Our family room downstairs is still in need of so much work (that carpet—ack!!), and of all the places in the house, it is probably the most neglected. I’ve accepted that making small changes is all I can really do for now.
For quite a while, we had this very unique mid-century couch down there, with plans of reupholstering it in a lovely nubby gray fabric. The problem was that it just didn’t fit in the space. We knew a sectional would ultimately make family movie night more comfortable.
We found this Ikea Karlstad sectional on Craigslist for $30, and we couldn’t pass it up. The only catch was that the family that was selling it was keeping the arm rests because they were reconfiguring their once-huge sectional into two smaller couches. The leftover pieces were the exact size we needed, so we just had to buy a new Karlstad chair from Ikea and scrap the seat part.
I’ve never loved all of the crazy colors of the pile of beanbags downstairs, but the footstool ones get used all the time. I thought about recovering them like I did with the one in our living room, but after getting the new couch, the bright orange and hot pink didn’t look as bad as before.
The family from whom we bought the couch also threw in a huge box of throw pillows, but most had covers that weren’t really my style. Recently, I remembered some fabric that I picked up on a trip to Montana a few years ago, and realized it would be a great match to the bean bags.
I have about six yards of this vintage french barkcloth from STYLE de Boussac antifrois, which was a French textile design and manufacturer that was absorbed into what became the House of Dior. I only had to use about a yard to make new pillowcases, so I’m still hoarding the rest.
Apparently, the new couch and pillows are doggy approved, too. It was nearly impossible to get a single photo without Tooey prancing around on the couch in front of me. Such a showoff.