When a couch is more than a couch (Part 2)

Some of you may remember me writing a blog post about a couch a few years ago. It was a cathartic moment for me. Being able to afford a brand new couch after a difficult financial time where I was basically starting my life over from scratch.

Fast forward almost four years to the day, and I’m writing about a damn couch again. But this time, it’s a different couch. Well, not a couch at all. A loveseat. Still brown, still comfortable, still all mine, but with one small difference. This time, it was used.

Every year about this time (tax return time) I go to my local furniture store to purchase one big-ticket item. Last year it was my dining set. The year before a bed frame and a new mattress for my daughter. Next year it will be a bed set up for my son. This year, it was time for a new couch.

While the couch I had purchased four years ago was comfortable at the time, after four years of hard wear and tear from me and two teenagers, the time had come to let that beast go. And a beast it was. It had two recliners so the thing weighed a ton and took up a LOT of space in my house that is already small. When my back started going out and being sore on a daily bases, I knew it was time to let the recliners go.

So, with my refund burning a whole in my pocket, I went to the store with the full intent of buying something new. After all, it was my once a year splurge. I was determined to find something that felt good on my back. That had to be priority number one. And so, I made my way through the show room, sitting on every single couch they had. Even if it was ugly. I felt like Goldilocks.

The problem, however, was that NONE of these brand new couches felt comfortable for the way I sit on a couch, which is crisscross-applesauce. Not to mention that my feet didn’t reach the floor with any of them. A constant problem for shorties like me.

I was about to give up and just buy the same thing I bought four years ago even though recliners are not good for my back, when I went into a small section of used furniture they have. There were about six couches there in varying phases of wear and tear.

That’s when I saw it. A sofa and love seat combo. The sofa had clearly been the preferred seating area as that was quite dilapidated. But the loveseat, looked almost new. Sure, there were a few food stains easily washed out and a small tear in the fabric in the back, but it passed the comfort test with flying colors. It worked for the way I need a couch to work, AND my feet touched when I sat. To make matters sweeter, it was a third of what I thought I’d end up paying for the couch.

She may not be beautiful, but she’s mine.

While the loveseat may not be the most beautiful thing in the world and may clash with my light gray chair, do I care? No. Not really. What I DO care about is how it makes my back feel when I sit in it. And at the end of the day, aren’t we just looking for something that feels good?

Danielle Bannister, author and love seat sitter.

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