Before:
I moved to from New York to Chicago just about exactly 5 years ago. It was February 29, 2004. I have lived in Chicago longer than I lived in New York or California. Didn’t see that coming when I left Wisconsin in 2000! Anyway, when I moved to Chicago I got a white hand-me-down couch from a friend of Nancy’s named Andy. It is an ok couch. Very comfortable. But white. And it got gross looking fast. And the pillows are so sloppy. And I began to hate that couch a bit. But it was free and Dallas and I agreed that we wouldn’t want to spend money on a new couch until we bought our own place. I should also add that the white chair is one I got at IKEA and the black chair is a hand-me-down IKEA chair that we got from Dallas’ cousin Miko.
Well, as you know now, we bought a place. Time to finally get a new couch! A few weeks ago Dallas and I rented a car for the weekend and drove up to Wisconsin for my dad’s 60th birthday party. On the way back we drove down to Naperville. Auntie Laura had recommended the Carson Pirie Scott Furniture Outlet to us as a place to look for a new couch. She got a whole leather living room set there and it was really nice. When looking online before the trip I found out that there is also a Macy’s Furniture Clearance Center and an Crate & Barrel outlet within a block of the Carson’s outlet, so we hit them all up.
I think all outlet stores are hit and miss. We went to the Carson’s Outlet first and didn’t like anything there. We liked a few things at the Macy’s Outlet. There was a much bigger selection. We went to the Crate & Barrel outlet last. I was excited because I knew what Crate & Barrel furniture looked like and I knew it was really expensive normally. Unfortunately, the outlet had only a couple pieces of furniture and nothing that we were really looking for. So, back to Macy’s.
We ended up getting a large 3 piece sectional for about $1, 700. We were told that the full price at Macy’s is $4,000. So we paid less than half. Tip: If you want to buy something, have the sales associate pull the tags immediately or it might be gone if you go to look at something else. We had her pull the tags and then went to look at rugs.
We had no idea where to begin with area rugs. There were stacks and stacks. Luckily, the sales man was really really knowledgeable and friendly. He knew everything from how the rugs were manufactured, to how to care for them, to how to coordinate them with furniture. The good thing was that since the furniture we were buying was right there we could take rugs over and see them with the couch. We paid $400 for a 6×8 foot Karastan rug that retails at Macy’s for $1,600.
When the couch was first delivered last week I freaked out a little. I thought it was way too big. I’ve since gotten used to it and have realized that it’s just a lot bigger than our old furniture, but that doesn’t mean it’s too big for the room. I just wasn’t used to it. It’s really comfortable and looks great. Last week Jess and Alden were over and all four of us were a bit sprawled on the couch and no one was even touching. I bet you could fit at least 8 people on there. I’m happy with the purchase, which is good because the clearance centers don’t accept returns!
After:
Next up in the living room: 1. Find a new coffee table. 2. Clean up the mantel and move all the gaming systems downstairs in the den/rec room/family room/2nd living room (I don’t know what to call the downstairs space!).
Fantastic new couch! I’m diggin those huge windows in that room, looks like they let a ton of light in. Great work on getting such fantastic deals, theyre out there to be had in this market.
Yeh, it was still a lot to spend, but at least we got good deals. Thank you, early tax return, for making this possible!
The windows are great. There have been many times in the winter when we have turned the heat off and cracked a window because so much sun comes in that it was like 75 degrees in the living room! Plus, it is just bright and sunny, in general.
my favorite kind of coffee table is an ottoman with a serving tray perched on it. of course the ottoman needs to have a flat, somewhat firm cushion for that. if you want to put your feet up, remove the tray!
bonnie – you mean an ottomon like this? we were thinking of getting something like that. or a similar kind of thing. that was just the first one that i came across with a quick search.
do you think we could do a leather ottoman with this? i wouldnt try to match the fabric. i think maybe a brown leather would be ok?
The couch looks great. Thats funny, those two pictures are identical except for the couches.
yeh, i had to stand on a chair in the bathroom to take those photos!
our new dining room table was delivered today. thanks again, tax refund! so expect another before/after post re the dining area. it’s about time. we’ve had 8 extra dining room chairs in our place for 1 1/2 weeks.
yes, that ottoman from overstock is very nice! I think it would work.
on the right side of the overstock page, there was also a link for “Win Square Brown Leather Ottoman with Lower Shelf”. I’m not sure how I feel about the way the shelf looks, but it would be handy for magazines, etc.
as for the leather color: maybe a dark chocolate brown would be nice- I’d go for a a “cool” shade of brown.
Ha. I sent that link to my boyfriend too and he also pointed out the one on the left with the shelf. I hear what you’re saying about the leather shade. Like a dark chocolate brown, not anything with a reddish hue. Although the mantle and our cabinetry (the kitching/dining/living room are all one space) is all a dark cherry wood color, so it might not be that bad. Then again the couch itself is very “cool.”
Wow ! Very beautiful! Congrats!
W OW, CARSON PIERRE SCOTT, SIMMONS USE TO SELL FURNITURE TO THEM YEARS AGO. NICE LOOKING ROOM. LIKE YOUR WINDOWS. I BET THE NEIGHBORS DO ALSO. PEEKING IN!!!!!!!!!
haha. we normally have the shades all the way drawn or like they are in the bottom photos. when we have them just on the bottom then the sun can still come in but no one from street level can really see us.
The room looks great! I think that ottoman would look great! You should check out http://www.thisyounghouse.com. It chronicles how a couple decorated and redesigned their whole house. They also post some great furniture and decorating deals.
I really like your new furniture Shell. You and Dallas have nice taste! Red accents are warm and inviting too. Very beautiful!
very nice! did you give andy his couch back? ha ha!
ha. it is in our downstairs living area now. i dont know what to call it. .. den? rec room? we’re still using it though!
RachelleB,
I love this couch. Some how in my search for a sectional online I stumbled onto your blog.
I know it’s been over a year since you posted this but was wondering if you still have the couch and how it is holding up. I have searched everywhere for a couch just like this but keeping finding bad reviews on the cushions going flat and not lasting.
If you do still have it, I would love to know your thoughts on it now. Looking for a honest review to help me buy the right one. Also do you remember the name of this couch so I could find it at Macys.com
By the way your living room looks beautiful
After a year and a half, I’d say you can definitely see signs of wear. We try to rotate cushions, so they even wear. The long cushion is sagging a bit, but I’d kind of expect it to be after all this time. I mean, it doesn’t look bad, it looks used.
I’m not sure the name. I don’t even know if it had those kinds of tags on it, since we got it at the outlet.