Reboot
Do you have a furniture budget? Or maybe you don't have a budgeted amount of money exactly, but you do go out and buy new furniture? Once upon a time I thought that as we got out of the newlywed stage (certainly by the time we managed to buy a house!) we would be able to afford some nice furniture. When we first got married we got nearly all our furniture (like many of you) by accepting whatever hand-me-downs we could get. The only new piece of furniture in our house was our bed since it was given to us as a wedding present. (One I was quite grateful for too!) Over the years we have occasionally added new pieces of furniture (usually because of the generosity of my parents or because it was a very inexpensive IKEA/Walmart kind of thing). But mostly there has never been enough money to buy something really exciting. Like living room furniture. Or a bedroom set. Ah, I can only dream.
However, I have had a "new" living room set several times. A new selection from the hand-me-down collection. I even blogged about the arrival of the previous living room furniture here. Alas, that was four years ago, a very long time ago when there are a hoard of children in the house. The coffee table bit the dust awhile back (the kids broke the glass top) and the couches were not only extremely stained by this point, they had become lethal weapons, just waiting to jab you with broken pieces of wood or nails poking out (the kids had broken the frames by jumping on them). It was time for them to go. But even if I had the extra moolah hanging out, I wouldn't want to spend it on couches right now. That's just asking for stress and frustration while I try to keep my kids from destroying it. Our only practical option was to wait and see if someone else would be upgrading their living room and willing to pass along some gently used furniture to us.
The day came at last, though I can't say I'm terribly thrilled about the reason. My sister Camie and her family are moving back to California and they decided not to take a lot of their stuff with them. A leather sofa and chair were up for grabs, and I immediately took them. Terence did all the hard work and our new additions are all moved in and settled. They look pretty decent with our new floor, I think:
A brand new look for the living room without costing us a dime. (One of the dads who comes with his kids to piano lessons especially approved. He likes sitting on this couch way better!) It was a nice blessing for our family and I'm glad my sister was willing to share them with us.
It's hard to watch Camie's family go. They've been living here in the valley for years and my kids are very close with hers. M especially considers Kylie her best friend and will miss her cousin desperately. I've always known that I was lucky to be living so close to both my sisters as well as my parents and that any of them could leave someday. Hopefully Amy and my parents will stick around though-- it would be very lonely without them! (And what would K do without Livvie???)
However, I have had a "new" living room set several times. A new selection from the hand-me-down collection. I even blogged about the arrival of the previous living room furniture here. Alas, that was four years ago, a very long time ago when there are a hoard of children in the house. The coffee table bit the dust awhile back (the kids broke the glass top) and the couches were not only extremely stained by this point, they had become lethal weapons, just waiting to jab you with broken pieces of wood or nails poking out (the kids had broken the frames by jumping on them). It was time for them to go. But even if I had the extra moolah hanging out, I wouldn't want to spend it on couches right now. That's just asking for stress and frustration while I try to keep my kids from destroying it. Our only practical option was to wait and see if someone else would be upgrading their living room and willing to pass along some gently used furniture to us.
The day came at last, though I can't say I'm terribly thrilled about the reason. My sister Camie and her family are moving back to California and they decided not to take a lot of their stuff with them. A leather sofa and chair were up for grabs, and I immediately took them. Terence did all the hard work and our new additions are all moved in and settled. They look pretty decent with our new floor, I think:
A brand new look for the living room without costing us a dime. (One of the dads who comes with his kids to piano lessons especially approved. He likes sitting on this couch way better!) It was a nice blessing for our family and I'm glad my sister was willing to share them with us.
It's hard to watch Camie's family go. They've been living here in the valley for years and my kids are very close with hers. M especially considers Kylie her best friend and will miss her cousin desperately. I've always known that I was lucky to be living so close to both my sisters as well as my parents and that any of them could leave someday. Hopefully Amy and my parents will stick around though-- it would be very lonely without them! (And what would K do without Livvie???)
Comments
We need furniture so badly. We only have handy me Downs or yard sale goods