Update Your Loveseat for Only $12—in Less Than 2 Minutes!

When we moved into our house, I knew the formal dining room in the front was way too fancy for our lifestyle. Early on (even before we officially owned the house), I had designated the front room off of the entry a playroom for our little Eleanor (due in roughly six weeks!). When we moved our furniture into the 1,653-ft house, I loved that we had plenty of room to roam and that it wasn't super cluttered.

I'm all about saving money, so after we had our things where we wanted, I asked my mother-in-law if I could have a small couch that was sitting unused in her garage. She used to own a farmhouse and had some extra furniture that wasn't claimed yet by her children. While I supervised my brother-in-law dragging the coffee table out of the garage that is now sitting in our living room, I spotted the couch but didn't think too much of it.

The next day, I asked her if we could have it, thinking I could use it for a small sitting area in the playroom if grandparents decide to visit or if I need a place to lounge while watching Eleanor play. It measures 52 in wide × 32 in deep, so it's small enough to not take up the whole room, yet offers enough sitting for two. I didn't love the fabric and dreaded the thought of trying to sew pillow covers for the six pillows (two on the back, two on the bottom, and one for each side). My sewing skills are subpar, so I knew I needed to find an easier fix.

Hello, Pinterest! I saw a pin that had a canvas drop cloth draped over a couch and knew that would be the answer to this situation. Durable, washable, and a quick fix to modernize this little loveseat with minimal effort. And I mean like two minutes worth of effort... EASY! After some quick Googling, I found the best deal on a canvas drop cloth within a 10-mile radius of me (Harbor Freight Tools had a 9 ft × 12 ft for $24.99 on sale for $14.99). When I used my 20% off coupon (that I also Googled while standing in line), I only paid a little over $12 for the cloth.

I won't lie. I pulled that mofo out of the bag and made a face when the smell of the drop cloth hit me. It smelled like straight up chemicals, but I also had a quick fix for that, too. I tossed it in the washer using hot water on the Ultra Wash setting. And I repeated four more times. So yeah, that was kind of annoying, but then I pulled it out of the dryer and it smelled wonderful (mountain breeze, anyone?)! I'll stop talking now and just show you the results...

Before

...and only two minutes later!