Updated Sofa with Pillows

When my mom passed away I received many of her personal items including her sofa.  I was moving out of the state with very little furniture of my own, so my dad gifted it to me because he knew how much my mom would have wanted me to have it.  

Living room decorated for the holidays, circa 1995

My baby shower, circa 1996

My mom with my daughter.  I'm sure she's singing, You are my sunshine. 

My mom and me! 

I was 16 when she purchased the sofa.  I can still remember the day she had it delivered from John Wanamaker's.  If you knew my mom you knew how much she loved her sofa.  My siblings and I rarely sat on it!  It was more of a show piece and my dad jokingly referred to it as the "Cadillac".

I was nervous about having a light colored sofa when my kids were little.  Then the dogs came along and my anxiety intensified a bit!  But I promised myself the sofa wouldn't be off limits to my family.  We sit on the sofa, my children lie on it and mess the perfectly poofed pillows and for the longest time my smallest dog would nap there.


It's a comfortable sofa in great condition.  I've had it professionally cleaned a few times, luckily the cushions are removable for easy clean up.  But as the years go by it needed a little updating.  I considered having it reupholstered in a new timeless fabric, but the more I thought about it I knew I could breathe new life into it with simple updates.

Adding new accent pillows really brightened the sofa for a fresh new look.  I made the gray pillows, but purchased the others. 

I added a cozy throw blanket.  I swapped out the accessories on the coffee table for a less cluttered look.  I also purchased a new rug.  The larger rug compliments the space.  I don't know what I was thinking using such a smaller rug before. ;)

More pillows on the bench.  I love the Greek key pattern.  I considered making my own, then I found these babies for a steal at Lowe's.

It's amazing how different the sofa looks in the room just by updating the pillows and few other accessories.  I'm so glad I decided not to have it reupholstered.