We have added a couch (the gray one on the right). It fits that whole "Mr. Right Now" instead of "Mr. Right" rule. It's an Urban Outfitters Night and Day convertible bed and the rumors are true. It's not very comfortable, and feels cheap. However, it sure does look good, even though this one is quite worn and the price was right. I found it on Craigslist for $100, and it's normally $600 before shipping. If I paid anymore than that, it would be stupid, but for that price, we're all OK with it not being the most comfortable couch ever. We just wanted another landing spot in the living room. Not a chair, but something to lay on. This fits the bill in the looks and price department. Some day, we'll win the lottery and buy a sectional, but for now, this is pretty OK.
We moved the credenza under the window, which is actually pretty nice, and only slightly awkward because it's not centered under the window. But the dang arms on this brown couch are just so high that anything put under the window next to it looks weird because it gets blocked. I'm vaguely toying with the idea of trying to sell the brown couch and trying to save up to get a sectional. Justin is in agreement, but we also both understand the time and difficulty involved in trying to sell something on Craigslist... Plus, we'd want at least $500 for it because that's close to what we paid a friend for it, and new it's $1500. And it really is in pretty perfect shape. It's definitely the nicest piece of furniture we own, so I'm loathe to think of getting rid of it, but it just doesn't quite work in here! If we had a different house, I'd marry this couch, but as is, I'm just not sure what to do.
I put all of our magazines on this shelf. We love magazines... It's an addiction I think.
Here's the new couch. It is about 2 inches too big for this spot, but it's the least awkward place to put it of all of the myriad of awkward ways we tried to make it work.So this is our living room at the moment. It's feeling pretty OK, and definitely offers better/more seating than before. Which is a big plus.
It looks great and I totally get the Mr. Right Now process. I do that too.
ReplyDeleteIt works.
ReplyDeleteOoh I actually love the new couch, pity it's not comfortable!! Your living room is starting to look pretty darn perfect in my opinion, but I get that the brown couch isn't quite right in there.
ReplyDeleteRhan: Thanks! While I get frustrated with not being able to rush out and buy exactly what we want, I realize that having to wait a few months (or years) to afford the right thing means that you have time to really figure out what you want. We had been toying with the idea of going the cheap route and getting an IKEA Kivik sectional (although we still can't afford that any time soon), which we still haven't ruled out, but I've also been learning about other affordable sectional options, which is great. Other blogs are such a great resource! Pam at RetroRenovation.com just did an amazing post about MCM style couches. I'm looking for sectionals, but it still had a lot of great ideas. If only Macy's Corona still came in a sectional! That would be PERFECT.
ReplyDeleteME: Thanks for stopping by! And thanks for offering an opinion. It's nice to hear others think it doesn't look too much like a train wreck in here... Of course, the coffee table is permanently littered with our 3 year old's collection of teensy toys...
Lucy-Mae: Thanks for being so sweet! And yes, it's very frustrating that the Urban Outfitters furniture is so poorly made. They have great looking stuff, and at sort-of reasonable prices but I have read for years that they just don't hold up well. This one is like sitting on a lumpy, thinly padded piece of plywood, but again, we knew it would be that way. I've been searching for months for cheap couches, loveseats or sectionals on Craigslist, and this is the first stylish one that I've seen at this price point. Most $100 second-hand couches look like $100 couches. This one does up close in terms of wear and tear, and it definitely FEELS like it when you sit on it, but we wouldn't have even been able to find something this cheap at IKEA. The more I sit in this new layout, the more cozy it feels. Justin agrees. And our kitty seems to be loving the new couch. :)
thats what I loath about my house, the rooms are long and narrow, and so I only ever have 2 ways the furniture can move and go! the beds in the bedroom stick into the door way about 2 inches but you hardly notice.
ReplyDeleteMick, I love your house! But I can empathize. Every room in our house has weird shapes, too. Our bedroom is pretty small, and between the weird closet, the windows, the floor vents and the door, there is ONE spot for our bed, and no room for nightstands. Sometimes I think vintage homes just beg for vintage decor because the scale works so well. Can you imagine trying to cram some overstuffed Haverty's furniture in these old houses? Yikes.
ReplyDeleteI do the "Mr. Right Now" thing all the time. I almost think you have to when you're buying vintage furniture, because you have no control over what you find, even though you may know exactly what you want. Temporary solutions can look good too...and yours does. The room is looking great!
ReplyDeleteDana, I agree about patience and vintage furniture shopping. I think one of the hardest things to master is showing restraint when you are trying to make something work that really doesn't work, but also knowing when something is close enough to work for a while. And thank you for your kind words about the room. With each day that passes, we feel better and better about the new set up. Justin keeps commenting on how it's not cluttered. It never struck me before that having arm chairs could equal clutter, but he's right. Two big seating items really does streamline the room. Very relaxing.
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