A Belated Merry Christmas to Our Bottoms

Ever since Melanie and I got married, we’ve had the same couch. Theoretically, that’s not a problem, except for the fact that the couch was a hand-me-down from my brother and has long since seen its prime. With two small children, any tears that have appeared in the sofa have quickly been exaggerated by curious, prying hands. At this stage, the couch is suffering from myriad fatal wounds. What’s worse, Peter likes to snack on its entrails when given the chance, so if you’re holding him while sitting on the couch, you’re constantly trying to keep his hands to himself, which can be an exhausting task.

For Christmas, Melanie and I were blessed with some generous monetary gifts from both parents and grandparents. We accumulated enough that a new sofa became a viable option for us. And so, on Saturday, after having researched what we could on the Internet, Melanie and I embarked on a couch-shopping trip. One place we visited is called American Freight, which claims to sell unclaimed freight. Their store is literally a warehouse—not very store-like at all. Sofas are lined up back-to-back so that you can’t even sit on them without moving other sofas out of the way. But, from what we had seen elsewhere, the prices were fantastic. One sofa in particular caught our eye. We adjusted things so we could sit on it, and when we did, we found it extremely comfortable. We were smitten.

There was one catch. The sofa we liked was available only as part of a set that included a loveseat. We hadn’t planned on buying a loveseat at this point in our lives, although we thought we would do so within a few years’ time. Technically, we could afford to buy the set, but should we? We left the store and kept talking about it. Eventually, we decided it was a worthwhile purchase. It certainly wouldn’t be any easier to buy these items sometime down the road. And so, a few hours after leaving the store, we were back. We bought the set. A few hours later, it was in our living room.

I must say, our derrieres are happy. The only downside that we didn’t realize during our relatively brief stint sitting on the couches at the warehouse is that the seats aren’t quite as deep as the seats on our old couch. That is, the support doesn’t extend as far out (toward your knees) as on the old couch. So, in comparison, we feel like our legs are kind of dangling. I’m sure we’ll get used to it, but it’s one noticeable difference that doesn’t completely thrill us.

I thought I’d go ahead and share some photos of our new furniture, as well as a picture of our old couch, so you can see that it was truly time for a new one. Be forewarned, the image of the old couch is somewhat grisly. It looks more like a crime scene photo, especially because I’ve circled the most damaging injuries the couch has sustained over the last few years. Those with heart problems are advised not to view the photo. Young children should also be kept away.

The Old:



The New:



The Loveseat Too: