Why is that? Why is it that I can commit to having four kids yet the very idea of buying a new sofa will send me into a nervous sweat and heart palpitations? I mean, you can always unload an unwanted sofa on Craigslist and get a little of the money back. An unruly teen? Not so much.
I've always been this way. When my husband and I were engaged, we really didn't buy anything for the apartment we were going to share after we were married. I was using old, hand-me-down furniture including a sofa so big and ugly, I cry to not have photos of it. It came from the attic of some friends of my in-laws and we honestly had to saw the legs off of it to get it down from the attic. I still have no idea how they got it up there. It was green and at least 6 feet long. Hideous would describe it well.
But, I bonded with it. It was my sofa. I even made a cover for it. However, we thought it would be nice to buy a new sofa together. So, we started shopping.Sure, we had chosen various china patterns, silver, crystal, and all sorts of other things with reckless abandon. Folks were traveling far and wide purchasing lovely items for us we had registered for. But, could we chose a sofa? Oh no.
The wedding came and went. Still, no sofa. We would bring fabric after fabric home to look at. No decisions. This went on for 5 months. Finally, my mother-in-law sat us down and said, "Look. It's just a sofa. Pick one and move on." And we did.We still have it. 23+ years later. It's in my bedroom.
As I sit typing on my laptop, I'm sitting in a chair and a half in our den. With an ottoman. Oh, how I love it. And I have loved it for about 13 years. Far too long for something we sit in every day of our lives. Our elderly relatives can't even sit in it any longer because it sags so low to the ground that they can't stand up out of it. The fabric is faded and fraying. Goodwill wouldn't take it off my hands.
How long have I been trying to replace it? Three years. Yes. Three full years. One store I brought fabric home from numerous times has since gone out of business. I've bought a car since I started shopping for this chair and helped two of my kids choose colleges.I need help. This must be some form of mental illness that keeps me from being able to buy furniture. I'm going to be one of those little old ladies sitting in her faded, nasty house one day surrounded by her cats and her 50 year old furniture.
But at least it has molded nicely to my derrière.
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94 comments:
These pictures are AMAZING! Hysterical! I love how you even "accented" derriere at the end! I also love your analogy about how it's crazy you could have 4 kids, but simple things put you in a tiz. I can soo relate!
You need intervention my dear - lol! I've always wanted to be a personal shopper, are you hiring?
I can't buy furniture either. I personally think that they just do not make a good designed couch anymore. I need a deep couch so I have plenty of room for my tush.
It must fit my style i.e. not floral, white, or brown.
Right now I have a striped velvet vintage couch that you may have to pull from my cold dead hands before you get it.
Speaking of vintage! I got my couch at an estate sale. I was in mint condition until I used it.
It was abvious that the couch had been wrapped in plastic covers its' whole life.
You may try shopping the Estate Sales in the nice neighborhoods this Spring. You may find you next dream couch.
I can always count on your blog for funny writing, Debbie. I understand. I can't commit to buying anything lasting or nice, and spend too much money on coffee or magazines. Which is why I still look like I'm living in a college dorm room.
My gosh, you live with me?!
Actually my husband and I are refusing to purchase any more furniture until our teens (18 and almost 15) move out. We have gone through at least four sofas and each one went the way of the last, with little holes being brought to the size of the grand canyon because they could stick their star wars figures or their dinosaurs or some other toys into the little hole ....
My living room is an embaresment, but at least I know they wont stick around forever.
Trust me, "I feel your pain".
Stop by and read of my recent experience, then BEWARE!
http://lagirlsweetea.blogspot.com/2010/02/old-and-new.html
I'm that same way with furniture. Anything else? Easy peasy. Not so with couches. I've been trying to pick out a couch for 3 years.
LOL. I'm kind of the same way...my problem is I'm afraid to buy anything else new, until my kids are done destroying everything they touch. Right now, we have a sectional in the family room that looks like a bomb exploded in it, you can literally sit inside the thing and the sad part is, it's not even 5 years old. For now our living room has my mother's old furniture that she gave to my brother when he moved out and after he bought a new set, I asked him for it. At least it looks half decent, but when you sit down in it, you can't get back up. If I ever do buy anything new, it'll end up like one of those things where it's covered in plastic and no one's allowed to touch it, let alone sit on it. LOL!
I'm on my first sofa; I've had it for... 8 years, I think! Wow, sounds long. But it's soo pretty and yellow and I don't think it looks worn. Just one thing - it has molded to where I hold my elbow! There's a really nice little cavity in the armrest; I don't think you can see it but you can feel it. I want to have this sofa always!
Hey, I get it. A sofa is a major decision. You have to sit on it. And we don't park our tushes just any old place!
I feel this way about picking paint color. We are currently picking paint for our living room and I have currently have 46 shade of green (seriously, I counted!) taped to the wall and I move them around so I can see them in each light... They have been there for three weeks and still no decision... I need help, too!
Your body will get used to the feel of a new loveseat or something :)
do you know how bad i want to see your furniture right now??? is that weird? and lady, i would KILL for a new sofa! ok, maybe not kill, but i would love nothing more than a new sofa...sigh...
Lo isnt it amazing what we treasure, and although u were glad to see the back of the old sofa, u still have great memories of it, great post :0
I totally understand. Once you buy it you're committed. It's easier to get a new hubby (for some people) than make a committment to a couch.
I hear ya babe!
Oh, yes. Buying something like furniture (is there anything like furniture? maybe not) that is expected to be a part of your home (if not your family) for years to come? So intimidating. And what if your ship comes in one of these days and now you're able to buy the one you really wanted, but you have the second-best couch/chair/dining set, and you feel like you have to be satisfied? (Projecting, much?)
We've been trying to buy a new sofa for roughly the same amount of time.
So funny! I think I have the same condition. I had a queen sized sleeper sofa that I had for about 9 years when Hubby and I married. (It looked perfect since I was single with no kids.)
After 4 or 5 years, we were moving and the bed fell out. (I think it had something to do with the girls-jumping-on-the-sleeper one night several years early.) We decided to junk that sofa and just used 2 loveseats for 2 or 3 years.
We were moving to a smaller apartment after the last kid moved out and Hubby agreed to live where I wanted to if I would agree to get a sofa. LOL!
So we did. Teal leather. It is beautiful. We paid $100 for it at a resale shop. Yeah!
I'm the exact opposite. I'd replace my furniture every other day if we could afford it!!
But hey if it's comfy and you have a specially marked place for your butt to sit, by all means...stay with what you love!!
Oh my gosh, that is so funny. I have the same problem with paint colors. I hope you are able to get past this and have new furniture soon.
I can relate to your dilemma. I hate to shop for furniture -one, because I rarely have funds enough to shop for big things and two, I can never make up my mind which item(s) I really like the best. Indecisiveness -that's what my middle name should have been!
My husband and I own a furniture showroom, so I will refrain from commenting... ;-)
Buying a large piece of furniture such as a sofa is big pain in the butt. You have to sit on it long enough to see if it is really comfy or just looks like it would be comfy. If you get it home and you don't like it you are back to square one. And on top of having to still find a sofa you have one you have to now get rid of too. Sheesh.
I find nothing bizarre in anything you say any more. This worries me.
It's a big commitment! It's almost like trying to figure out if you will be watching Lost, or Celebrity Fit club. Tough choices.
You are not alone - I cannot buy a sofa to save my life......ever. Usually it's whoever else is in my life that finally says enough and just picks one. It's just too much committment :)
Heh....good luck!! We're furniture shopping, too. My advice? Find a store whose style you admire, and never look anywhere else for your chair. At least that narrows it down to about 8!
I find it hard to buy something expensive. If you make a mistake or the color is bad, then I just feel that buyers remorse. My newest couch is actually a used hand me down from my mom. I love it! It was FREE!
I hate buying furniture...it is like an all day, sometimes all weekend ordeal!
I think you should send a friend out to buy your furniture! :D
Are you sure that was a sofa? Looks like a ton (tonne?) of moss masquerading as a sofa. Now what I want to know is this. What is in it for the moss? Self-esteem?
*laughing* I am so thinking of the goldy-yellow courderoy chair GMR had from who knows where and when, through two of his marriages and before I think -- but, it was his and he loved it and it was comfy -- until the day he brought home a stray dog who tore it asunder - I admit I was sort of glad *laugh*
and the dog's owner apologized profusely - teheeheh ....
Oh yeah. Furniture is a way bigger commitment than a child. Okay, it only seems that way. I just want to be really, really, really happy with my couch, and since I get to choose what it looks like, I'm going to be taking a long time deciding! :) I don't get to choose what my kids look like, and I love them anyway.
My name is Pippi and I can't buy clothes or furniture. I can buy a car, but clothes and furniture...forget it.
I'm just about to go couch shopping. If I don't I will have no couch. That is not an option...I don't want to sit on the floor.
Well I have to think a bout this one....the photos...are great..
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Its a big commitment for sure! A couch says so much about us, don't you think?! :)
I bought a couch on a whim once. Now I know what I don't want in a couch. Removeable cushions are nice for cleaning up but with 3 boys in the house, the cushions end up on the floor or piled up on one side of the couch. Why oh why can't I just have a nice looking couch? Oh. That's right. I have three boys.
Furniture is a big commitment. I always figure my cheapness prevents me from making the buy. I am always surprised how expensive stuff can be.
I'm guessing the couch you've had for 23+ years that's in your bedroom isn't hideous enough to show us a picture of it?
I had a chair and a half with a matching ottoman and I had it going on 10+ years, but unfortunately when I consolidated homes last year and we didn't have room for it, I had to donate it - WAH!!!
Wow, furniture phobia. I bet there is a self-help group for that. I'm just the opposite. I hate shopping so much I just go in, point, hand over my card and say deliver that one, please.
Those pictures are great!! So funny. Just go buy a sofa... BigLots is good option. It might not be the best but the price is usually right.
I relate. And I'm that way about cars. Sentimental. That good memories can come from old things is natural, I believe, and we should enjoy it - and our old things! New things fall apart anyway.
Welll....I am the same. I know, i know..we have an illness. It is just that if you get the wrong couch, or the wrong color, you have to change the whole decor of your home, and then? Might as well just move and give up. Sheesh. stupid couches.
Go for it, now. You were probably just waiting for your kids to be on their way out so it won't get trashed as much. Sometimes you just gotta close your eyes and jump!
I understand. I've needed new carpet for 5 years. Every time I get close to taking on that task, something else catches my eye. Something I enjoy taking on much more.
And... when others don't sit in your chair because they can't get out of it? Guarantee it is indeed yours, all to yourself.
Too funny. I know what that's like. Well maybe not that bad but it is hard to make the commitment when you still have a good relationship with your old furniture. :)
haha i get like that when it comes to purchasing crockery! i can appreciate fine glass ware but when it comes to buying it i get absolutely confused and clueless!
all the best with your sofa hunting!
and thanks for stopping by my blog too...have a lovely day today.
~persis.
http://onestylemile.blogspot.com/
Debbie, honey, you need a personal shopper, or a "shopping guru," as I'd rather be known :))
lol. i will probably be the same way, should we ever buy new furniture. so far it's all been hand-me-downs or freecycle!
thanks for stopping by my blog!
~ marfmom @ marfmom.com
Okay, this is sooooooo me and Fred. As a matter of fact, this reminds me that I have a post started long ago about our last couch buying excursion and what a fiasco that was...and the hunter green sagging monstrosity that is sitting forlornly in the basement still today, becasue nobody wanted it, even after we lowered the price to $10 and hauled the hideous thing to the end of the driveway on yardsale day. Oh yeah, I'm gonna have to dig that out of the archives and finish it.
Love it! WE have a sagging old sofa, but it is so familiar .. just too hard to replace.
Hey what disorder is that any way..Bi-Sofa Disorder...maybe there's a support group...LOl..I can change furniture like underwear...and I do...but there is always that one favorite couch or chair that you just gotta keep..I know how that feels too.!Comfort is so important..!!
Too funny... My hubby and I have been able to buy 4 (plus given 1) sofas since we got together in 1996 and we finally just bought the one we think is the "real" one we have always wanted.
I feel your pain!! :-)
Ha!! I will never buy furniture full price again. After selling my entire house of beautiful furniture for a fraction of the original cost in order to cut down on our cross country moving expenses I have vowed to never enter an actual furniture store again. I will scour Craigslist for bargains for the rest of my life...maybe I'll find some of yours????
Been moving cross country, just landed, sorry I've been out of touch...
Lots of love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com
We keep our furniture indefinitely because we know the children might NEVER be done destroying it, and it seems so pointless to get anything new.
I think there's a 12-step group for that, Debbie!
GRRRRRRREAT PHOTOS!!
I hate decorating in general. When we bought new furniture for our house I was miserable--I had no idea what to pick out! It's like I knew what I wanted but had no "vision".
hilarious !
and i can relate.
the easiest of decisions sometimes seem so difficult, don't they?
i hope you 'get there' soon.
til then --- cheers! in your oh so comfy -- built for you furniture
happy thursday-
Good luck on that one. Our sofa and loveseat are still in good shape but we are definately going mattress shopping soon. My side and his side are all worn in and the middle isn't big enough for the both of us. I just hate the pitchy sales people.
I've been looking for the PERFECT sofa for almost 5 years... you're not alone!
I say pick three options then draw out of a hat.
LOL! Maybe you are giving yourself too many choices. Before hand just commit to one or two stores and promise yourself that you will find something at one of those places! I just suggest doing so before you get poked by springs! LOL!
I think they have counseling for this type of disorder!!! Haha!!! This is totally something I do not have a problem with!!!
Lol! Okay too funny.. and say it with me, "it is just a sofa"
But like I am one to talk.. my house is pretty plainly decorated because I can never decide what to do... and am too cheap to do much of anything :)
I almost peed myself. I was just sharing at another blog...my friend got an old chair off the street...It had a giant spider in it. We had to throw it back out.
The last photo is my fav.
3 years looking for a sofa sounds about right to me! Good luck on that. my friend has a lazyboy sofa with a table in the middle. I want one!!
3 years looking for a sofa sounds about right to me! Good luck on that. my friend has a lazyboy sofa with a table in the middle. I want one!!
For me it's an age thing...in my younger days I'd just make a decision and buy something. Now I realize I'll be living with it for many many years and it makes it harder to commit.
Oh you're hysterical! If we lived in the same town I'd gladly take you out shopping...I LOVE shopping for sofas and chairs!
What you I know you want a lovely green couch. Good luck in finding one. Thanks for your kind words today.
pick whatever u like,
isn't it easy?
I love your writing.
always packed with humor
and useful information.
best!
Hey ... why do you have a photo of my ugly green couch on your blog???
Here's a suggestion: Go to a furniture store blindfolded. (of course, have your husband with you to guide you.) Sit on various couches and pick one based on how they feel. Never even see it until it is delivered. Problem solved!
I'm thinking you don't really WANT to get rid of it or you would have. And isn't it nice to have something so comfy and cozy and reliable? How many other pieces of furniture can you trust your derrierre to?
We should go shopping together, we would balance each other out perfectly - I grab the nearest thing as a "that'll-dofornow". Not that I actually LIKE it, but I need to get to know it first, is all.. after a couple of year, I usually LOVE the hideous monstrosity that was (grin)..
Stopping by from Friday Follow to say Hi! I already follow and hope you are having great week - can't believe another week has gone by!
I get attached to things too. My sofa? Older than I am. It's the first sofa I ever sat on in my life - seriously - I'm propped up on it in the photos of me fresh home from the hospital. Thank goodness it was made well and can weather being reupholstered constantly!
Hi just stopping in to say Hi from Friday Follow!
Happy Friday!
Tami
www.heartsmakefamilies.com
I found your great blog from Follow Friday Blog hop. Now following!
http://bloggerchixdesigns.blogspot.com
It does take me a long time to buy furniture also. I keep thinking something must be wrong with it or it will break in a month!
Someone need to haul you to a furniture place with one goal in mind! :)
I enjoyed reading your post.
This is such a sweet post :) the tale of the un-acquired sofa
I got here on the Friday Follow McThingie - so glad I did! I can completely sympathize with your plight. Good luck - our thoughts are with you.
;)
Loved your post! Little bit of everything on this, the best was the Reality shows, those ones are so stupid! Following you from Friday follow, hope to see you soon!!~
I'm pretty lucky when it comes to furniture. I never have to buy it. With the exception of a couple of pull out couches (we had to leave the first one in our last apartment guest room/office since we had no idea how to get it out), I've been given pretty much everything as a gift or hand me down from my parents. It's one of the perks of being a decorator's daughter. But I do love to shop and I love furniture - so if we had any money, I don't think I'd have a problem in this area.
Your MIL cracks me up. I liked that part of the story.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this post, I was laughing out loud!!!
You are a laugh riot and I wanted to present you with the Sunshine Award AND the Beautiful Blogger Award for all your fanastic-ness!
http://mommyfriend.com/2010/02/25/mad-love.aspx
LOL I love your posts! From Friday Follow.
I like this blog.. you make it simple yet very sensible.. Keep up the good work.
All I'm saying is you have to be careful with these things because as you get old and forget to go to to the bathroom, your 50-year old furniture with its Cheetohs and peanuts and urine will start to attract squatters. Little fuzzy squatters with long rodent-like tails. The plus side is, rarely do they judge you and your ability to buy new furniture. I have to say...I'm exactly the same way about sheets, though. So, I'm not here to judge, either. ;)
Here's a thought. Just buy another one on Craigslist. No big investment, no big decision. If you don't like it, what's the harm, what's the loss? Unless you don't like the idea of sitting on top of fabric unknown humans inhabited before you. I guess you could always get it slipcovered . . .
A chair and a half! I'm sitting in one right now. LOVE it. Thankfully, it's only a year old. :)
I have a 25+ year old couch and love seat in my living room right now....let me know if you find a 12-step program for this sickness of ours....smiles.
When Paul and I combined our households of furniture he had a sofa and chair that I refused to let come up from the cellar. It did come in handy for something for he cat to sleep on. I celebrated when it finally left.
It's such a hard decision b/c you keep your furniture for so long. It's a BIG committment! I totally get that. Don't even talk "carpet" to me. OY!
I'll help you! My degree is in Interior Design. Send me pictures of your room the sofa is intended for and pictures of your sofa possibilities and I'll tell you which one to buy. Because it really is easier to tell someone else which sofa to buy than to pick your own. ;o)
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