My yard-sale couch with a Walmart slipcover looks fairly nice… as long as nobody sits on it.
This year, my parents graciously gifted me a new TV for Christmas. It’s a beauty — far more beautiful, anyhow, than the hand-me-down I’ve had for five years that sometimes turned Jon Stewart’s face purple when I watched “The Daily Show.”
But the newness of the TV is creating a monster inside me. You see, I’ve recently had a lot of home envy — I’ll walk into someone else’s apartment or house and think “Man, this house is awesome.” It turns out, not all 20-somethings keep their sorry lot of college-era pieces. Lots of 20-somethings have fancy light fixtures and decorative vases and real wall art and couches without slipcovers.
And I’ve been feeling a little inadequate.
Which brings me back to the TV. With the sleek flat-screen, I start to think about how non-sleek my end table looks (from a yard sale; free). And how silly my lamp looks (from my childhood bedroom; seriously needs a new shade). And how frustrating it is to constantly readjust the slipcover on my couch ($70 at Walmart and $80 at a yard sale, respectively).
I furnished my apartment via freebies, yard sales and flea markets when I graduated from college, because I could barely cover my first month’s rent and security deposit — much less a $700 couch.
But as I get further and further from graduation, I’m trying to look at my furniture (and other purchases) as investments. The other option, of course, is to refurbish to pieces or update them in a style I like. But when reupholstering a couch will cost upwards of $700, I have to ask whether it’s worth it for a yard sale item.
So I’m trying to purchase responsibly — rather than giving into the “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” mindset where I buy one new item and then another and then snowball until I’m under a mound of credit card debt, I’m trying to space out these purchases with minimal damage to my savings.
First up — a couch. Anyone have any coupons?
I got my new faux leather couch at Big Lots. I also got my first couch there, too, about five years ago. The store has great deals and the furniture holds up well.
That’s what my mom suggested, actually! I stopped in the one next to Books A Million on Saturday, but didn’t see anything that would fit my apartment. I’ll have to check back when they get new inventory.