I just went through a similar thing, trying to pick the right white/cream for upholstering two chairs and a couch. We already had the rug and pillow fabric picked out, so we looked at the various white/cream fabrics against what we had already picked out. Some looked too yellow, some too pink, etc. Then we found the right shade, but it took a little time.

So the bottom line is that you might want to pick the fabric based on how it looks with the other things you'll be using in that room--if you can see it in advance.

I've probably shown these a hundred times but if you haven't already seen..... White matelasse, bought king spreads on clearance and only wish I'd bought more. Throw in the washer/dryer easy peasy. These have a some polyester in them, so they don't really shrink and are easy to get back on after drying because they have a bit of give. I understand with 100% cotton you should leave them a bit damp and put them on that way. I like white as opposed to cream in this case, but it does depend on the rest of the room.

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dlm2000-- I've never seen those! WOW! Absolutely gorgeous. Love, love, love your idea. The chairs are just so inviting!

dlm2000: Those are beautiful! So, just to be clear: you bought King-sized matelasse bedspreads and had the slipcovers made from them? Both chairs made of one bedspread? Did you do this yourself? Really, really nice.

dlm2000, those look great! So where did you find them exactly? How many king sized comforters did it take to make the two chairs? That's a great idea! What did you do your sofa in? I like your wall color too...what shade is your paint? Thanks so much!

Dlm has the right idea! I recoved a loveseat in an ivory matelasse, and it wore like iron. Since it wasn't a slipcover, I was only able to take off the cushions and wash them, but I made arm covers which really helped.

I went into a little French boutique over the weekend, and saw a sofa and chair covered it a white matelasse, so it seems to be catching on. It can be done for much less than regular fabric as a king size will cover a good size piece of furniture.

I've also used heavy-weight tablecloths for a couple of chairs.

dlm,

I love your scroll coffee table. Would you mind sharing where you found it?

Thanks!

Ooooh! I haven't seen those pics and I LOVE them! I adore matellase. Those chairs are great!

tina

I've had my white-slipcovered sofa and loveseat for years and I love them. They've held up great and they're in my FR. I have 3 kids and a small indoor dog that jumps in our pool almost daily. My slipcovers fit in my washing machine and I tend to wash them more frequently in the summer months. I'd go with a true white instead of off-white. I use a bleach stick for certain stains so that I don't have to worry about washing them right away.

dlm2000: All I can say is WOW! I'm drooling over your chairs and coffee table. I'd like to get an extra pair of slipcovers made for my set and your matalesse bedspread ideal is pure genius. Do you think it could work for a sofa and loveseat?

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mldao, your room is what I needed to see...We have SW Macadamia walls right now (though I'm thinking of repainting them lighter) and I was uncertain how stark white would look with tan (much less deep tan) walls. Your room looks really nice.

*blush* thanks everyone!

These chairs are foolers - they're from the 40's and quite large so required a lot of fabric - 2 king coverlets (not bedspreads, I was mistaken) but I still have big chunks of fabric left - could be pillows & table runner and then some.

I bought the coverlets from Domestications, on sale for $29 each (see why I wish I'd bought more??!!) but they no longer carry them. I keep checking their sales and other linen places but will never see a deal like that again I'm sure. Plus I like that tailored geometric as opposed to the more foofy floral/viney things, but that would work and be easier to use because of less matching necessary.

No I did not do them myself - my sewing/measuring/pattern making skills aren't that good. These have hidden zippers down a back seam hidden by the welting.

My sofa is not slipcovered (yet). You can use coverlets or bedspreads or tablecloths for any home decorating - no reason why not. When you find a good sale price, it's a way to get a lot of yardage inexpensively. My FR roman shades are made from hemstitched linen tabloths on clearance at TJ Maxx.

The wall color is Behr Lightweight Beige mixed in Ben Mo.

The coffee table is from Pier 1 - maybe 6 or 7 years ago.

Did I hit everything? Thanks again - it was one of my best decorating decisions, I think.

Those of you with stark white slipcovers (or anyone with any ideas), how do you handle your window treatments would you handle your window treatments if you needed panels? The rooms above are lovely but dlm, you don't have treatments and mldao has plantation shutters. I need panels of some sort on our front windows. Would you try to get panels to match the walls as closely as possible? I'm kind of at a loss there? White seems so...white. LOL!

dlm - those are so pretty!!! And what a great idea to use coverlets.

I don't have a slipcovered sofa, but I do have a white one. It's not bright white, but it's quite white. I have a 5 yr old who eats and drinks on it. From time to time I throw the pillow covers in the wash, and they come clean no problem. My issue with it is that it can feel kind of cold. I am slipcovering a chair in the living room, and it's for this reason that I chose a warmer color fabric than white. I love the look of white chairs/sofas, and if I lived in a warmer climate it would be OK, but where I live my room would feel way too cold with white furniture. Try a white sheet over the chairs and see how the room feels with white.

Mldao, your room is beautiful and your slipcovered sofa is perfect with everything!

Deb, I've complimented those chairs before, but somehow missed that they were done with cut up coverlets. I bought 4 coverlets in off white matelasse 2 years ago to do this same thing, but never got it done. Or had it done. Whatever. I'm still throwing them over the sofa to protect from dastardly dogs. And my favorite tablecloth ever is a thick, beautiful matelasse I found at HomeGoods most accidently. They had it over in the bedding section. Wish I had 3 of those!

So, my question........did you mean 2 King coverlets per chair? And don't you just love that touch of poly?? It makes such a great difference.

Babs711......there are several ways you could go on window treatments if you are looking for fabric.
Something that blends well with the wall color is a very modern and flexible look. That way, you can go with different colors for accents, pillows, and art---not worrying about the drapes, since they tend to blend into the background. That's the look I went for last year when I got ready to make new LR drapes. Mine are just a couple of shades darker than the sage color on my walls.
You could also do the matelasse panels for your walls. That's a fairly cheap way to go and would work well with your slipcovered furniture. But it will give the room more of a cottagey feel I think. So, if that's your look, go for it.
Also, you can find a great fabric that has a cream or white ground with the pattern in other colors, maybe at least a bit of the wall color. For example, your sofa is cream, your walls are mocha.........so you find a drape or a fabric that has cream and mocha and red and black. That ties it all together and gives you a couple of colors to add (black & red) in accents.

Red

dlm2000, your matelasse slipcovers are perfect! I also love the geometric pattern.

mldao, your room always looks fresh and interesting to me each time I see it... a sure sign of good design :)

All your rooms are beautiful! They're making me re-think the fabric I've chosen for our chairs and sofa.

For our WT, we're going to have textured sheers in a color just a bit more creamy than white, along the same tones as the upholstery fabric. They're not going to be stark white.

We were originally going to put some side panels in a medium blue print fabric but the WT person and the designer thought that it would be too much and would close off the room. I won't have anything for a few months so I can't post photos.

babs I don't have window treatments because the window is boxed in on the sides and top, otherwise I would. As for color for panels, Red gave you some great options. Also I'd have no problem personally with using white panels - I like seeing a white that matches the white of my trim, not a cream or off white (which could look dirty in comparison) or a color, whether it's matching the wall color or something else.

Red I can't find my receipt for the fabric but did find the receipt for the slipcover work and it says coverlets. Could be that they were really bedspreads which offer a lot more fabric and it was just written as coverlet but I don't really remember anymore. I know it wasn't 2 per chair because I didn't buy 4. The man who did the work did a fabulous job, but unfortunately has disappeared into the night :-(

kswl thank you - I think the geometric makes it special - cleaner, less fussy.

Thanks! We have only one large, wide front window and it's not completely boxed in. We do have wood blinds but because it's not boxed in with trim, panels are a must IMO. I appreciate your opinion on the treatments. I've been looking at rooms online (probably too much! LOL!)...see the "how do I achieve these blueish rooms" thread - the pics towards the bottom...and am leaning towards possibly going with either a pale antique cream/white or a blue. Stark white will go beautifully and so will white panels. Now I'm starting to get really excited.

I just love all the ideas here! I have a small modern loveseat that fits just perfectly in a sort of nook in my kitchen around my kitchen table. I was going to get rid of it since I don't have room and one day had the idea to put it in the kitchen. We love it there. However, it is hunter green and I don't like the color. I was going to have it recovered, but I think slip covers are the perfect way to go now!

Would you think the white matelasse would hold up in a situation like that? I had been thinking sunbrella fabric for have it redone, but for slip covers I don't think that would be needed. Maybe denim? Anyone have suggestions?

boopadoo how about white demin? That was one of the fabrics I considered - it's practically indestructable, wash it, bleach it. throw it back on. Matelasse would be great, too - also wears well. I'm big on Scotch-Guard - I think it really helps in areas you know are going to get a lot of use or where you want extra protection for light colors. I don't use it on things I wash like slipcovers, though - only upholstered items because it would wash out each time.

dlm2000 I love your slipcovers, they fit so tight. White demin, what a fantasic idea. I am going to check white demin out for myself. Even the name white demin sounds good looking.

Thanks for the wonderful idea!

That is a great idea - white denim. I was just looking at the loveseat again and matelasse just won't look right. I think the lines of the sofa are too modern for that. Now to figure out how many yards I should find and here is hoping ebay has yards of white denim :)

Does anyone know the durability of denim vs. canvas vs. twill? I know all are universally used for upholstery and all are touted as being great for people with kids and active lifestyles. All can be laundered easily as well. I have samples of each of them right now and can't decide!

babs of the 3, denim, canvas and twill I would rate denim as the most durable but that's based on the weight of the upholstery denim I've seen. One thing I've noticed about canvas is that it holds sitting creases more than twill or denim. You know what I mean? - how the seat cushion can get wrinkles in it from someone sitting in it? Slipcovers are more prone to that because they are looser to start with. What happens with your samples when you crush them in your hand? See how quickly they hold the wrinkles from crushing and how quickly they release them. That would be a deciding factor for me.

I made ours out of cotton duck this past winter and we've been really happy with it. Just remember to preshrink whatever fabric you use. I've seen some lovely pictures in magazines lately of ones made out of natural colour linen.

The key to coordinating the starker whites is to use lots of throw pillows in the same colours as the other furnishings. We now have pillows with a stripe that matches the chairs and a check and a deep red. The drapes are a toffee colour found in the striped cushions and floral of the chair.

I went with Nutmeg, which is a little darker and is more forgiving with kids/dogs.