Our "new" living room furniture

   This posting might not be of interest to many of you, and that's o-kay. The main reason I'm doing it, is so that the ones whom can't come around often, can still see the changes in our home.
   On the other hand, maybe you will find it inspiring - how to pull off a "new living room" with out bankrupting your bank account.

    Most all of our furniture had always been of the "early attic" variety. Then we had our house fire. Courtesy of our insurance company, Brian and I went out and picked out two new couches, as well as a wonderful, door closeable, entertainment center.
    The couches were supposedly two seater, tanish in color, sink into the comfort of them, couches.
     Here is a picture of one of our "part time sons", with his wife and one of their sons, taken years ago when they were here visiting. It was so-o long ago, that their second son is now at least this age. And this son is now in school. ;->   But it's the clearest picture of the couch I could find (at least one I was willing to put on the web. o;-p)

    The thing is, the couches weren't exactly designed to last forever. Especially enduring the life style we live. Right off the bat, they would often hold five (yes, 5 - three in the seat part and one on each end cushion) teenagers during our 'Sunday Night Movie Nights'.  (Good memories right there!)  And they'd hold multiple bodies and endured wrestling, etc. when all of our "part time kids" would come 'round. (Which was weekly for several years there.)  Let alone just our four sons, and a big strong dog, a-n-d life. As we know and live it. Which equals crazy!
     Over time, the seats started sinking further. And further. Till the springs totally gave out under one cushion of each of the couches. So Brent mended them. Then mended them again. And ...
    They needed replaced. But a couch was never allowed to even stay on the priority list, let alone climb to the top of it and get handled. More of that 'life' stuff.

    Sometime after the fire, we had also acquired what had been my parent's brown couch. I don't remember exactly when. I do know that we had all three couches the year that both Brandon and Brent had their tonsils out the same day. They were both in high school at the time.
    Any-ways, like I said, the big brown couch had come via my parents. I asked my dad if he remembered when they had gotten it, because we had had it as long as I could remember.  Here's the answer he sent me - "Sure do!!!! It was in 1957 - we got two end tables, two lamps and a coffee table to match it at the same time. Back then we paid $2,000.00 for it --- which was a lot of money then. They said it would last us for quite a while and it has!! We got it reupholstered 2 times I think!! Love you, Dad."   Yup, they had had it since before I could even possibly remember.  ;->
     It was one of the original 'futon' style couches. You rocked the bottom up and back, and it would flatten out into 3/4 of a sized bed. You could store the brace for when it was a bed, as well as sheets and blankets, in the base of it. It was built solid. And HEAVY (as any of the guys in my family will eagerly (and moan-fully) attest to. ;-p)
     Oh the memories I have connected to that couch over the many years it existed. From my parents living rooms. As well as my own. But I can't share them, because (my sister) Brenda and I, "know nothing!!!" ;-p!!!
     I know my brother Craig still had the end tables and coffee table up til the point that he married Stacy. Not sure where they went after that.  But this posting isn't about them.
     This is the best picture I could find that showed a lot of the couch. In most of the pictures I found, the majority of it was covered up either by people, or 'stuff'.

     Benson - in one of his long hair periods. (He has donated to 'Locks of Love' three (or is it four?) times.

    I'd say that couch lasted for more than "quite awhile"!!! The first part of the break in it's back, happened when my brother Craig and his son Andy were wrestling on it, in my living room. There was no denying the sound that it omitted. Then one time, as I was attmpting to scooch "the beast" myself, while cleaning and rearranging the room, the arm rest on one end broke off. Bother! And then the back broke more when my guys were... And then more ... Till we literally wedged it on an angle across one corner of the room, so that it was braced against the two walls. Then it got to the point, that if you leaned back against it's back, it kept going. Old fashion proper lady sitting, where your back is ram rod striaght and not touching the back of the chair, was pretty much the only way to sit on it. Or in the very last spot on either end.
     So I started having people take me on 'mission store therapy' trips, so that I could look for couches. We wanted one that made into a bed. With a thicker mattress. Not one of those 1/4 of an inch thick thingies. But my shopping turned up nothing. At least couch wise.

    Then one day, as we were headed out a nearby street, heading to pick Benson up from work, there, in these peoples driveway, sat a couch, a dresser, and some appliances. It was the same weekend that Brent was moving into what was to become his and Kayla's house. So at first, we were going to put it upstairs into the room that was going to become my sewing room. That way it could be a bed for when Byron and Cyndi (or Brent and Kayla) spent the night here. I would just keep looking for one (or more) for the living room.
     But then Byron and his kids moved home, due to him and Cyndi separating. Thus we started moving around who was in which bedroom, etc..
     The crazy thing is, that before any of the bedrooms got finished, the living room got "new" furniture. Both of the small couches, as well as the brown couch, got loaded up into the back of Brandon's pickup, and a couple of days later they were taken to Pitsch Wrecking (cheaper than putting city tags on all three, and less gas consumption than driving to the closest dump).
     The brown couch was so broken, yet still so heavy, that the guys had quite a time trying to get it out of the house. These pictures tell the tale best.

                              (the back is laying on the porch floor)

     Then the blue checkered couch we had picked up for $20.00 off of that small sale, got moved into the living room.

  (the difference in the color of the bottom and the rest, does not show up this much "live")

    And the tan couch out of the basement, got moved up to the living room. Brandon and Brent had gotten it from Byron, when they had moved out on their own. Byron had gotten it from Cyndi's mom, when she'd bought a new one. 

    And the wing chair (?) which I had gotten a few years ago for Brain (nabbed it for $35 at Goodwill), which had been in the corner of our room, joined the couches in the living room.

    My trunks, which we use to use as "coffee tables", are currently stacked in the front entry. That leaves a big open space in the middle of the room, which aids in navigating Elliot's bouncy seat, and dancing 2 1/2 year old Analyse, and Boo and Daisy when they are here, as well as the rest of us. "Traffic flow" can become ever so interesting!

   The blue couch didn't come with a mattress. For now, to help it sit more comfortably, we took the cushions off of the small couches before getting rid of them, and put them in where a mattress is suppose to be. MUCH better!

    Oh, the rocking chair is still in the living room as well. And gets used as "grandma's chair" quite often. ;->

[I'm filing this under 'projects we've done', cuz I'm really not sure where to put it. Besides, trust me when I say, that getting everything moved around, W-A-S quite a "project"!!!]

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I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

  ~  "Frugal Friday('s)", (shall we say # 1 ?), are hosted by Wendy at 'Shabby Nest'  (http://shabbynest.blogspot.com).

  ~  "Frugal Friday('s)", (shall we say # 2 ?), are hosted by Jessica, at 'Life as Mom' (www.lifeasmom.com).
 ~ "Show and Tell Saturdays", are hosted by Lorie, at 'Be Different..Act Normal' (http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/).
 ~ "the simple things", are hosted by Rebecca, at 'simple as that' (http://rebeccacooper.blogspot.com/).
  ~ "nifty thrifty Sunday('s)", are hosted by Vanessa, at 'nifty thrifty Things' (http://niftythriftythings.blogspot.com/).
 ~ "The Penny Worthy Project", is hosted by Laura, at 'Hey What's For Dinner Mom?'(http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/)."
  ~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)'  (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
  ~ "Amaze Me Monday('s)", are hosted by Carrie, at 'Dittle Dattle' (http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/).
  ~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven'  (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
  ~ "Unwasted Homemaking Party('s)", are hosted by Marcie, at 'Don't Waste Your Homemaking' (http://www.dontwasteyourhomemaking.com/).