After going to a local sampling of South African wines on Saturday, we decided to check out a furniture store in the same shopping center. We wanted to get ideas for the new dining room table RWT is building. In addition to the table, he will also (eventually) build a china cabinet, sideboard and 12 (maybe even 14) chairs. He already has 10 of the chairs in various stages of completion... here are 5 of them:
So we were in the furniture store surreptitiously measuring dining room tables and checking out their mechanics, when a saleslady started talking to us. After a few minutes of asking her questions that we already knew the answers to ("Gee, is this wood cherry?", "Will it get any darker with age", "So you can put leaves in and make this table bigger?" and so on), we decided that she had both knowledge and good taste. So I did it. I asked her if they had any tight-back leather couches (I have been searching on and off for the ideal leather couch for over four years now). And that brief, simple question was my undoing.
Well, they did have a tight-back leather couch in one of their catalogs, however, it was just not quite what I was looking for (much to RWT's chagrin because, by this point, his alcohol-induced, shopping good humor was beginning to wane... little did he know... it was only all just beginning). While the saleslady was flipping through another catalog looking for more leather couches, I saw it -- what appeared to be the perfect upholstered couch!
Oh no! I thought I had firmly decided on leather couches for the living room, but this couch... a tight-camelback (our current couches have loose pillow backs and I am not about to spend another 15 years straightening pillows), gracefully curved, sweeping arms (and not too freakishly long like mine), and no skirt (so it will not turn into a repository of tennis balls and hair tumbleweeds -- both property of the dog). It could be the one. And did I mention that it is on sale?!?
Being the cautious, overly-sensible people that we are, we were not going to let a pretty picture lead us into any rash decisions -- we're not furniture sluts, after all! We went home to think about it.
As soon as we walked in the door, I went to the manufacturer's website and downloaded their full .pdf catalog of upholstered items (and found another somewhat similar couch, but with a bit more of an air of elegance and refinement), I looked at other manufacturers (where I discovered a couch that, on Friday, I would have ecstatically said was the Holy Grail of leather couches, but now....???), I inundated unsuspecting friends with pictures of couches and I grilled poor RWT on his thoughts and feelings about all the couch possibilities... "Do you like this one better?" "What about this one?" "Do you like it better than the other one?" "Better than this other one or that other one?" After RWT simply refused all further queries and threatened to stop talking to me about anything, I just sat and stared at pictures of couches.
This morning dawned with nothing decided. Only more questions... "Should we buy a couch now at all?" "Is it too much money?" "Should I keep those new dance shoes or send them back?" We went to another furniture store to scope out couches there. Yes, that leather couch is exactly what I've always wanted in a leather couch... tight, low back, square arms, proportional, comfortable, the perfect color. But what about that upholstered couch?!? The couch. Back to the first furniture store we went. The more questions asked, the more questions arose. To quickly, it was time to go to our dance lesson (and RWT breathed a sigh of relief).
And here I am. No closer to a decision. Tired. Frustrated. Off to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow to fit my workout in before we go back to the furniture store... [to be continued]
No comments:
Post a Comment