You know the trick.
You find a beat up, very ugly piece of furniture and since you're dirt poor you bring it into your home, clean it up a little and then realize it's so ugly you just can't bear to look at it.
The first solution is to throw an old blanket over it.
At least that looks better.
But then you find that every time you sit down the blanket gets stuffed into the cracks and pretty soon the ugly bottom of the chair (or couch or whatever) is showing and people can see how nasty it is.
If that chair or couch is comfortable and only suffers from extreme ugliness, then you need to consider giving it a little TLC and investing the bare minimum necessary to keep it in your home until you finally have the money to buy new furniture.
The best answer is a new slipcover.
These are an excellent alternative to the old blanket.
They're designed to closely cover that piece of furniture and if you get the right one it won't shift much at all, thereby keeping the ugly secret beneath safety hidden.
Slipcover websites are great at giving you the exact steps for measuring your furniture so you know which style you need.
Yes, there are different styles just like there are different styles of furniture.
You don't want something that is too big, boxy or all around not right.
Otherwise you may as well go back to the old blanket, right? The advantages to this idea include: lower price than buying new furniture, the ability to choose the best fabric, color and pattern to match your room, they are easy to clean and maintain, and it keeps your room looking good without a lot of hassle.
If you're so inclined you can get a second one and change it out mid year.