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Friday Favorite: Working With What You Have

March 28th, 2014

I’m not sure why mattresses have to have the ugliest fabric one them, it doesn’t matter for the mattress, but the box springs can be seen. In our guest bedroom, we have no beds so the mattresses are simply on the floor. Hopefully Mr Chiots will be building a few beds soon, but until them we’ll make do. The box springs were hideous! Generally, I cover them with fitted sheets, but I didn’t have any extra twin sized sheets laying around and I didn’t want to buy any.
coffee bag covered box spring 1
I though about covering them with classic blue ticking, but it was too expensive. I was considering burlap until I remembered I had some empty coffee bags (you can buy these for $2 each from Sweet Maria’s). We received ours for free with coffee purchases.
coffee bag covered box spring 2
I pulled out my scissors, staple gun, yarn needle and my hot glue gun and got cracking!  It took me one bag and a half of another one to cover each twin sized mattress. That means it was only about $3 per mattress, not bad!
coffee bag covered box spring 3
I wanted to add a little interest to the top of the box spring, so I whipstitched it around the top. It took extra time, but I love the result and am super happy I did it!
coffee bag covered box spring 5
coffee bag covered box spring 6
coffee bag covered box spring 4
Our guest room is starting to come together, the quilts are finished, the box springs are covered, I’m making a rug – all I have left to do it start painting the walls!

Do you cover your box spring? Is it an ugly design?

17 Comments to “Friday Favorite: Working With What You Have”
  1. Stephanie StClair on March 28, 2014 at 6:01 am

    Love it! What a great solution.

    Reply to Stephanie StClair's comment

  2. daisy on March 28, 2014 at 6:04 am

    Our box springs are covered by a comforter, so we don’t need to cover them. Those bags could be used for so many projects! What a great resource!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  3. Kathi cook on March 28, 2014 at 6:48 am

    Very clever! It looks so good with your homemade quilt.

    Reply to Kathi cook's comment

  4. Nebraska Dave on March 28, 2014 at 7:47 am

    Susy, the box spring looks very much like something that would be found on a homestead. As for me, I’m a guy. I don’t really care what the box spring looks like. It’s in the bedroom. I just go in there to sleep. :-) When my life was alive, I did learn all about bed skirts, mattress covers, and such things but haven’t given it a thought for almost 13 years. My bed comforter hangs down enough to cover it up anyway. It really does look great.

    Have a great working with what you have day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  5. Elizabeth on March 28, 2014 at 8:12 am

    I have a plain white bed skirt for our bed (they are expensive but you can make one yourself) and when my daughter got a new bed recently her box spring was black, which was perfect because her duvet cover is a black and white print. I think someone in the industry finally caught on!

    Reply to Elizabeth's comment

  6. DebbieB on March 28, 2014 at 8:42 am

    Ha – that really is terrific. I love the eclectic look.

    Reply to DebbieB's comment

  7. judym on March 28, 2014 at 8:59 am

    Bed skirts are not my thing. Next winter we are redoing the upstairs bedrooms. This is one of our planned projects Haven’t quite decided on the material yet but burlap is definitely on my list. Yours looks terrific…great job!

    Reply to judym's comment

  8. Patti on March 28, 2014 at 9:01 am

    It’s such a satisfying feeling, isn’t it? …using what you have. Very inspiring!

    Reply to Patti's comment

  9. Jill on March 28, 2014 at 10:09 am

    love it!

    Reply to Jill's comment

  10. Jill on March 28, 2014 at 10:42 am

    And, I forgot to tell you, your quilts are brilliant, too! I wish I had the patience to quilt… I just made some slipcovers, so am working my way up to quilts.

    Reply to Jill's comment

  11. Mary Schier on March 28, 2014 at 11:01 am

    Cool look! I get burlap bags from our local coffee shop to cover my plants in winter. It’s good protection against the bunnies.

    Reply to Mary Schier's comment

  12. Chris on March 28, 2014 at 4:44 pm

    A very cool, clever and creative way to cover your box springs! I don’t cover ours because the comforters and quilts hang over enough but if I did, I would definitely try and find some coffee bags! :)
    Do you have other uses for them?

    Reply to Chris's comment

  13. Donna A. on March 28, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    That looks so much more beautiful!
    And probably will fit the feel of the room much better when it’s painted!
    So crafty. I love it!

    Reply to Donna A.'s comment

  14. Lorna on March 28, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    I’ve always used spare fitted sheets. I like that they’re washable, even if I don’t wash them very often!

    Reply to Lorna's comment

  15. Songbirdtiff on March 29, 2014 at 8:25 am

    Very cute!

    Reply to Songbirdtiff's comment

  16. Wendy on March 30, 2014 at 12:54 am

    We usually use a bedskirt, but I LOVE your solution. You’re right, the whipstitching really adds a nice touch!

    Reply to Wendy's comment

  17. Jeannette on March 30, 2014 at 10:43 am

    great job – love your ideas – so original!

    Reply to Jeannette's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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