What's So Scary About Buying New Furniture?

 

 

I'm not usually afraid of many things.  I used to be afraid of the dark, but I got over that.

(I'll admit I'm deathly afraid of frogs, but that has nothing to do with furniture).

 

What does scare me is buying new things - especially new, expensive, investment kind of things.

 

Like cars, and houses, and furniture. 

 

When we moved into this house, our furniture didn't quite fit.  Our sofa (a large, plaid, hide-a-bed), had to sit at an angle in the living area.  Here it is with it's new neutral cover.  The window seat is to the right and the open stairwell is to the left.  The door behind the sofa is a closet that houses our HVAC unit. 

 

 

The only large wall was covered up by a wall unit from our old house.  It housed our TV, books, games, candles, vases, stereo, and various odds and ends.

Here it is with other furniture removed so I could polish the floors.  The dining area is to the right and the window seat is to the left.

Here's a rather dark picture of the wall unit with other furniture near it.  Everything is a bit tight!

 

 

We had planned on buying new furniture after we had lived in the house for a year, but the kidney disease diagnosis rocked our world and we didn't want to make any non emergency purchases in case I would be out of work for awhile.  Now that I have a new kidney and can work (like a crazy woman) we thought it would be a good time to make some improvements.

 

Last Christmas was the straw that broke the stuffed room's back.  On Christmas morning we had no room to move around with all of the family in the house.  I declared that we needed more room for people - not things,  and the large wall unit had to go.   

 

I searched and researched for months to find the right furniture for the room.  It needed to be sturdy and timeless because I only buy furniture every 25 years or so.  I had to admit, I was scared.  It was good money I was spending and I didn't want to make an unwise choice.

 

I finally settled on a sofa and chair from Lancer, a company is Star, North Carolina.  Everything they sell is American made and built.  I bought it through a local company (Great Bridge Furniture).  They had a sample in the showroom that I could sit on and try out before ordering. They also offer a custom slipcover for only a few hundred dollars more.  I bought one and now I can change up the look for spring/summer buy putting on the slipcover.  I picked a neutral chenille for the main upholstery and a lighter cream Sunbrella fabric for the slipcover.  I know I can add any color pillow and accessories to change up the decor and that helps to take the scary out of buying furniture.   

 

I'm sure you must be wondering what I have on my wall over the sofa.  I made a mock-up of some floating shelves Hubs is making for me out of barnwood.  They should be finished next week.  I put painters tape on the wall in the size I wanted the shelves to be and then I made paper artwork to add.  I measured a bunch of my current frames and accessories and made templates of them to make sure there was enough space between shelves. This helps to take the scary out of hanging something new on your walls.

I got new pillows for my birthday from Steinmart.  They are chocolate brown with white, cream, blue, rust, and yellow.  I'll be adding some more pillows, but I'm trying to keep with the "more space for people - less space for stuff" rule. 

Now, what to do with the TV and all of the stuff that goes with it.  I went back to the local furniture store and found a floor model of a corner cabinet that I liked.  It had the perfect wood finish to match the wood in our house and it fit perfectly in the awkward corner by the closet.  The only time we have to go into that closet is to have a repairman fix our HVAC unit, so we made sure the piece could slide out easily.  I can still fit a small arm chair and ottoman under the stairs for a cozy reading nook. 

The corner cabinet sat flat on the ground and we needed it to be elevated so that air from the vent behind it could still circulate.  I ordered bun feet from a company on line and stained them to match the wood.  Hubs attached them and you'd never know the piece didn't come with them.

I'm very happy with our seating arrangement now.  We should have places for at least 8 adults to sit comfortably on Christmas day.  Keeping things neutral, taking my time, planning ahead, and researching options really helped to take the scary out of spending money on new furniture.  I have to admit that it was time consuming, but worth every minute (and dollar).

Tomorrow, I'll be showing off the new cushions I made for the window seat and you won't believe what I made them out of!