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We finally bought a new couch for the living room. The Ektorp sectional with white slipcovers. Did you know you have to assemble it yourself?
When I sat down to write this post it just dawned on me that this is the first time we’ve bought new living room furniture in about thirteen years.
Finally decorate your own home – with confidence!
You’re so much closer to a beautifully-decorated home than you think. You just need a little help to get there!
Sure, we bought a sectional for the basement when we moved to this house. And we picked up a couple of accent chairs about four years ago.
But a brand new couch? We haven’t done that since 2002!
(Our last couches – the over-sized love seats below – were a second hand purchase from friends.)
So why the new couch?
Well the last couches were sort of a hold over, if you will. We needed more seating and they were the perfect price and a great size for the big living room. But when we swapped the living and dining rooms late last year, they just didn’t quite work as well. Pair that with the fact that we watch movies as a family in the living room often and tend to leave the basement family room as more of a kid/teen hangout these days, something larger was definitely needed upstairs.
So Dean and schlepped about sitting on many different sofas and sectionals trying to find ‘the one’ over the last few weeks. Dean had his eye on a rather nice leather one, and then another nice cloth one. But given their price tags I wasn’t convinced.
We still have kids in the house. And their friends. And our friends. And family. I was not up for spending thousands of dollars on a couch that could easily be ruined by stains and spills.
So we revisited Ikea and the Ektorp sectional.
We became convinced that now was the time to buy another less expensive couch. And the removable, washable slip covers? A total selling point. After it was temporarily out of stock for a few days (what?), we ordered it and waited impatiently for delivery. Hilariously enough, we had no idea that we would have to assemble it when it got here! #gofigure #itisIkea
It was at about this point that Dean wanted to send a social media shout out to Ryan Reynolds to come and help. (If you’ve not seen the Ryan Reynolds Ikea Crib Assembly video, it’s hilarious. Excuse his language though.)
Anyway, we actually didn’t have too much trouble assembling the sectional and it fits so well in the space. And that corner is now useful instead of an empty hole!
Now I just have to get Dean to center the clock. And we have to figure out what to do about the ceiling light fixture because although it seems centered from this angle…
You can see it totally isn’t from this one. It is in the center of the room, but since the sectional is to one side the chandelier doesn’t center on the coffee table. And the fireplace isn’t centered either.
Sigh. One thing always leads to another. #ifyougiveamouseacookie
But I am happy to have more seating in the living room again. It’s so cozy.
And just for reference, this is the opening on which a set of barn doors is going to go. (What’s another project?!)
Do you have any seating issues at your house? Have you purchased a couch in the last few years?
This post was NOT sponsored by Ikea. Dean and I bought the Ektorp Sectional with our own money. 🙂
P.S. See this post for why we switched from the white slipcovers to the grey slipcovers!
Living Room Source List:
- Wall Color – Sherwin Williams Analytical Grey
- Curtains – Ikea
- Flooring – Sandy Hills Hickory “Handscraped” Laminate from Lumber Liquidators
- Area Rug – Moroccan Trellis in Tan from Rugs USA
- Couch – Ektorp Sectional from Ikea
- Pillow Covers – Porter Lane Home on etsy
- Pillow Inserts – FJÄDRAR inner pillow from Ikea
- Grey Plaid Throw – similar here
- Oversized Clock – Fulton St. Wall Clock from Wayfair
- Grey Knit Poufs – Addison Pouf Ottoman in Grey from Wayfair
- Chandelier – Hampton Bay Heritage 6-Light Iron Chandelier from The Home Depot
- Large Square Coffee Table – DIY Brickmaker’s Coffee Table found here
- Large Square Tray – Homesense
- Turned Candleholders/Candlesticks – Wayfair
- Large Vase – Walmart
- Faux Pink Stems/Flowers – Michael’s
- Electric Fireplace – Canadian Tire
- Corner Floor Lamp – Logan Floor Lamp from Wayfair
- Leaning ladder – DIY Ladder Made with 2”x4”s found here
(Our source list contains affiliate links. That just means that we make a few pennies at no extra cost to you, should you purchase anything via one of the links. Thank you for helping to make this site possible! )
