A New Look

Our newly re-covered couch is back home and, fortunately for me, I love it.  As for most other people who have seen it… the jury is out.  It’s one of those ‘in the eye of the beholder’ kinds of things.

I have to admit that I had my doubts about the fabric between the time I chose it and when Mead’s called to say the couch was ready.  But as soon as I saw the fait complet, I knew I had made the right decision.

The colors suit the room.  The gold tones pick up the copper of the lamp and mustard color of the runner on the table behind.   And our cranberry carpet brings out the dark reddish-brown detail of the fabric’s design. Gorgeous! Plus, it’s polyester and patterned – not spill proof, of course, but surely it will camouflage or clean up better than our last dove gray corduroy cotton.

Detail

We picked up the couch on Wednesday.  It was one of those “iffy” days weather-wise, and I worried all the way to Astoria and back.  The plastic “tarp” affixed with duct tape was coming loose before we got to the Washington side of the river, but the rain held off.  Once back in Oysterville, our luck re-doubled when we began to wrestle the couch out of the pickup.

I say it weighs a ton; Nyel says it’s just awkward.  Either way, getting it out of the house and into the truck the first time around had been tough.  I was not looking forward to the reverse process.  But, as luck would have it, two couples (tourists) were just coming out of the church and rushed over to help.  The men made light work of lifting, carrying, and replacing the couch to its rightful position. The women ooohed and aaahed and told me that the fabric was the perfect choice!

In ‘exchange’ for their hard work and kind words, I showed them around the house.  They seemed to love it – especially all my stories that inevitably accompany one of my house tours.  They were so complimentary about all the long-forgotten details that I had belabored and angsted (is that a word?) over when we moved in thirteen years ago.  My kind of people!  (As an extra bonus, we have already been in touch by email and I feel like we’ve made new friends.)

Last night was our first opportunity to introduce the new couch to the neighbors.  Among our Friday Night Irregulars, there were mixed reactions.  Two people asked questions (Where did we have it done?  What kind of fabric is it?) but made no comments.  Two others were wildly enthusiastic.  One said, “I’ll have to get used to it” which is what Nyel has said from the get-go.

Bottom line: everyone was very careful last night.  No drips or spills.  And that in itself is a plus!