Decorating & Design
Give Your Home A Flirty Update For Spring With This One Thing
Updated on April 9, 2025
It doesn’t require a major overhaul to make furnishings look fresh this season: skirted furniture is a fun, easy fix. With a few metres of fabric, skirting is a budget solution that can cover furniture legs (that may have seen better days) and offers a whimsical way to close off open storage. DIYers can whip one up themselves on a sewing machine by following instructions from sites like Create/Enjoy, or by searching YouTube for tutorials (there are even box pleat instructions if you are feeling fancy). Not the DIY type? A café curtain and tension rod can work in a pinch, or you can outsource the sewing. Scroll down to get some major skirted furniture inspiration for your spring revamp.
In this lakeside home by Lynda Reeves Design Studio, a gathered floral toile skirt on the dressing table adds old-school glamour. Matching curtains is a classic designer move, but the neutral colourway keeps it feeling modern.
A picnic-fresh, embroidered gingham-checked fabric enlivens a bench in the foyer of this new-build home for a nostalgic touch.
This frothy powder room is away in shades of pink, from the pink onyx counter and sakura print wallpaper, to the gathered pink skirt trimmed in grosgrain that resembles a ballgown.
Skirted lower cabinets are a staple in English-style kitchens. Removing a cabinet door and adding a drapery rod that matches the hardware in your kitchen makes a gathered skirt feel more intentional.
In designer Emily Griffin’s weekend escape on Balsam Lake, Ontario, a blue-and-white toile skirt has charming country flavour and conceals a bank of open storage. “Kitchen cabinets felt too conventional, and a sink skirt is an old- fashioned cottage trick. When I put the captain’s chair in place with its toile-covered seat cushion, I switched from the idea of solid linen to full-on toile! We have a bar fridge and microwave hidden underneath those skirts.”