Studies show that the most popular definitions of a happy home are a space where you feel secure (69%), a place for relaxation (64 percent) and a space where you can be free to be yourself (57%). When it comes to making a home feel like a home and feel comfortable, interior design is a big reason why.
The interior design industry generates $10 billion annually as homeowners buy living room furniture, do remodeling projects or redecorate to spruce things up in a home. This is especially true of new homeowners. In a 2014 survey, millennial homeowners were just as likely to renovate their homes as other age groups and were driven by a desire to make a newly purchased home their own.
A big part of interior design is furniture. In fact, furniture and home furnishing stores generated more than $106 billion worth of sales in 2015. Whether you’re looking for a comfy sofa as part of your living room furniture set or vintage furniture for a home office, there are plenty of options available.
Furniture is typically the third most expensive thing people buy after a home and a car and when buying furniture, people look at five key qualities.
- Durability
- The look
- Quality
- Comfort
- Cost
If you’re in the market for new living room furniture, leather furniture is a good option. It’s durable, looks good, is high quality, provides comfort and is well worth the long term investment. Ultimately you want your living room to be a welcoming, comfortable place and adding a sofa or comfortable chairs around a coffee table can make your living room the place to be.
If you’re looking at giving your living room an entirely new look, another option is mission style living room furniture. Mission style living room furniture is straight and to the point. Items like a mission style table and mission style lamps are defined by horizontal and vertical lines with flat planes and panels which are aimed at highlighting wood’s natural grain. Rather than being marked by elegant carving or other bells and whistles, the beauty of pieces like a mission style table is its simplicity.
For whatever type and style of furniture you have, one way to help preserve it is by using slipcovers.
What is a slipcover? Why do you need one?
Simply put, a slipcover is a protective cover that can easily be put over or taken off a piece of furniture. Whether you’re doing some cleaning, moving furniture around or putting items away in storage, slipcovers can be very useful. Depending on your preference, slipcovers come in a variety of materials such as plastic and vinyl.
Whether you’re looking for pillow covers, sofa slipcovers, patio furniture slipcovers or sectional couch covers, there are benefits to each type of cover material:
- Cotton: Cotton is a natural, lightweight fabric that is very breathable and can withstand high temperatures. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for patio furniture slipcovers because it’s durable and can be washed very easily. One thing to be aware of is the color of the furniture you’re covering and the color of the slipcover. For instance, if you’re covering a dark piece of furniture, get a darker slipcover.
- Suede: Synthetic suede works well because it resists stains and water damage. This also makes it a good choice for patio furniture slipcovers because, although it’s a little bit of a heavier material, it helps outdoor furniture withstand wear and tear and all kinds of weather.
- Twill: Twill is noted for its distinct weaving pattern and it can be made of many kinds of materials, including cotton and polyester-cotton blends. For sofa, chair and patio furniture slipcovers, twill is a good choice. It may be light, but it’s very durable. It also resists staining and twill with higher thread counts can resist water damage. If you’ve got children or pets who might be messy, twill can also be easily washed.
Whether you choose cotton, suede, twill or another type of material, getting slipcovers for your furniture will ensure that it lasts a long time and holds up under any type of situation.