This past week my husband and I took a long hard look at all of the social engagements and family obligations we have coming up over the next few months and we correlated that with the seating options in our house and we came to the not-so-startling conclusion that only 3 and a half people can sit comfortably in our living room. On a day to day basis this is just fine, but there comes a point in adulthood where you shouldn’t have to drag folding chairs in to your main living space or make your in-laws sit on the floor if you want to all hang out together.
Thus began a round of furniture shopping. Now I love my husband dearly, he is by and large an excellent human being but he has a taste level I find…. Atrocious…difficult to deal with…Differs greatly from my own.
My husband’s idea of ultimate comfort and style involves anything from the lazy boy 80’s collection. New furniture that looks old. OLD. And the more recliners and drink holders involved the better. Corduroy and tweed did not seem out of the realm of possibility either and at all of this I drew the line. I am a reasonable person, but only up to a point, you know?
Furniture shopping is terrible; there is no joy in walking around large warehouses, being accosted by pushy and desperate sales people. Add to this a rambunctious four year old who only wants to pretend that she’s a cat and it makes it 600 times worse. Plus we had the added pressure of waiting until two days before our first round of guests were to arrive before we made it out to the store. Nothing like opposing design aesthetics, a hyperactive preschooler and an unreasonable time crunch to really bring out the best in people.
We began at 5:00 on Friday night and essentially shopped all weekend until mid-morning Sunday in a delirium we pulled the trigger and bought something neither of us expected. It is a weird amalgam of sleek and modern, overstuffed and comfy. Made of microfiber without a single cup holder.
It wasn’t until we made up our minds, arranged for transportation, and finally felt freed from the pressure to make a decision that we realized our new lovely sofa and love seat combination matches nothing (nothing) in our house, in a sea of taupes and creams and browns we are going to introduce a large dark, slate gray monstrosity.
I would worry about this – but at this point I feel like it is simply easier to repaint our house and replace our carpet than go back to the furniture store.
Maybe we could just sell our house and move in to something that better matches our new furniture.
Sticky Jam Hands 
You did much better than I did when we were shopping for a new dresser for the baby. Made the mistake of bringing BOTH kids to the furniture store with us. My super-pregnant self chasing a 4 year-old and 1 year-old around a huge warehouse while hubby considered the pros and cons between single handle vs. double handle pull drawers. It did not end well.
Thankfully we were spared any additional shopping by the realization that my sister had the matching dresser to our set and she, amazingly, did not need it anymore.
The couches are lovely and comfortable. They go surprisingly well with the walls and rug and with some new pillows it will all tie in. I will work hard to have the pillows done before the next round of in-laws!
Love Nana
Haha, we have a lovely dark brown “leather” couch that we could donate to your plight; it just needs to be removed from our place asap. But it sounds like you’re all set. I’m no interior design expert, but you can probably just get some pillows or a blanket to drape over the back that matches something else in the room and *boom* you have a matching sofa. Love you guys and can’t wait to see and sit upon your new furniture!