Creative solutions to refresh your home with soft furnishings

I have been feeling the need to refresh my seating areas at home. It's that spring feeling when everything just looks a bit wintery and all I want is light and more colour!

If you have an existing room that needs an update, an easy route is to bring in some new soft furnishings and add a new colour or fabric texture to your interior scheme.

Through research on the many cushions available, I wanted to get some more ideas on how to get more texture and play with the size and shape.

I have been influenced by some of the current 2020 colour trends, all the fresh corals and soft pastels, along with the geometric and abstracts designs. In my home a cushion needs to be practical as many people sit on them, so thinking about your fabric choice is also important.

I began with a new lampshade made by Eloise Scotland in an exquisite chevron cotton/linen printed fabric called Ziggy (Rose Poppy) by Parker and Jules. This was a great new colour for me to bring into the room and it went beautifully with the greens/browns/lilacs I already had. 

With my new ideas, I set about using a mix of fabrics I already had and treating myself to some new summery fabrics. Since my last visit to the Designers Guild shop I had been admiring their new Corda fabrics, all 100% cotton, hard-wearing and machine washable, perfect for cushions! I bought a metre of two colours in the gorgeous Corda fabric in coral (azalea) and yellow (primrose). 

To match my new fabrics I looked through old boxes of fabric, trying to find new colour pairings. I had the idea of making different front and backs to my cushions to give display choice and texture. So, for the other fabric, I chose another Designers Guild fabric that I had a remnant of from a previous project. I love the combination of the coral and lilac together, also I already have a lilac sofa in my sitting room so I knew would be a good colour to incorporate into my room.

I decided to make 2x square cushions and 2x circular cushions.

Square Cushions - 50x50cm

The first two I made were the square cushions, I made them a good substantial size for our four-man sofa. One side in coral Corda fabric and the other in the lilac velvet rippled fabric. I inserted a hidden zip at the base in pale pink to complement both colours to be discreet so both sides of the cushions can be used. The cushion pads are a duck feather giving a sumptuous feel that you can sink into, I bought them from All Shapes Cushions but you can buy similar from many online retailers.

Circular Cushions - 40cm

The two other cushions are circular shaped in a smaller size, again I have used two different colours for the front and back but in the same Designer's Guild Corda fabric. The coral (azalea) is the same as the square cushions then I have the other in a yellow (primrose).

These cushions I made on the sewing machine but with no zip, I have just hand sewn the entry point for the cushion inner. I have made the cushions myself for my home and I don't have the skill to insert a zip on a circular shape! If you choose to have your cushions made they would insert a zip.

Just another note on the threads I used. For the large square cushions, I found a pale lilac cotton thread I already had, but for the circular cushions, I used a clear nylon sewing thread as I found it hard to find a thread colour to suit both fabrics. 

I have made four new cushions using different fabrics on each side and two different shapes creating a versatile group of new soft furnishings. I find sewing therapeutic, I listen to music or a podcast and enjoy the time designing and making new and colourful things. It's also a cheaper way to make a difference in your home and get ready for summer.

Happy sewing!

Here are some of my inspiration pieces, if you are wanting to purchase rather than make your own cushions.

I love the unique cushion designs by Danish designer Christina Lundsteen prices start from £60.

I also like the homely feel of Poppy and Honesty's cushions, and the mix of liberty prints and ginghams, prices start from £30.

Other Brands like Made.com, have some great options for indoor/ outdoor cushions made from recycled plastics, prices start from £25.