As a wedding present, we got money towards a couch from many sources. We got some from Mom and Dad, Carol and Craig, and also Carmella's grandparents. It was a team effort!
After a long, hard search, we found just the couch we needed. This one turns into a bed, has a chaise lounger, and was a sectional that needed to be put together, which meant it would be able to enter our apartment. Our basement suite has awkward doors and hallways, so getting something inside, and being able to move it out when the time comes, was a huge consideration.
Ikea was charging $200 to deliver the couch. I thought there had to be a better way, like renting some equipment from UHaul. I tried to get the same 4'x 7' trailer that I got to transport gear to our wedding, but it was rented already. I went with a cube van instead, and still saved about 75% compared to the price of having Ikea deliver it.
It's a good thing we rented the van though, because the boxes almost fill up the whole cargo area! It wouldn't have been possible with the small trailer. Good thing we upgraded.
Carmella and I lifted the four boxes into the house. This was quite the process, and included dragging them along the grass, struggling down stairs, and negotiating doors and hallways. The smallest ones were the heaviest, which foiled me when I thought taking the big ones out first would save the easy ones for last.
Michael was staying over, and he helped us build the couch. It was quite the process, and took him about four hours. I was there for the last two. It was great to have him do a lot of the work before I got there! I didn't think to get any action shots of the build process unfortunately, because we were so focused on the task.
Michael had an appointment here in Vancouver today (Friday) and would need somewhere to sleep at our house on Thursday. On Tuesday night we realized we had only one day to buy the couch, and that would be Wednesday. It was the week of the couch! We could have had Michael sleep on one of our new camping sleeping pads, but we felt getting the couch would be a better idea!
Here, Michael enjoys the fruits of his labour on the chaise lounger, while Carmella demonstrates the pop-up bed. What you can't see is that the chaise lounger also pops up to reveal a hidden storage space for blankets and pillows! This couch delivers!
Below is our living room! The venerable Hunter sisters, Tina and Cyndi came over to christen it, and to have a great dinner that Carmella made in the Crock Pot, (another wedding gift).
Look how cosy and social it is! We had a great game of Ticket to Ride, which Carmella won. I wonder if I shouldn't have introduced her to gaming, because ever since I did I can count my victories on my fingers and toes.
Also note our new TV. It was a fun project to buy that, also with money we were given on our wedding. We wanted something that wouldn't be a trophy in the living room nor dominate the space. I felt that something 26" would be ideal, and found a set at Best Buy or Future Shop or somewhere else that would work well. Carmella told me it was too much money, and slashed my budget by 33%!
I realized I had to change my game plan, so I then looked into what Craigslist posters had to offer. I realized my co-worker Wes was right when he said that LCD flat panels rarely show up there. But, to my luck, the perfect set appeared! It was a 26" Toshiba Regza, with good sound and HDMI ports, for a great price. The other TVs on the used market for the same price were much older and didn't have the good features that this one does.
I bought it from a friendly 20-something guy who lived downtown. I showed up at his appartment, and he buzzed me up. His parents were watching a massive wall-mounted set in the living room. We talked for about three minutes, and he showed me that everything worked. I decided to buy it. I tried to bargain, but he wasn't into it.
(I just realized I spent three paragraphs talking about buying a TV. The good thing is we'll only use it for DVDs, and have no plans on getting any kind of cable package, so we won't be addicted to it.)
We now have a great little living room, perfect for friends and family to share. It's cozy and great for our little space. Also, look at the painting Michael gave us for our wedding. You can't see, but there are thousands of little snowflake dots on it, that he did one at a time with a pin-striping brush. It would have taken him hours. Or days.
Thanks for the couch everyone! And if anyone wants to stay over, we now have a place for you. The couch creates a double bed, so we have lots of space!
