For the last three years we have had these brown leather couches that Matt has hated for pretty much the whole three years. They weren't long enough for him to lay down, there was no good arrangement for watching tv, and he thought they were too "slouchy" (if you want to call that a word).
Living in rural North Dakota there aren't too many options for couch shopping, so the majority of our couch shopping was online.
The requirements for our couch search were:
- A sectional (so we could get back that valuable corner space in our small living room)
- Not too tall to block the window
- Easy to Clean/Wipe
- Clean modern lines
- Must seat the ENTIRE family for a movie
- Would fit in our little living room
- Had to pass Matt's comfort test (and be long enough for a 6'5" man to lay on)
These were the couches it came down to (get to external links by clicking on pictures):
In the end we went with the SofaMart couch. It's still leather and brown (like our last 2 sets of couches were... what can I say, we're creatures of habit!). Here's why we picked it: we could see it in person to give it the comfort test (although it was a 90 mile drive), we like how easy leather is to clean, and the price couldn't be beat. After selling the gift card and end tables that came with it, and selling our prior couches our total investment will only be $850 for a major upgrade!
By choosing a couch with a chaise we sacrificed some space, but we also gained a lot more seating and a happy husband! I would have been even happier if I could have gotten something with mid-century legs, but sometimes the price trumps all.
Although I like the new couch, I don't like how big and dark it seems. I decided it was time to make some necessary changes to the room to lighten the room up and de-emphasize the large dark couch.
- Find or make a large bright piece of art to fill this wall.
- Raise the curtains to ceiling height, extend the rods further to the sides of the windows, add some bamboo shades, and switch out the curtains for something bright.
- Find or make big bright throw pillows to brighten up the couch.
- Buy a bright colored throw to drape over this side of the couch to break up the brown.
- Find a tiny entry table for keys/drinks/etc.
- Buy a large tray or basket to stage on the chaise. Possibly white? I need to stay away from brown baskets that I am always drawn to!
- Switch out the brown basket for a colorful bright garden stool.
- Stage the fireplace with something kid friendly and unique.
- Update the mantel with chunky barnwood to play off the brown in the couch.
Hopfully I can figure out how to do all these things with our minuscule budget... I think some thrifting and sewing are going to be in store for me!



























































