On a Saturday afternoon last January, Sailor and I made a run to our vet’s store to buy special food for our 2 older cats (Lucy and Archie). The drive home passes right by a large, successful consignment shop. Fortunately, I was driving, so I veered into the parking lot. I hadn’t even parked the car and sailor was already voicing his…ahem…lack of enthusiasm. But he came in with me. And it was a darn good thing that he did.
I had been on a continuous exploratory hunt for a loveseat for our TV room. The research helped me focus on the size and style I wanted, as well educating me on the price range I was looking at. Sailor knew I was looking to purchase a loveseat for this room, and on occasion, out running errands or shopping, we would come across some potential candidates. But none of them were exactly right.
So back to the consignment shop. It’s a good-sized store and takes a good 20 minutes to carefully peruse all the spaces and inventory. I was almost to the end of my ‘perusing’, tucked into one of the back corners, when Sailor tracked me down and said: “Did you see this?”.
See it? No, I totally missed it. Don’t ask me how. Because there in front of us was The Loveseat. Perfect size, perfect shape and detail, perfect arms, perfect cushions, perfect little feet. Even the price was nearly perfect. Except it was blue. Not just blue, but window-pane check navy blue. I nearly immediately dismissed it. My vision for my love seat was ivory or vanilla, something very neutral and light-colored. Navy blue was not in the vision.
But then we saw the sign. The sign that read “Ethan Allen”. Well, that stopped me cold. Really? Ethan Allen? For that price? Plus it was marked down 10%. Now I started to reconsider. We spoke to a sales person about it. They told us it was less than a year old and hardly used. I started asking questions: “Could you hold it for 24 hours?” No. “Do you have a return policy?” No. Sigh.
We got back in the car and went home. I tried to picture it in the room. When I roughed out the size of it, I realized It was actually a little too deep for the room. I went online and priced Ethan Allen love seats. They ran about 3 times the price of the blue loveseat.
And with regard to the color, I realized that I have always thought that with all the warm wood paneling, the TV room called for blues and reds, in a sort of “Ralph-Lauren-meets-chintz” classic sense. I realized it was ‘the one’ – the perfect loveseat.
Sunday morning we were back in the consignment shop. I made Sailor “stand guard” next to it until I could find a salesperson. The first thing she said was “Oh, someone else was looking at the love seat a little while ago.” I couldn’t hand her my credit card fast enough!
They agreed to hold it until Sailor could come back with my younger stepson to pick it up. The day they brought it home, I couldn’t wait to get home to see it. It is a little too big, no question. But – so what? Our homes are for us to enjoy and live in, and I am okay with it!
I now have a whole headful of ideas on how I will decorate the couch and the room seasonally. 4thof July seemed like a great place to start with all that red, white and blue. JoAnn’s is such a great source for bright, seasonal fabrics; so I picked out three patterns to sew some festive 4thof July pillow covers.
An unexpected, happy turn of events came about shortly after we moved the loveseat in. Several blogs I l like to read were showing blue and white ceramic ware. I have always thought it’s very pretty, but it is also very style-specific. So many of the décor pieces that I personally use are flexible enough to use anywhere and at any time of the year. So blue and white ceramic ware never seemed like a good fit for how I decorate.
But when I started noticing it in the blogs I was reading, I realized that adding some blue and white ceramic ware would tie-in beautifully with the navy blue & white windowpane check. Soon after that, I popped into a little thrift shop I had never been to before, and wouldn’t you know, she had 7 or 8 beautiful blue and ceramic pieces.
(The books are from my parent’s collection; the exercise DVDs are mine!)
A few weeks later, I dropped into my go-to thrift shop, realizing it was a long shot, but sure enough, right in the middle of the store was a beautiful display of blue and white ceramic ware. I picked out a few of them to add to my collection. Between those two shops, I found enough. I wanted more, but I think it will be too much. (What am I saying? I will probably never stop collecting it!)
Contrary to my concerns about the blue and white ceramic ware not fitting in with other colors in my décor, I have already used the pieces in a couple of posts. Click here for this post, “5 Steps to a Beautiful Mantel” and click here for “A Bright and Easy Summer Living Room”.
Of the 3 bedrooms in our home, this one is the smallest, and it’s the coziest. It is wood-paneled on all 4 walls, and the paneling is original to the house (built in 1951). It’s a beautiful light color, more golden than brown. It has a single window, with bookcases built around it, a countertop and cabinets that run the length of the window wall.
This room is far from done, but it feels like my own little she-cave. Lucy (one of our 2 older cats, who is essentially responsible for this whole escapade) likes it too – go figure! I don’t take much time to watch TV, but sometimes on Friday nights Sailor is watching a baseball/basketball/hockey game, and I just need a good dose of HGTV. Lucy and I, along with a glass of wine, are quite a cozy little group on the loveseat.
One of the first things I need to do is find a piece to serve as a coffee table in front of it. I have done a little online research, but I am beginning to realize the size of a coffee table will have to be exactly proportioned to the loveseat and the room itself. I doubt I will find it online, and a thrift store hunt may be like searching for a needle in a haystack. This may take awhile….
But in the meantime, just cuddling up on the love seat with a couple of pillows and a (red!) throw is something I really look forward to. And don’t you know – Christmas in July is just around the corner! Hallmark Channel, here I come!
From our home to yours~
Kristine
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It not only looks pretty, it looks comfy too! That’s the important part! Love it when you get a great deal on the perfect item!
Thank you, Nancy! It is comfy, but it’s basically a one-person loveseat. Sailor usually ends up sitting on the floor when we both try to sit on it.
It looks great! You have made some really wonderful finds… at great prices! Can’t beat that!
Thank you Janis! What’s so crazy is that it was a total random event that we went into that store on that day. It was never a situation where I was routinely checking the store, looking for (and expecting to find) a loveseat there. We were driving by and I thought “Hey, we’re here – let’s go in and look around”. Good thing somebody else was paying better attention than I was !!
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I love this piece. It is perfect for this room and what a fabulous “she cave”. I claimed our loft as my “girl cave” and I love it.
Marty, Thank you so much for stopping by! I have been reading your blog for years, so forgive me for being a little giddy that you came by! I am so excited to start filling out the room around the loveseat, and have so many ideas of things I want to do! And yes indeed – don’t we all need our ‘she caves’! Thank you again for visiting! Best wishes for a successful healing and recovery!
That loveseat looks new. The fabric is a bit of a challenge, but you’re proved its workable. The room looks cozy and inviting Kristine. I like the name Sailor and chuckled at the way you said you were fortunately driving and he was ahem expressing a lack of enthusiasm. I could just see it lol.
Leanna – That fabric is and will be a challenge, but it’s a good challenge. My niece is living with us for a bit until she gets on her feet, and that room is now hers. But eventually, I will get back in there with all my ideas and projects! Thank you for stopping by!