Thursday, April 23, 2020

front door and decisions, decisions


Oh, hello.


I recently ordered this decal for my front door from an etsy shop called Lighthouse Decals. Something fun; a bit of whimsy. Something we all need these days. 


I've been spending a lot of time online looking for certain needed things for our home: patio cushions and pillows, a rug and chair for Brian's office, a welcome mat for the front porch, an odd-sized frame for a print, a bench or banquette for the kitchen table. It's not pleasant ~ at least not for me. There's too many choices and I end up falling down that internet rabbit hole. Other times, I've bookmarked things I've liked but I'm not completely sure on, or I want to show Brian first. And when I go back to them, they're out-of-stock.

One thing I will not order online is a sofa. Or couch. (Whatever you want to call it.) Too risky. I have to see it in person and sit on it and even lie down on it. When you're spending that much money and it's something non-returnable, no way. We'd looked in person for a sofa at several furniture stores in the past year. We never found anything we were 100% sure about, so we didn't buy. But now that I'm stuck in the house and I stare at our old sofa more than I used to, it's really bothering me.  Side note: excuse the small plate of berries and almonds; I was eating breakfast and thinking about a blog post and got up to take a photo. No staging, just real life.


This sofa is 14 years old. It is worn out. The cushions sink all the way down when you sit on them. There is no support. I can't sit on this sofa for more than 10 minutes without my back killing me. Not to mention, it's permanently discolored despite being professionally cleaned. 


And, my cats used to use the arms of the couch as a scratching post. I have a post by this arm of the sofa now and that's really helped. But the damage is done. We obviously can't go to stores now and sofa shop, so here's what I'm wavering on...


We have an IKEA sofa in the basement family room. It's about eight years old, but hardly used. As empty nesters, Brian and I never use this space in the basement. We have a ranch-style house so everything we need is on the first floor ~ kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathrooms.

Going down the stairs into the basement, you can see how we have the sofa facing the TV. Which we never watch. Unless we're under a tornado warning and are camped out in the basement, or I'm on the treadmill. Both not frequent events. đŸ˜‰


One reason we chose this IKEA sofa for the basement was because it came in pieces in a box. There was no way a regular sofa would fit around a corner and through a doorway going down into our basement. So we were able to assemble the sofa from the box right there in the basement.


Can you see where I'm going with this? I was thinking...

We could disassemble this sofa and bring upstairs to put in the living room to temporarily replace the ugly, old tan sofa. After all, even though this sofa is a cheap one, it certainly looks a lot better than what we have in the living room right now. 


But here's the cons: 

  • I'd have to have Brian and our next door neighbor move the living room sofa to....where? Out by the curb and hope that someone picks it up with a day or two? What if they don't? We'd have to put the sofa in the garage and leave my car out on the driveway. For a long time.
  • The disassembling and reassembling of the IKEA sofa is going to be a real pain-in-the-tush.
  • That leaves us without a sofa in the basement and it's going to look weird down there without one. (I know, I know...we don't use this space. It's just an aesthetics thing to me.) And then once we are finally able to furniture shop again and do find a sofa for the living room, the IKEA sofa would once again have to be disassembled, carried back down to the family room, and reassembled.

    Whaddya think? Would you go for it? Or just leave things be until you could finally go sofa shopping in person again?


12 comments:

  1. I'd try putting some kind of support under the sofa cushions to see if that would help. Then I would wait until I could shop in person.

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  2. I love your basement, by the way. It is so cozy down there. I love the wall color too. I have no projects planned here, maybe I will paint a focal wall in the basement?

    I think that sounds like a good idea for a temporary solution. Actually, I like that couch for a permanent solution but I am only seeing it on my computer screen and you have to live with it. HA!

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  3. OH and I love that decal! It looks so cute! I even want to get one for my green door.
    What size did you order?

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  4. I would leave things be for the next few months and see what happens with this crazy world we live in.... Your door decal is cute!

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  5. I think you should wait until you can shop in person, especially since you have no where for the old couch to go for now. But we do get "cabin fever" from being stuck inside so much and notice all of the projects and problems in our homes! So do whatever you think best! You have a lovely home and have made great decor choices! Have a nice weekend!!

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  6. It would make much more sense to wait and shop for what you want. However, like you, I'm the kind of person who just won't let it go if there's something I'm looking at every day and don't like. So, I support you either way! The door decal is warm and friendly:)

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  7. I think it's going to bug you not having a couch in the basement because I kind of know you and you're like me I think about things like this. Have you considered a nice comfy chair for each of you? I've ordered quite a few chairs online and never been burned, but I know you want to see it in person. So I don't know. Big decision.
    Brenda

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  8. As someone who spent far too many hours this morning looking for patio wall art, I can relate to your feelings on online shopping. After all that time, I'm no closer to having something for the patio. I think all of this time at home gives us more time to notice things that we might otherwise be too busy to see or care about. I would be tempted to make the couch switch too. However, since it sounds like a lot of work, it might make more sense to wait it out. If the wait drags on too long, it might be time to re-assess :). I realize I have been no help at all in your dilemma. One thing I can tell you for sure is that I love the Hello decal on your pretty yellow door. What a cheery entry.

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  9. Love the front door decal. I think you should just wait and buy a couch when things life after another month or so for us so you can sit on them. I love seeing more of your house. Love the basement. I like the couch down there looks very comfy.
    Have a great weekend.

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  10. I would probably wait until I could try/find a sofa I loved. I think the basement looks great the way it is,actually. I know this sounds crazy but if you could get your hubby (or someone) to cut a piece of plywood that fits across the base of the sofa (under the cushions) that would make a huge, huge difference. We did that with a sofa the kids used in our lower level years ago and it worked out great. Just a thought-
    AND- You had me at Hello! xo Diana

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  11. So may decisions but I can see why you are now bothered by the upstairs sofa. Not that I don't think it looks fine, but I know once something starts bothering me I can't let it go until it is fixed. I was just about to get Little B a new bed from IKEA and the stores closed. So now I am trying to wait it out but I find myself creeping on their website and scoping out beds, linens and maybe a dresser....see I can't stop!

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  12. Hello I am a new follower to your blog. I love the pictures of your home. It does look like a "comfy house." We have some old furniture I would also like to replace, or at least reupholster. It's a big decision. I hope you have a good Sunday and I will be back again soon to see what you decide about your couch. :-)

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