So, we've been in this house now for almost 20 months and we've had a handful of different sofa sets.
Cheapies
Freebies
Hand-me-downs
This'll-do-for-nows
I'm a firm believer that you can have anything that you want.....you just have to know what you want....and you have to get rid of the things that aren't working, to make room for those things that you want. We homeschool and spend a LOT of time reading. Really....hours a day during the school year. We have a SUPER comfy leather sectional that used to be in our family room/learning room. But it just didn't fit this awkward living room. And it is awkward. I should draw it out for you in Visio one day. But not today. ;-)
Anywho...
The sectional is leather and leather isn't exactly the most comfy thing to sit on for long periods of time. It gets kinda....sticky....
So I thought...
and researched...
and thought some more...
and researched some more (those who know me will NOT be surprised by ANY of this)...
I drew out some sketches of the room with different furniture I'd found online. I knew I didn't want leather, but with 6 boys, I was worried about being able to keep it clean, so I figured slipcovers were the way to go.
I settled on 2 large sofas from Ikea. They have deep comfy seats and cushy back pillows. Comfy enough to sleep on, so definitely comfy enough to read in for hours at a time. And I wanted 2 sets of slipcovers for the inevitable.....testosterone. lol But I wasn't exactly thrilled that the sofas were $500 each before tax and the slipcovers were another $250 per set. So were looking at $1500 for the furniture I wanted. So I kept the above mentioned cheapie/freebie, etc. furniture. But what I wanted couldn't come because there was something in its spot! So I got rid of it. It was a little awkward for a few weeks while we didn't have adequate furniture in there. But it had us really focused on finding what we needed.
Enter Handyman and Re-Store. We have weekly meetings called FEC (Family Executive Council) where we plan out our week, discuss the needs of the boys, projects we're working on, and what we need to do for our homeschool. Right now what we need for our homeschooling is to have our learning areas set up to facilitate learning. We also REALLY don't want any of the projects in this area - kitchen, dining, family room - to disrupt the school year, so we're working to get them done ASAP. SO....in one of our FEC meetings about 3 weeks ago, I filled Handyman in on what we needed in the way of furniture in the family room. Big comfy furniture, fabric, slipcovered, with an extra set of slipcovers.
And NOT $1500....
That's a long way from $0....
Handyman's office is literally 5 minutes from Re-Store, so he stops in there frequently to see if they have any of the things we've talked about needing. Last Friday, he sent me a txt with a pic of a sofa, chair, and ottoman set that they had. It took a phone call and a few pics for me to get what he was communicating to me.
He found our furniture...
Big comfy couch...
BIG comfy chair...think chair-and-a-half...
Cushy ottoman to put in front of the chair or couch to prop up my tootsies while I read to the boys for hours on end.
Fabric....
Slipcovered....
Olive Twill....
WITH...
An extra set of slipcovers!
Yummy Mocha velvet!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!
I know that's what you're thinking.
It's what I said, too.
How much are they Handyman?
$300....should I offer them $250?
YESSSSS!!!!!!
Well, he offered them $200. They said, "How about $240?" SOLD! And then they rang them up for $220. :-)
All of the pieces have legs and SPACE underneath for storage boxes so that I don't have to take up the floorspace with a table. Toys, projects, games, etc. can all be hidden away and still leave room for us to play in the middle of the room.
So, being my normal self, I thought I'd see if I could figure out how much money we'd saved.
Before I could, Handyman said, "Read the note on the box." The box he was referring to was the big box with the other set of slipcovers.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!
Then I was REALLY curious to see how much money we'd saved.
So I went to the Pottery Barn website.
Here's what I found.....
Pottery Barn Charleston sofa with Seagrass twill slipcover (ours is older, so the pillow configuration is different, but it's the same sofa).
$1,499
Everyday Velvet cover in Mocha:
$939
Charleston Chair-and-a-half with Seagrass twill slipcover:
$1,049
Charleston ottoman with slipcover:
$499
Slipcover for chair:
$639
Slipcover for ottoman:
$369
Yes, folks! That's a grand total of $4,944!
Gently used - the twill covers are faded at the top from being in front of a window, but the structure is PERFECT!!!!!
I'll probably dye the twill covers because they're cotton.
And we paid $220.
Do I really need to say anything else?
Oh, if you scroll up to the first pic of the sofa, you'll see the other project we've been working on for about 6 weeks. We have a LOT to do in the next 2-3 weeks to get ready for school to start, so stay tuned. I'm breaking out the paint next week. :)
