Sit and Stay for a While

The new couch is FINALLY in place. If you have been following the blog, you might remember a post in November, “To Hell and Back, How We Got Our New Couch.” As soon as it arrived, I was ready to pitch the old sofa and begin using the “new” one. However, it was missing a couple of legs, so we could not sit on it until they were replaced. As always, this was a much more arduous process than one would imagine, and thus, we spent over a month with a large, unusable sofa taking up much of our living room. The OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) in me had a very difficult time relaxing in such a visually chaotic setting, but finally, things are clean and orderly once again.

I feel much happier and more productive in my living room now. Here is what I look like as I create this blog post. You might wonder why there are two laptops operating. It is because I like to watch movies on Netflix while I work. Having grown up in a large family, I cannot work without background noise of some kind.

I know that this type of couch and table would not work for everyone, but it is a perfect arrangement for me. Previously, I did most of my work while sitting on the couch with my laptop on my lap. Papers and other paraphernalia would be strewn across the couch and coffee table. The coffee table itself was not nearly of adequate size to fill my needs. Especially when grading I need a lot of space to spread things out. This table came out of the trash. It is in perfect condition. It is a little high for my needs, but the ultimate plan is to cut down the base and paint the table…eventually. I have a feeling that it will be a while before we have time for such a project. In the meantime, it is a little high, but it works for now. I also picture the board games that we will be able to play and puzzles we will be able to do on this table.

Before we could do anything, we had to find new legs to put on the sofa. The challenge was to find something that we both liked and could afford. Finally, we found these legs. The color is now perfect for the current color of the couch, but I plan to reupholster as soon as possible, and the new legs will look better with the color it will be. We ordered the legs and new hardware we ordered on this site.

Then, we had to take the existing legs off of the couch. That was not too difficult, and I did it one afternoon while Douglas was still at work. There were also blocks screwed onto the bottom, and I was not able to take those off by myself. Douglas had trouble as well. The screws were stripped, so he had to pound a screwdriver into them with a hammer and then use a lot of muscle to get them off with pliers.

The existing legs were not placed symmetrically. This bothered me, but Douglas did not understand why. He did not think that anyone would notice. I knew that I would know, and it would upset me. He became angry when I asked him to change the placement of the new legs. I told him that I would mark where I wanted them to be. It was challenging to place them symmetrically because there were so many holes under the couch. Apparently, the legs that were on the couch when I bought it were not the original legs. I would bet that the legs had been replaced several times, and each time new holes were drilled. Finally, everything was ready to attach the new legs. Douglas and I worked together. It took longer than I thought it would, but we were able to do it in an evening.

Crème “helped.” It was a family affair.

I put moleskin on the bottom of the legs so that we could slide the couch without damaging the floor. Moleskin, such as this offered by REI, is used by athletes to prevent blisters. It is easy to cut, so I liked it better than the pads that are made to use on furniture legs.

The next challenge was to remove the old leather sofa. No one was here to help us so I was not able to take any pictures of the event. We gave the couch to a coworker. I am glad that someone is using it; I loved that old couch. I love the new sofa as well, and the animals agreed with me. They all jumped on as soon as it was in place. Even Cooper, the springer spaniel, who was a guest in our house that weekend.

Lastly, we had to assemble the table. Thankfully, the previous owners taped the hardware to the top of the table, so we were able to attach the top easily.

So, we have a new place to sit. Come over and try it out!

Happy Homemaking!