Calling All Couch Potatoes

Several months back, I told you how I had been smack dab in the middle of redecorating my house when I got in my car accident.  My house has remained in shambles ever since.  (For my newer readers, I also mentioned I'm terribly lacking in girly genes, especially those related to decorating.)

Well, even though I didn't make a lot of New Year resolutions out loud this year, I made a lot of them in my head.  I imagine I'll be sharing some of them with you in blog posts over the next few weeks as I fail accomplish them.  

The Torturer is out of town skiing this week.  He made sure I had appointments with one of the PT's who works for him prior to leaving.  Then he left.  Then I cancelled those appointments.  Can you believe the office manager told me I'm not allowed to cancel appointments?  Oh, how that pissed me off!  Since when do I need a PT cop?  

Maybe since I started cancelling appointments every time The Torturer leaves?  

Just a thought ....

(And also?  She called him as he was driving to the snow and told him I had cancelled!)

In any case, I wanted to use this week (free of PT) to at least begin on one of the projects I need to take care of. Primarily, making my house less embarrassing to look at.  How embarrassing is the state of my house right now?  Well, I found this on the floor yesterday.

That's fluff from my family room sofa.  It is, literally, falling apart.  I won't tell you how old it is, but the fact it's falling apart says enough.

This is the style (not color) of the replacement sofa I think I'm going to purchase.

 

We currently have leather, and I definitely want leather again.  It's pretty much bulletproof.  (Well, for the first 18 years you own it anyway!)  My house is not like most of the homes in surrounding Money Town.  My house is very, very lived in.  Leather has worked well for us in our family room.  It cleans up easily, it's comfortable, and durable. 

This particular couch is soft and cushy without being too soft.  The sofa arms work well for supporting my bum arm too.  (Weird to you maybe?  But it's a huge requirement for me to have comfortable support under my arm - I can't type without it!)

A man named Christopher is helping me with my leather selection.  I'm trying to be frugal and practical all in one.  Christopher works at the store.  He's very good with colors and design.  He really liked the idea of the texture of leather contrasting with a brick floor.  He also really liked my purse ... a lot.  

(As an exercise in contrast, Briefcase is color blind, oblivious to texture, and one purse is exactly the same as any other purse to him.)

Stop with the stereotypes readers, Christopher is going away this week to celebrate his 24th wedding anniversary with his wife.  

Yesterday he sent me home with four samples to look at against our brick floor.

I threw them on my kitchen floor to take a look at them against the brick.  (There will be an area rug by the couches, but the color still needs to look decent with the visible brick.  Also visible from our family room are my dark kitchen cabinets.

Is that a bottle of wine I see in that picture?  I'm sure it was there for drinking cooking purposes.

Anyway, my favorite sample once I got home, was also the one Christopher and I both had liked best at the store.

This isn't the greatest photo because it's reflecting the ceiling lights, but what do you think?  (By the way, the color is called Blackberry, which I found pretty ironic after my post yesterday.)  It's very similar to the color of my cabinets.  Kind of mahogany-ish.  Thoughts?

Comments

[Di]

I like either of the two middle ones in the top photo... The one on the far right is definitely too close to the floor color so not enough contrast with the floor.

Di

[Lynn K.]

Oh, that was my pick too, before you said it was yours : ) Great minds think alike.

[Kate]

I love that sample. It drew my eye when you had all the samples on the floor together. I thik you picked a winner!

Kate

[Nothing Fancy]

LOVE the mahogany!!! Even more...your kitchen cabinets are gorgeous!!! I know you'll be so pleased once you make your selection. I want pics of the entire room once your finished, you know. One of these days, I'd love to get a leather sofa for our family room. As it is now, we have to sit in a sink-hole. Okay, but pretty embarrassing when company comes over. Okay...that rarely happens...company that is.

[jo]

Thanks for letting us help you decorate. Looks good. I so want a leather couch one of these days, but just bought some "big girl" (yes, now that I'm 48 thought I was entitled) bedroom furniture. Have fun!

[Wunderwoman]

I like it!! My SIL has the same couch in that color and it's very nice.

[Donna in VA]

That's the exact color that I want for my next couch, but being as I only buy one every 20 years or so, it'll be awhile. But I DO dream about a new sofa. The ones that always appeal to me most are leather, but I've always been really apprehensive about leather. I didn't know how it would stand up to pets. My kitty hasn't got front claws, but those little back suckers are still there, and I don't know how leather would hold up to those.
Just call me "sitting on the fence". It's okay though. . . I still have another couple of years before I can justify the expense.

[CourtneyRyan]

I LOVE the Blackberry color! I was drawn to it immediately.

You do have the girlie gene to decorate, you just don't trust it!

[Jan]

Oh, I love leather too; all of our living room furniture is leather, only cream and hunter green.

But for your house (I LOVE the brick floor, btw), the Blackberry leather works best. I bet it'll hide dirt better than my silly cream-colored sofa, too. Did I ever tell you I nearly strangled The Young One when he sat on it with a blue ball-point pen in his back pocket?

[Mama Dawg]

That is nice. Good choice.

[Irish Gumbo]

What's wrong with likin' a purse? You should see mine, it's quite snazzy if I do say so myself...;)

Like the Blackberry, it looks like it fits in pretty good.

That 1924 brick: Are you in a Craftsman type house?

[Lo]

have you seen anchorman? 'and my apartment smells of rich mahagony'. heh. sorry.

dude i was gonna TELL (ahem demand) you to get that color. and then i scrolled down and like a good lil 24atheart, you did :)

i love it. also? great minds think alike? cuz that's totally my sofa.

awesome!

(mine have old-world-library studs in them, which i just adore!)

[Kelly]

Oh, how fun. I like the blackberry. I also love the brick. Its very cool!

[missy]

Yep. The blackberry provides enough contrast to the floor so it just doesn't all blend together. Looks great.

[DebrAbby]

Good choice!

[sometimessophia]

I think the blackberry will go nicely with the cabinets... But, before you commit, think about your wall color and pre-select that rug you plan to buy (oriental, kilim, or modern...) Either or both may alter the way you feel about the color of the leather.

[Sandra]

A new couch. How fun! I like your color choice. I'm curious about the brick and the numbers on them. You'll need to give us more info on that.

[Midlife Mama]

I love it! It will be gorgeous.

I heart your kitchen, too. OMG I love those cabinets. And that backsplash. Gawgeous, dahlink.

And the dude who liked your purse and is married? To a woman? Gay. He's in the closet. Any guy who notices a woman's purse is gay. Either that or I'm just horribly envious of his wife, to be married to a not-gay man who notices purses. *sigh*

I hate men today; pay no attention to me.

LOL

[goodfather]

What. Are they different? OK.

Just kidding! The blackberry will be gorgeous! Excellent choice. I think the texture AND the color will be perfect!

Uh, I'm married too. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Sarah]

Love the color!! I love the darker colors in leather, brick, or wood. Your cabinets are great! When I bought my house 2 years ago the previous owners had just replaced tha kitchen cabinets with lighter wood ones, which I dont have the heart to change even though I would love a darker finish! Good luck redecorating! I love that kind of stuff! : )

[Enchanted]

I too picked the blackberry as right off the bat! I can't wait to see pictures of it in your living room.

I really like the red woods and leather couches. Don't have any of them but they are still my favorites.

[Smart Mouth Broad]

I have practically no visualization skills at all but I really like the style of the couch and the color of the sample you chose. I think it's going to look great with the brick floors (which I love). My couch and loveseat are very similar in style and also leather with the only difference being ours has a leather skirt around the bottom making it look a little more Country French. It is one of the most comfy couches on which I've ever planted my arse.

[Stepping Thru]

The couch looks comfortable. We just sold our leather couch and bought a microfiber sofa that looks like leather. It's got two recliners in the couch, 2 in the love seat and throw in a recliner and you can have the whole bunch reclined and asleep in no time at all. Not my choice but the Coach is happy.

[MLS]

Our couch is leather too and I say buy the color that you like the best because I'm really not into matchy matchy stuff, as is evident if you ever saw my house. :) My philosophy is "buy what you love" and it will all fit in someway.

[emmysuh]

I love couches like that, they're so comfy! I like your choice, looks pretty. I also really like the tyling in your kitchen, especially with the cabinets.

[Alan]

I like it! Very classy...

[Heather]

That's the one I would have picked too!