A new couch means new layout
We recently purchased a new couch-a big sectional one-for our living room. The other one was only a few years old, but had seen better days. The matching recliner for the old couch had a broken spring, and the foot rest came out crooked, often making it difficult to close. I decided one day last week to throw it off the front porch and haul it to our burn pile. (Sometimes I make this type of snap decision that others find a little extreme.)
The problems that I had with the couch were mostly cosmetic, as my cats had used the bottom of it and the back corner for a scratching post a few times. It had strings hanging down, like the fringe on an old chenille blanket. Normally, I would have thrown a blanket over it and gotten a few more years of use from it, but without the recliner, we didn’t have enough seating for our family anymore. When we went shopping, we liked this sectional couch the best and brought it home. My oldest daughter wanted our old couch,so we kind of pushed it into our dining room a little to make room for the new couch. This caused some difficulties with eating dinner for several days, but we just slid things around until she could come get it.
The problem with the new couch being in the living room was that the only place it would fit was in direct conflict with the line of sight to where the television was mounted. The only other place we could mount the television was on the wall against which our piano rested. I attempted to move the piano to see if that wall was truly going to be a better location for the television, but discovered too late that it was too heavy. By leaning my back against the wall and placing both of my hands and both of my feet on the side of the piano, I managed to move it about two feet into the middle of the floor. Then, once I couldn’t reach any more walls, it was stuck there until I could enlist some help.
In the meantime, we weaved our way between the old couch, the end table that had to be moved for the piano, the piano, and the new couch. All to stare awkwardly over our shoulders at the tv. Fortunately, help arrived a few days later and the piano was moved onto the porch.
The following morning, I waited until my husband left for the day, and then I began to handle the situation in the living room. I cut out the old carpet in sections, took down the television and moved it to the now empty piano wall. I dusted, washed, swept, and cleaned everything top to bottom and back to front. I laid down an area rug and then began to put the new furniture back into the room. The old couch has found its new home at my daughter’s, and that opened the dining room back up to it’s former comfort. The living room is now a cozy little room where everyone congregates again.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that I am finished. There is always a new project that needs attention in this old house.
Laura Zoeller can be reached at zoeller5@verizon.net.