Out with the old (couch)

Out with the old (couch)

I am really in a sharing mood this week! Now I want to show you pictures of our new-and-so-improved Rumpus Room. So this is the room where we spend by far the most amount of time. Because this is the room with the TV. And now it’s also the room with the awesome new couch!

But before we get to the new couch, here’s a reminder of what the old one looks like:

This is the couch my parents bought when we moved into a new house… when I was six. In like 1983. So, I’ve pretty much had this couch my ENTIRE LIFE. It plays a huge role in most of my childhood memories (so many games of lava played on this couch!), and high school memories (I remember sobbing while reading Gone With the Wind on this couch) and when Andy and I bought our house and this couch replaced the super-modern and not-super-comfortable couch that I had as a single person, it started to be a big part of my memories with Andy, too. Originally it was teal velvet, which was AWESOME. About 10 years ago my mother had it reupholstered in this wool plaid — imported directly from Scotland, she would proudly tell you.

From Ethan Allan, this couch obviously was built to last, but at 30 years old, the cushions have gotten a little shlumpy and the cats have used it for scratch practice a few too many times. Plus it’s just really not our style, with the rolled arms and skirt and the dark plaid fabric. So it’s time to say goodbye. We’re going to donate it to the Cleveland Furniture Bank, which provides furniture to needy people, so I love to think of my couch going to a family that really needs it, and that they’ll also have great memories of times spent on this couch. I’m such a sap like that. (( Unless you’re in Cleveland and you’re reading this and you really want to buy it from me, because it’s technically just moved temporarily into the entry. ))

So out with the old and in with the NEW. When we were in New York a few months ago we stopped at the CB2 showroom and “tried on” every couch they had. This is not the one we thought we were going to like, from our Internet pre-shopping, but it was love at first sit in the store. I (im)patiently waited for it to either go on sale or for them to offer free shipping, which finally happened in May, and I ordered this Avec Tweed Sofa asap.

So here is our Rumpus Room now! Love it. I’ll take proper photos soon, but this is a quick one I snapped the other day when I was taking the photos of the pink living room (the rooms face each other — we should make a diagram of this house for you.  It has so many little rooms that all open up to each other!) The new couch has perfectly vintage modern styling that we both love, it covers up stains well so far, and is such a great length for naps.

As you can see, we also moved a rug in here. I’ve been thinking about wanting a rug for a long time but rugs are just so gosh darn expensive. Finally I had the idea to move this rug that we had in our entry into this room. It fits pretty well, but ideally I’d like something a little bit lighter, a little less gray. (I actually had my heart set on this one from Target, which is super soft and squishy and the perfect colors, and at $250 for a 7×10, also an *AMAZING* deal, but Andy said he thinks the thick pile might be a really bad idea when a cat inevitably throws up on it, which, yes, he’s right about, but uugghh). So this is a decent solution for now.

A new couch also requires new pillows. Duh. I LOVE the pillows on the old couch, which my friend’s mom made for me and they are awesome, so those will be reused somewhere else in the house for sure. These new pillows are from Crate & Barrel and are actually outdoor pillows, but I like that because it means they’re super easy to clean.

So that’s the update on our Rumpus Room… in way too many words!!

Shopping list:
Couch — Avec Tweed Sofa, CB2 Rug — CB2 (no longer available) Pillows — Crate & Barrel (not online)

Throw — West Elm

Coffee and side tables — vintage