Confession Number One: I’m not really a couch potato.
There are so many things to do, even if we are mostly staying at home thanks to COVID-19.
Work takes up a fair slab of my time. As does sleep. What’s left over tends to be split between cooking meals and keeping the house running (laundry and boring stuff like that); and more enjoyable activities like reading, doing a jigsaw puzzle, watching some TV or Netflix.
I’ve been known to crash on the couch on lazy weekends, to binge watch the many house shows – Escape to the Country, Bargain Beach Hunt, Tiny Homes, House Hunters International, Selling Houses Australia – but it’s not a regular occurrence.
But when I *do* crash on the couch, or even just sit on it to watch the news, I’d like it to be none the worse for wear when I get up.
It’s not too much to ask for is it?
Confession Number Two: Three months in, I am really disappointed with hate our new couch.
The husbear and I spent nearly twelve months looking for the right corner couch for our family room, when the springs went in our previous one (after about ten years of faithful service).
Our budget was flexible but at the same time we wanted value for money. Our wish list included:
- A fabric that wouldn’t invite Miss Fleur to sharpen her claws. Our previous suede one was great; unfortunately suede seems to have gone out of style. Anything textured or tweedy was a disaster waiting to happen.
- A corner configuration that fit into our family room.
- Sturdy construction and definitely no springs, those suckers hurt when they pop through.
- A pleasing shade of grey (that hopefully won’t show too much dirt!).
- Something with a higher back on it, so that we could rest our heads if desired.
- Back cushions that kept their shape and didn’t collapse into a soggy heap every day.
- In a modern style.
We narrowed it down to two couches, and actually put an order on an Ikea one … which we ended up cancelling, because we noticed in store that the smart piping around the cushion edges had a habit of twisting up so that it no longer sat neatly, looking very … howdy-doody (sorry, can’t think of a better word to describe it)!
So we ended up going with one from Fantastic Furniture which was half the price. We didn’t like the style quite as much, it was very similar to our old one and I’d hoped for something a little more modern (ie on legs), but it seemed to be the right fit for us and we couldn’t argue with the price tag. Husbear also had a brilliant idea to buy a couple of the cylinder cushions we’d seen at Ikea, to use as head rests, and we got some additional fabric from Fantastic so he could re-cover them (except … I’m still waiting for that to happening, LOL).
The problem is that the seat and back cushions move around, which means the couch constantly looks sloppy. The seat cushions can get so bad, you physically have to get up and shove them back into place when you’re trying to relax.
Plus – it ALWAYS looks messy! Exhibit A:
We’ve had this problem before with back cushions – eventually the husbear was able to modify them by stitching a couple of buttons in the middle which helped keep the stuffing in place. So I guess he will be doing that with the new couch in time.
But the seat cushions? I’m not sure what the solution is for that.
Sigh.
Have you ever suffered “buyer’s remorse”, or been really disappointed in a piece of furniture or other expensive purchase?!