Warning: this post will leave you with no closure… just the first chapter on our journey to find the perfect couch.
For the last 8 months, we’ve been couch-sitting (both figuratively and literally) my sister Anna’s couch. My parents bought it for her new apartment, but she was living in the dorms at the time, so it needed to be stored somewhere temporarily.
Since we planned on buying a new couch soon (ish), we moved our uncomfortable brown sectional to the attic, and welcomed Anna’s couch into our home and treated it like one of our own.
Well, the new school year is upon us, and my sissy is preparing to move into her new apartment… sooooo we lost our couch. We knew the day would come, but we were unprepared for her to leave our lives forever.
Mostly financially unprepared… Couches are EXPENSIVE!
We aren’t ready to pull the trigger just yet, but we wanted to get a feel for what we like, and an understanding of the pricing vs. quality We took a family trip to Redeker’s in Boone, IA to walk around and scope things out.
Our criteria is as follows:
- long enough for Nick to comfortably lay on
- not a sectional
- clean lines (no curves in the arms)
- durable kid/friendly fabric
- No big/floofy back cushions that would eventually look saggy and lumpy
- In the $600 range
It turns out couches are really SHORT. Why did they used to be much longer back in the day? This one below was probably the one we liked best. The colors are wrong, but it was the longest couch in the store, and it had clean lines like we like!
Now we have some thinking to do and some numbers to crunch, and decisions to make. Do we order this couch in a different fabric? Do we hold out and check out a few more stores? I refuse to shop online and make a decision based on a photo!
And it’s tough because furniture stores are 1.5+ hours from our house… so it’s basically a day-trip with the sisters in-tow. They did pretty good on this particular day, but by the time we’d checked out the whole store, ALL PARTIES were ready to take a nap.
So as you can see, we have no closure to offer. We’re still on the hunt for the perfect couch for our sad and empty living room. We’ll be keeping you posted!
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I, for one, LOVE trees. When we bought our home, there were 4 trees on…
I noticed that you didn't specify "new" as a must-have for couches. You can score a great deal (and a great couch) from garage sales or craigslist. I got my couch for $35 from a garage sale 9 years ago and it's STILL incredible!
–Kathy
Wishing you tons of luck on the couch hunt! When we bought our new home, we painstakingly picked out a BEAUTIFUL couch. It was SO comfortable in the store, it has transformed it self into the most uncomfortable couch we have ever owned. So we are on the hunt once more, I like the thrift shop sofas for the vintage look but I agree there is always the worry of bedbugs 🙁 The best couch we ever owned was from ikea, I am thinking we are going to go that route once more.
Your credenza post was amazing its beautiful.
Oooo we'll definitely be checking it out! Thanks for the tip Tabatha!
We love the look (and price!) of thrifted couches… but find that they often aren't comfortable. Especially if they're from the era we like! 🙂 And I'm paranoid about fleas.
Thrift store. Always and forever, the thrift store. My partner & I got an awesome yellow 7" 1950s couch in brand new condition for $21.
I would check out the Jonathan Louis line at Homemakers. We got a sectional version of it. There are many colors, fabrics, and styles of arms.
McGregor's furniture on Main Street and Stalzers furniture on Iowa
Kristin, we rearrange a lot… and like the versitility of a couch and being able to put it on any wall. We have a ton of doors and windows in our living room, so having a sectional would give us very few options for arranging. I do love how huge and comfy sectionals are though. The corner is my very favorite spot! 🙂
It's so true! If you're going to spend a hunk'o'money, you want it to be EXACTLY what you want. 🙂 And a couch is definitely something worth splurging on… for the right one that is. Good luck in your hunt for the perfect dining table! Your kitchen/dining room are coming together wonderfully!
Cecilia, thanks for the suggestion. Slipcovers definitely are convenient for removing/washing. We'll be keeping this in mind! Thanks!
It's like the stars aligned for you! The yellow couch was meant to be… LOVE IT! 🙂
Why not a sectional? they are long! we love ours (see my family room post from 2 weeks ago). THough it wasn't cheap. I thrift everything in my house, but I wanted a good, new, solid couch as the centerpiece of our family room.
Big furniture purchases are always so stressful! You want to get the most for your money. The quality has to be there, and the price has to be fair. And of course, the looks! We are currently looking for the perfect dining table while we are finishing up all the kitchen stuff. I didn't anticipate it being this hard! We're trying to decide if we should refinish a table, or just buy something ready to go. I feel like it shouldn't be a hard choice, but it IS! Good luck on your couch hunt!
They have a surprisingly large furniture store here in town too on Main Street and another one somewhere we haven't been too! I can give you more info if you're interested! We like to browse from time to time, but I don't remember how the prices compare to elsewhere!
Have been on the couch search here in the KC area for MONTHS! We want a bright yellow and could not find the right color in a custom order couch, even at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Found a vintage sofa for $15 (yep – $15!!!!!) and found clearance fabric at a store that's closing. Sixteen yards of my bright yellow fabric…..$90! Such a deal….of course no one else in a 1000 mile radius wants a yellow couch. 🙂 Labor for recovering is $550. Such a steal! The only other thing even close was $3,500 at Thomasville. Ouch! GOOD LUCK!
Hello! Funny you mentioned couches because I was visiting another blog and she talked about slipcovers! So I wasn't sure if the couch you found was close enough to THE couch, but if the dimensions and lines were good and the fabric is the issue, maybe a slipcover would be an option? Anyhow, thought I'd pass it along 🙂
Beth, check out Young House love, they ordered the Karlstad and have loved it. hope it helps!
Jennifer, we love the look of vintage couches too, but find that they're super uncomfortable (like you said)… so we're wanting to fork out the money for something that's SUPER comfortable but still stylish! Thanks for the suggestions!
Since I'm up in Canada, I have no suggestions other than second-hand vintage that you can recover (wouldn't that be a fun project)?! We have a '60s couch. I love the look of it but it's not the most comfortable piece of furniture we have.
Good luck with the hunt (I would totally play amidst the fabric samples too).
xoxo
Hi Julie! The couch pictured was $800 I think. A little more than we want to spend, but we might end up making an exception. It was super comfortable!
Angelique, does the Karlstad come in a couch that's 6ft? Or just a sectional? I was looking online, and it looked like it did come in a simple couch, but was only 62" of seating area. 🙁 We really don't want a sectional, but we might need to go that direction out of pure necessity to facilitate my giant hubs! 🙂
This is great advice… thanks Colleen! We love buying local in general, so why not with furniture!!
Awwww thanks for the offer Wendy!! Unfortunately, our trip to Atlanta this month blew the travel budget for a good long time. I wish there was an IKEA closer!
I'm thinking a trip to DSM is in our future!
Ooo love this suggestion! We aren't far from Tama at all!
I always go to Homemakers in Urbandale, HUGE selection! And the clerance room is to die for. The prices are cheaper than anywhere Ive looked in DSM. Also check out their deals, when we bought our couch and new bedroom set in the last few months, we got $7 delievery anywhere in Iowa, 7% off and no interst for 7 months, plus the care kit to clean the fabric free.
Hope that kinda helps.
MissieKay
IKEA will be worth the trip. We are about 30 minutes north of the store. You are always welcome to stay at our house !! We would love to finally meet the 4 of you.
I second Bills Brothers in Cedar Rapids. Then you can stop are New Bo and have a cupcake at That Cupcake Place to celebrate your new couch. 🙂
We did the couch search a few years ago. We wanted to pay cash, and hoped to be able to negotiate with sales people. We found at all the "big name" furniture stores, they refused to negotiate on prices, delivery fees, anything. We ended up buying our couch at Bruxvoort's in Pella–they gave us $200 off because we paid in cash and borrowed our own truck to get it home. My suggestion is figure out what type of couch you want, then go to a local, smaller furniture store. They can order in for you, they can do any repairs on-hand, and they are not corporately owned, so they are willing to bargain with you!
I too was going to suggest Ikea, but unfortunately there isn't one even close to IA. But I do agree about the Karlstad–it's long (about 6ft), linear, and its comfy. You can even wash the cover!
Also consider American Furniture warehouse if there is one near you. You might also want to find out if there is an upholsterer in your area. Find the perfect used sofa, then have it reupholstered–or diy!
Try Maus Furniture in Tama. They are open on monday friday saturday! They also have a store in montezuma. Owners are Bobi and Brad Maus. My aunt and uncle they will work with ya and treat ya right!! Good luck! 🙂
I'm curious if that couch was in your price range…we're couch shopping now, too, and my favorite was $1000, more than I want to spend!!
Check out the Karlstad at Ikea. It's got clean lines and I think is 7' long. And dang it, you'd have to spend a whole day at Ikea. That would be terrible!!!
If you have all the info on the couch, try calling Boat's in Pella to compare prices. Since we live in Des Moines, we usually go to Homemakers, but their delivery is expensive and sometimes I dislike the salespeople. A couple times I have found better prices at Boat's, free delivery, and great customer service. And I've never even been to the store! Just order over the phone!
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! We'll definitely be looking into these! 🙂
We live in KC and agree that if you can get to a Nebraska Furniture Mart, the prices are great and selection is pretty awesome as well. Good luck! We need new couches too. Still living with husband's bachelor couches and we've been married for 12 years.
We live near Waterloo, IA. We purchased our new furniture from Nebraska Furniture Mart for much lower than other's prices.
Have you tried Bills Bros in Cedar Rapids? Their prices are usually really reasonable! They can't order anything in I don't think so you have to just keep checking back.