RE-COVERY

I’m a recycling zealot. 

Not just about what’s required for curbside pickup, but the “extras” that require their own additional storage bins and the occasional special scheduled drop-off, for example, when the county offers an electronics .  My collection includes everything from household batteries to kitchen .  Not even the paperboard insert from the toilet paper roll escapes my trash diversion.

So, when the cushions on our outdoor furniture were finally so soiled and tattered that they’d become truly embarrassing, I pondered the volume of solid waste, the potential forced obsolescence of four perfectly good metal frames, and I began to conjure up a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution.

Really, the cushions were fine.  It was the fabric covers that were shot. 

I used my smartphone to take some reference pictures, made inquiries at my local home and garden store, scoured the internet for replacement cushions that might fit the bill. 

Finally, I remembered a recommendation I’d previously gotten from an interior designer for another makeover job:  ABE Upholstery.  I was sure of the name, but nothing else.  I looked them up online, read about their old-world style workmanship, discovered that they were located in Southside Bethlehem, and finally called and spoke to Ted Nieves.

Based on that conversation and the rough estimate I had calculated for replacement cushions I’d seen online, it seemed like a custom re-covering was, indeed, a feasible and possibly perfect direction to pursue.

When I got a chance to stop by and flip through fabric books at ABE (429 Wyandotte St., Bethlehem  610.865.1039), I picked out some samples, both stripes and florals, that picked up colors from the existing furniture frames and the house exterior.  But when Ted called the company, he found that the pricing he had was out-of-date and that the real cost would be nearly double what was marked on the sample. 

He sent me across the Valley to Fabrics by Allan (4713 Tilghman Street, Allentown 610.530.7650).  There I found more samples of outdoor fabric, but at bargain prices – $9.99/yard (vs. the $40-something quoted by the guy rep’ing that brand name sample I’d originally chosen). 

Ted gave the new fabric the nod, estimated that I needed 10½ yards, total, and I went back to the fabric store to put the plan into motion.  In one extra-long, clear-wrapped roll, I delivered the fabric back to Ted at ABE and, several weeks later, had comfy and beautiful new porch seating that had cost me just under $500 – well under the price of five new replacement cushions and two pillows – with a design enhancement thanks to Ted’s experience and handiwork (he added zippers for easy on/off and cleaning).

I realize I probably spent another $20 on gas, schlepping across the Valley two or three times.  And I spent several weeks in waiting, which would have been minimized had I simply ordered new replacement cushions online.  But in the end, I had a nearly zero-footprint solution of my very own design.  For a recycling zealot, it doesn’t get any better than that!