Spring tidy up

Well Spring has finally felt like its on its way this week - my God, the sun has even broken through. I don't know about where you are, but here in the North it has been cold and grey for weeks.

So as well as cheering me up, the brighter weather and better light has highlighted that our conservatory is in a bit of a state. The carpet looks grubby, the walls are marked and its looking a bit unloved. It houses our dining table so its well used, and its showing. So I decided this week to give it  a quick makeover.

Because of the kids, it's pretty basic in there - Ikea table and chairs with cushion pads that have seen better days. They're washable but they tend to go  bit lumpy so I wonderd if removable covers would work better.

Like our kitchen, it's green with red accessories so when I found some red star-patterned curtain weight fabric in a local shop I snapped it up. I traced round the seat pads to make a template and made new covers which fit on but still allow the velcro fasteners to fit round the chair legs. Then I hemmed a matching piece of fabric to make a tablecloth.

We've struggled during the winter with light in there - we have a couple  of wall lights and lampsbut its strill too dark. So I found these bargain lamps in Ikea for just £5.25. They've got clamp fastenings so I've fixed them to the blind track - one above the table and one above the sofa.

                          

I then made a couple of little felt accessories to finish it off. A hanging heart with a bit of Cath Kidston fabric, plus a little padded cushion featuring some spare buttons and ribbon trim. I added the lettering by using letter stamps and a fabric pen on a piece of cotton tape.