Family Room

Sometime in 1996 or 1997 after Luke and I moved in together, we decided we needed some real furniture.

After college I moved to DC and lived with my aunt and uncle a few months until I got a job and a place.  I rented a room in a townhouse and there was a loveseat for me to use.  Luke moved to DC a year later and when I met him he had those green plastic outside chairs for seating inside his apartment.  Later an old recliner made its way there.

So - we when combined households neither of us had a couch.  I think Luke also had a papasan.  So one of  us could sit in the papasan and the other in the recliner.  I went off one night and found a red couch and loveseat at a going out of business sale and they were comfy and I bought them.  Luke still remembers me calling him and telling him they were red (he was dubious).

I paid someone to haul them to our apartment and they have served us well ever since.

our first Christmas

(see couches in the sides)

Right when we moved into our house in Colorado

Once we got our dog, Ellie, we discovered that not only did her hair show up pretty badly on the couches, it actually would entwine itself into the fabric and it involved hours with a vacuum to get just some of the hair off.  So we started using a sheet over them and then moved one loveseat out of there and have had a series of slipcovers over the years.  Recently we finally declared the family-room an no-toy storage room and moved the toy box out and the loveseat back in and I bought new slipcovers in order to have two matching covers.  These were even uglier slipcovers (on clearance) because the couch was beginning to squeak and there were some springs sticking out the back and I knew their time was short.

Grandma Kathy with Nathan
(and red sheet )

with tan slipcover
 (and Nathan wearing
Daddy's shoes)

Nathan on brown suede slipcover

All this to say - we finally replaced those couches!  Well, and you know how it goes, I knew the nice new couches would make the ugly computer desk look even uglier so I replaced that too.  I felt the same about the ugly side table but covered it instead of replacing it.

I should warn you that I can not decorate so don't expect to be impressed.  I am just thrilled it looks so much neater and modern in here!  My last project is to paint the fireplace black.  I have some special paint to do it with.  It may fail but it can't actually look worse than the worn out brass so it is worth a shot.  I'll let you know how it goes.

cream slipcovers right before we got new couches

Lauren and Julia at ugly desk
(can't see how ugly it is here)

New couches and desk

another view

and a last view (plus the hairy dog whose hair 

now brushes right off the new couches!)