Do We Need New Furniture?
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful spring. We sure are. Not becasue we're able to get out more (because we walked almost daily all winter), but because we can get out for longer and explore a little more. I get exercise and the dogs get to sniff all kinds of new things. It's a win-win in my book.
But with the snow melting the ground is soft and muddy so the dogs get dirty and we have to brush them out more often. A couple days ago I took a short video on my phone of Wiley getting brushed while she was sleeping. She was adorable. She loves getting brushed so she just relaxed and kinda stayed half asleep during her brushing.
I wanted to (and eventually did) share this video on social media. I was hesitant to share it because Wiley was sleeping on our couch in the video. You can see the video here. Our couch is in far less than perfect condition and I wasn't sure what people would think of us keeping a couch in less than perfect condition. Are we broke and can't afford a new one? Absolutely not.
"What will people think?" - Seriously Sheena? This is how you feel?
I'll admit, I'm a little nervous of being judged. Ok, I'm a lot nervous of being judged but I just have to keep reminding myself that we do what works for us and that other people opinions of me are none of my business. Plus...ya know what? No one else lives with us. No one else contributes financially to our home. So people can judge me for what I do and don't have, upgrade, buy, do, etc. But I'm going to keep reminding myself that it doesn't matter. We're doing what's right for us.
You should do what is right for you and your family.
This could come across as me being a little on the defensive side. That's not my intention. Just want to share with you why we do what we do.
So here we go - We have 2 couches. Both of them are in far less than perfect condition. The fake leather one is peeling like crazy, the recliner part of it is difficult to use, but damn, it's some comfy for an afternoon nap or snuggling or movie watcing. The leather one...well we have a puppy. It's got multiple tears that I've stitched up and one giant piece of leather missing on the middle 'cushion'. This giant hole has been repaired with duct tape. I'm actually very proud of my duct tape repair. Yep, nice mid-level quality leather couch, repaired with duct tape. I covered it with a homemade quilt and if I'd never have told you about the duct tape you'd never know that it was there.
These 2 pieces of furniture function exactly how we need them to function. We can have afternoon naps comfortably; we can entertain friends in a relaxing environment; and by not spending money on replacing this furniture we can fly across the country and enjoy an upcoming family reunion without having to stress about the cost.
Sticking with the living room, our coffee table is hideous. I'm not even going to show you, just trust me. It's fugly. Well that's how I feel about it anyway. It's in fair condition and it's sturdy (a living room dance party has confirmed this). It does everything a coffee table is supposed to do. I'd actually love to replace it but - 1. I can't find something I love. 2. It does exactly what a coffee table is supposed to do.
I love to cook. I have pretty much everything I need to prepare anything I want. When it comes to serving, that's another story. We don't have a matching 4 piece place setting. I'm ok with that. Occasionally I dream of new & matching dinnerware and flatware, and serve ware but truthfully, I can cook delicious foods and serve them on mis-matched plates with mis-matched flatware and it's still going to taste just as good as it would on matching stuff. If we invite you to dinner, are you going to complain to me about mis-matched plates or are you going to enjoy the good food and good company?
We move. A lot. And we will be continuing to move a lot for the next 15-20 years. Sometimes it's awesome people who are respectful and intelligent who are packing and transporting our stuff. Sometimes it's shitheads. We don't have a choice in the matter. Anyway, I'm not about to fork over thousands of dollars on all kinds of new furniture just to have it damaged in a move.
I'm more than happy to make-do with what is preforming exactly as it should. This applies to more than home accessories as well. I have a first generation iPad air. Man, I'd love a new one. This one is working just fine though and it does everything we need it to do. (I hope I didn't just jinx it) Why would we spend $1000 to do exactly the same things on a newer version? $1000 is more than enough for my trip home in June.
Not all our furniture and accessories are pretty. Not all of them are a mess either. I feel like we have a good mixture of 'vintage' and new stuff. I'm not ashamed of how we roll. I try not to worry about being judged. We're gonna keep going on our road for our reasons. We'll do us and you do you.
After thought - If I'm visiting you and your furniture is worn or torn, appears well used, etc. I'm going to feel just as welcome (maybe more) as I would in your home if all your furniture was brand new. Brand new is scary. What if I spill something?? Exemption if it's your new home with new furniture.; that's different. Shit....I feel like no matter what I say here I'm going to be excluding someone. I give up...to each their own.
Share with me; What's something you have that you could be or are embarrassed about? I promise I won't judge you!
I wanted to (and eventually did) share this video on social media. I was hesitant to share it because Wiley was sleeping on our couch in the video. You can see the video here. Our couch is in far less than perfect condition and I wasn't sure what people would think of us keeping a couch in less than perfect condition. Are we broke and can't afford a new one? Absolutely not.
 |
| The couch in question. |
"What will people think?" - Seriously Sheena? This is how you feel?
I'll admit, I'm a little nervous of being judged. Ok, I'm a lot nervous of being judged but I just have to keep reminding myself that we do what works for us and that other people opinions of me are none of my business. Plus...ya know what? No one else lives with us. No one else contributes financially to our home. So people can judge me for what I do and don't have, upgrade, buy, do, etc. But I'm going to keep reminding myself that it doesn't matter. We're doing what's right for us.
You should do what is right for you and your family.
This could come across as me being a little on the defensive side. That's not my intention. Just want to share with you why we do what we do.
So here we go - We have 2 couches. Both of them are in far less than perfect condition. The fake leather one is peeling like crazy, the recliner part of it is difficult to use, but damn, it's some comfy for an afternoon nap or snuggling or movie watcing. The leather one...well we have a puppy. It's got multiple tears that I've stitched up and one giant piece of leather missing on the middle 'cushion'. This giant hole has been repaired with duct tape. I'm actually very proud of my duct tape repair. Yep, nice mid-level quality leather couch, repaired with duct tape. I covered it with a homemade quilt and if I'd never have told you about the duct tape you'd never know that it was there.
 |
| My Frankenstein stitching |
 |
| Hazel is not impressed that I'm disturbing her. |
These 2 pieces of furniture function exactly how we need them to function. We can have afternoon naps comfortably; we can entertain friends in a relaxing environment; and by not spending money on replacing this furniture we can fly across the country and enjoy an upcoming family reunion without having to stress about the cost.
Sticking with the living room, our coffee table is hideous. I'm not even going to show you, just trust me. It's fugly. Well that's how I feel about it anyway. It's in fair condition and it's sturdy (a living room dance party has confirmed this). It does everything a coffee table is supposed to do. I'd actually love to replace it but - 1. I can't find something I love. 2. It does exactly what a coffee table is supposed to do.
 |
| Just enough mis-matched dishes for us to live our best life. |
We move. A lot. And we will be continuing to move a lot for the next 15-20 years. Sometimes it's awesome people who are respectful and intelligent who are packing and transporting our stuff. Sometimes it's shitheads. We don't have a choice in the matter. Anyway, I'm not about to fork over thousands of dollars on all kinds of new furniture just to have it damaged in a move.
I'm more than happy to make-do with what is preforming exactly as it should. This applies to more than home accessories as well. I have a first generation iPad air. Man, I'd love a new one. This one is working just fine though and it does everything we need it to do. (I hope I didn't just jinx it) Why would we spend $1000 to do exactly the same things on a newer version? $1000 is more than enough for my trip home in June.
Not all our furniture and accessories are pretty. Not all of them are a mess either. I feel like we have a good mixture of 'vintage' and new stuff. I'm not ashamed of how we roll. I try not to worry about being judged. We're gonna keep going on our road for our reasons. We'll do us and you do you.
After thought - If I'm visiting you and your furniture is worn or torn, appears well used, etc. I'm going to feel just as welcome (maybe more) as I would in your home if all your furniture was brand new. Brand new is scary. What if I spill something?? Exemption if it's your new home with new furniture.; that's different. Shit....I feel like no matter what I say here I'm going to be excluding someone. I give up...to each their own.
Share with me; What's something you have that you could be or are embarrassed about? I promise I won't judge you!
Comments
Post a Comment