New York Interior Design: The Couch Saga

Let's talk couches, shall we? Our first couch was a hand-me down that was handed down a couple of times before we were given them just after we got married. U-G-L-Y, but free. :)

Our second couch was a second hand rescue that was white and did not have a slip cover. Need I say more.

Couch #3 was our first major couch purchase. We wanted to do it right so we shelled out and bought a Pottery Barn classic with denim slip cover. After two months I was very disappointed with how the cushions kept their shape {or didn't as was the case}. I contacted PB and they happily replaced the offending cushions. After another 2 months the same thing happened and I accepted my couch's fate that they would be sloppy. I reasoned that it was still an amazing couch because I could wash the covers. This worked fairly well until 3-4 years in when the slipcover developed gaping holes in the arms. Sewing them only prolonged their life for a few washes. Now its the basement couch.

So for couch #4 I was going to be wiser. My hub and I went through every furniture store the greater Grand Rapids area offered. We finally settled on a couch that didn't have sloppy back cushions and was well made. We made sure that they were durable {we have 4 kiddos BTW} and for extra measure had them scotch guarded. Boy did I think I had it right this time!

Hah! Even though I had made sure they were durable and stain resistant I neglected to make sure I could actually clean them!!! Oh to my major disappointment I discovered {after it sat merrily in my living room} that it was dry clean only! WHO MAKES A COUCH THAT IS DRY CLEAN ONLY! And WHO wants to pay through the nose periodically to have them dry cleaned?

And that brings us to couch #5.

The IKEA Ektorp sectional.

We decided to get a 5th couch for logistics. We don't have enough seating for our family in our current set up. Hubby stretches on the couch, I get a chair and the kids end up on the floor. Not ideal for family movie night or for when we have guests. The other reason we got one of course is for ease of cleaning.

Here's the old dysfunctional set up:

When we decided that the IKEA couch was the one for us {and I will explain why in a minute} our big question was: CAN WE FIT THIS THING IN OUR MINI VAN? I mean a sectional is huge. Could we ever get it home? Shipping was an option but our zip code wasn't included in the list of places they ship for the standard charge. For us IKEA is over 2 hours away. Their web site has the dimensions of 2 of the 4 boxes but not all of them.

My hubby offered to go out and see if he could make it work. He said that if he couldn't do them all in one trip he would go back the next day for the rest. {Isn't he sweet!}

I am happy to say that they all fit with "room to spare". Of course there was no room for passengers.

There are two big rectangular boxes, one large square {to the left} and the small box with the slip cover in it {to the lower right}. Yay! They fit!

Assembly was so easy! Those IKEA people sure know what they are doing! It took about 30 minutes to assemble the whole thing {45 if you count tearing down the boxes and throwing the trash away.}

And I am in love! This couch fits us all and is so comfy. The best thing in my mind is that its washable and even if we don't like it in five years it would be inexpensive to replace. This is a family couch!

We bought an extra slip cover in another color {I will show you another time!} and at $99. I feel I can justify replacing it down the road if it falls apart.

In these next pictures you may notice the white lump behind the couch. Oh yes, that is the other couch. Yep, didn't sell on Craigslist this weekend, and nope, it doesn't fit through the door frames to go down in the basement. I will be re-listing this bad boy this weekend again. If worse comes to worse my hubby says now would be a good time to have a party because we'd have plenty of seating for everyone! ;)

Definitely a family couch!

And for now we will be living with a couch in our cramped entry way. Which will become the dumping ground for everyone's stuff when they come home. Anyone want to buy a great used, non cleanable couch?
{didn't think so!}