Sunday, September 7, 2008

Buying a Couch

I know, this isn't a furniture blog. But I've been thinking about my couches a lot lately. They are the couches that the big man and I bought right after graduating from college. One is from Ikea and the other is from Pier One (bet you didn't even know that Pier One made couches, did you?). And they are faded, spat up upon, saggy, and generally in need of replacement. Not to mention that the Ikea one has been detested by one member of our household virtually since the day it was purchased. Even I admit that it doesn't really go with our style anymore.

OK, so we obviously need new couches. But every time I look at all the spit up stains on our current couches, I think, well, maybe we can keep these for just a little while longer. You know, until he gets big enough to stop ruining upholstered furniture. When is that? When he's 18?

So my advice (this IS an advice blog, after all), is BUY NEW COUCHES BEFORE YOU HAVE CHILDREN. Get rid of the Ikea monstrosity. Buy a nice couch while you can enjoy it spit-up-free for a few years. Then when it gets all messed up, at least it's not 15 years old. And you actually can imagine keeping it for a while. And then you can use the spit up (and juice and chocolate milk and dirt and finger paint) stains to justify getting a nice new couch when your little one turns... 12?

2 comments:

~Crystal~ said...

I'm not sure how much you like leather, but ours have held up so well through everything and those amazing little mr clean magic erasers take every pen mark off so easily! We bought our camel colored set from gallery furniture and we only spent $1900 on the whole set that way we won't feel guilty getting nicer living room furniture when the children are a little more responsible =0) Good luck shopping.

just me said...

Yeah, although I have some ethical reservations, the leather really seems tough (no kid stains, but the mutt does have free rein). Ours is a dark color (and they offered "biological fluid insurance" actually...)

K