Those who know me and know my house know that most of my furniture had a life between manufacturing and living with me. With the exception of one couch and a few piece of Target pressed board furniture (or maybe Walmart, but most of it is from Target), I think all of my furniture (and about half my appliances) was given to me by friend, left to me by grandparents, kicked out of my parents house or purchased from rummage sales, friends or (most often) British coworkers returning home. For me, it works out well. My tastes tend toward classic style, my decor style is somewhere between "comfortable casual" and "late grad student" and I have a furniture budget to match. For the people I purchase or receive the items from, it works out well too. They get a bit of money (or at least good feeling) and someone to haul away the stuff they're done with. We can all claim that we're keeping things out of landfills and I don't get upset if one of the cats adds a new scratch, dent or other "mark of character". Everyone's a winner!
But, this morning, I moved a half a step higher on the used furniture food chain ladder thingie whatever. A while back, I received a couch from some friends. The couch had come with the house they bought, but they didn't need or have room for another nor did it match their decor. So, it had been sitting in their garage until they gave it to me. It was a nice couch, almost brand new. And, while it wasn't something that I would have picked out if I was going to buy some furniture, it more or less matched the color scheme I have going in my living room and it definitely matched my furniture budget (can't get better than free...especially if it comes with the offer of two guys to do all the heavy lifting for you). The couch was a welcome addition to my living room and the cats even quickly took a liking to it. Unfortunately, they also took a liking to scratching it. And, the upholstery wasn't quite up for that. I had been thinking about possible ways to make a repair for a while when I got an email announcing another homebound British coworker having a repatriation sale. Most of the Brits who come over to work with us not only plan on staying just a couple of years but also have houses or at least storage units full of furniture. And they're only allowed so much weight/space to take things back home. Add to that the difference in electrical power systems and at least a couple of times a year I have an opportunity to purchase gently used home furnishings and electronics at bargain basement prices. This time, I picked up a very nice flat screen (although not flat panel) computer monitor (also a few inches bigger than my 17 inch dinosaur that I bought back in like 1999) and a very nice futon. The futon, hopefully, will be less of a scratching post for the cats and, with the addition of a cover (to be purchased later) should provide some comfy seating as well as sleeping for any overnight guests I might host. But, the influx of the futon meant that the green couch had to go. Finding a new home wasn't hard, especially when I charged the low, low price of free and helping me move the futon and the couch. And I know that the recent college grad I passed it off to was grateful. I hope it provides him and his friends many comfy hours of gaming and movie watching experience.
And, best of all, this means I'm no longer at the bottom of the used furniture food chain!
Anyone need a computer monitor? Or know of someone selling a dining room table?
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