this house I wanted a sectional in this room. But sectionals are EXPENSIVE. I have three kids and a Labradoodle who are adorable, crazy-pants and messy. So I knew it had to have a slipcover. The Pottery Barn version I loved was over $3,500 (prices vary depending on fabric, this was for a Twill). Now I LOOOOVE me some Pottery Barn. I have had the PB Square Slipcovered Sofa for 11 years now and I’m a huge fan. But when you included shipping, we were talking almost $4,000. I wasn’t ready.
And I’m not new to the whole Pottery Barn vs. Ikea debate. I read a TON of reviews before taking the plunge. My hubby and I took the work truck and went on a Date Night to Ikea!
I bought the Ikea Ektorp 4 piece sectional in “Lofallet Beige” for $799 (less 1/4 of the price!) and I bought a second slipcover in “Vittaryd White” for another $299. (My Pottery Barn sofa is white and I love it-bleach it and forget it!) Even with the cost of gas (and those Swedish Meatballs for dinner), it was way less than the cost to ship a sofa. And I have to tell you…I’m a huge fan! The cushions are super comfy with great padding. And the slipcover feels sturdy. I have already washed several of the cushion covers (twice!) and stains came out easily and the slipcovers didn’t shrink at all. What I like the best is the slipcovers are tight and a great fit to each cushion but still keep that casual look. (If you want a modern, sleek sofa, this isn’t the sofa for you-it has that casual Farmhouse look) Here it is after being washed once, with a couple of the cushions exposed:
As another part of the ORC Challenge, I’m updating my pillows to something more spring-like. These are my “winter pillows” below-a neutral black and white palette. They are all covers so I can keep the inserts and update the covers only. I’m a huge fan of pillow COVERS for a couple of reasons:
ONE: Covers are a lot less expensive once you invest in pillow inserts**
(I tried cheaping out and buying inexpensive inserts…so not worth it. I have a couple of West Elm inserts that are down filled that I’ve owned for ten years. They are still going strong and look SO much better than those cheap, flimsy ones)
TWO: Pillows get DIRTY. Take off those covers and wash ’em!
THREE: It is a lot easier to store a stack of pillow covers than a sofa full of pillows
So here is my new Ikea Ektorp sectional with my existing pillows that I’m going to swap out for something a little more bright…
The final thing I tackled was laying my new sisal rug (see a peek above) and here are my white sailcloth curtains with bamboo shades:
We’re only two weeks into the 6 Week One Room Challenge and there is more fun to be had! Next week I’m going to show you how I did a Media Console Knock-Off Makeover. I was totally in love with this Radiant Dresser from Land of Nod but didn’t want to pay the $1299 price tag. Find out how I knocked-it off for just $288:
Need even more ideas? Save yourself some time and use my own Pinterest Boards to get you started! I have a board for every.single.room in your house! Or want to see the messy-behind-the-scenes shots as I work through my One Room Challenge space? See all of the background fun over on Instagram.
If reading my Family Room Makeover made you realize you have a room in desperate need of a Makeover, just email me and we can chat about your space kristin@postboxdesigns.com or find all the deets HERE!
Morgane says
it looks like you are on your way to a great family room! it looks quite large, and now it has beautiful floor. I am wondering what color you will choose for your pillow covers….and are you planning on doing some thing to your fire place? Best of luck!
PostboxDesigns says
Hi Morgane! Ahh, I’m still going back and forth with the pillows! For Week #1 I shared my Mood Board with my choices, but I’m still flip flopping, so I guess that is going to be a surprise for ALL of us! 🙂 My fireplace is massive so I’m going to keep the existing brick but I’m going to dress it up with some easy DIYs-a new mantle, painting the brass, and adding some artwork. So glad you found Postbox! 🙂
Caroline says
Hi- wondering where to buy the navy & white striped pillows on the “coastal chic” sofa. I searched society 6 and couldn’t find them anywhere. Thanks!
Caroline says
Ooops I meant “coastal casual” sofa
PostboxDesigns says
Hi! Here are two versions that are really similar: https://www.etsy.com/listing/229573312/navy-blue-white-outdoor-pillow-cover The first link is gorgeous but a little pricey, so here is a less expensive version that I found as well:https://www.etsy.com/listing/294993899/navy-blue-and-white-striped-decorative?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=navy%20stripe%20throw%20pillow&ref=sr_gallery_41 I hope one of them will work for you! 🙂
Morgan says
Hi! I’m wondering if you have tried bleaching the lafollete color? I really want to purchase the white but am tempted by the beige price… I was wondering if I could soak them in a little bleach to brighten them up a little
PostboxDesigns says
HI Morgan, I actually purchased the slipcover in the beige AND the white. I know the white is a little more expensive but I think it is totally worth it to have a backup cover! 🙂 The beige is actually very light so I keep that on most of the time-it still seems light and airy in the room. Hope that helps 🙂