Best-disguised Foreign Service couch contest

One of the convenient things about FS living, is moving from post to post and having an idea, before a arrival, of what sort of furniture you will have at your new home. It’s a little thing, but comforting. Of course, if we could have our own furniture, we’d have that homey and familiar feeing too, but it’s too expensive to move that much weight all over the world, so homes are often furnished for us. Which brings about the inconvenient thing… the furniture is provided by the same agency, so the furniture tends to be all the same. It’s not awful, really, but it isn’t anything I would choose. It doesn’t actually hold up well either and gets all floppy and dejected looking after awhile. All FS folk deal with the same issue, and so, just for fun, Zoe at Something Edited This Way Comes has announced a best-disguised foreign service couch contest.

When we moved here, here’s what we found waiting for us:

See, not horrible, but would you purposely choose this style or fabric for your home? Would you choose it over and over and over again? Would you choose it if all of your friends from work had the same thing too? After awhile, you can’t help but get tired of looking at it! So, how to make it your own?

For a serious answer, I’ll point you to my post on this from a while back after I purchased slipcovers.

Sorry for the harsh light camera flash here. I had wanted to make sure details showed. For example, the base cover doesn’t fit perfectly, but better than most ‘off the shelf’ covers. I like the color I chose as any other neutral would leave my interior looking totally washed out. I like that the covers I found are of a stretchy material that fits better than the floppy drape effect that many covers provide, and they are actually a set of covers: base cover, seat cushions cover, back cushions cover. It helps the fit. They’re also washable! Good in a dusty environment – good for a household with kids and pets.

For my less serious answer on how to disguise a FS couch, might I suggest impressionist improvisation?

(thanks Zoe, for the excuse to play with the wacom tablet!)