Happy day off! I'm using it to my advantage...
Already this weekend we've made some pretty amazing progress on the house--I've hit three JoAnns for during their Labor Day sale (50% off clearance fabrics and home dec fabrics, and then on my JoAnn app on my phone there's a 15% off your total purchase coupon... good stuff!), been to three Goodwills (curtains! Soooo much cheaper there than making them or buying elsewhere!), and--most amazing thing--we found THE couch.
I've had my eye on the West Elm Henry Sofa for a while as sort of an inspiration for a good, basic sofa. I love white couches but my husband puts his shoes on couches a little too much for me to be comfortable with one. ;) So the Dove Grey Performance Velvet that's the stock fabric on this one is perfect, and it's a simple, clean, modern style that can be easily dressed up or made girlier if I want... versatile.
So, I've been hoping to find a sofa like the West Elm one, because it's $799, which is a good price but out of my comfort zone for this purchase. (Even with the current upholstery sale--15% off through today, September 5th--a little too much...)
But, we stopped in the local West Elm on Friday date night just to look at it, just get more familiar with styles we might want... and talked to the nice saleslady, and she asked had we just moved? And we answered, yes, we had, like a week and a half ago. She said we could get the extra 10% off for people who've just moved, on top of the 15% off upholstery sale... that brought the Henry Sofa down to $611. I had been looking at knock-off options in the $500 range, so an extra $100 for the quality and style of a real West Elm couch??? OK!!!!!
So we bought it, and drove it home yesterday. It's getting comfortable in our living room, and now that we have the couch, we can do the rest of the room! Here it is in a real room on the West Elm blog...
So far this weekend I've bought quite a lot of fabric and curtains and such, but my new house shopping list is still massively long and I don't know which fabrics go in which rooms and there is NO art on the walls. Lots to hang, but where to start?? And, major pillow crisis! I want to make some, but what kind?!?
Long story short--we are SO grateful for this Labor Day off and are using it to full advantage! I have some curtains on my lap right now and the sewing machine is on next to me, and I'll share more photos with you when I can!
Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend, too!
Congratulations on your new home! My tip would be to live in it and enjoy before purchasing any wall art and anything else not essential. You need to get a good understanding and feel of how the space works for you first. There is no rush, as you are not planning to move on anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yep, I'm finding that... I have boxes of wall art and NO IDEA where to start hanging it or if I even like it anymore! And need a bunch of little furniture but don't know quite what look I want yet!
DeleteThat's so great that you got the extra % off on the couch you wanted! So lucky!
ReplyDeleteAdorable couch pick! I love the idea of "Performance Velvet." I mean...what is velvet for if not a beautiful performance :)
ReplyDeleteI got a couch from ikea that is a navy and white print, kind of a swirly damask. I was so in love with the blue I didn't think about the white in the pattern.... And it got insanely dirty, mostly from my dog and from people sitting on it.even washing the covers (go ikea washable covers!) a couple of times a year with oxyclean, there is a noticeable difference in the whiteness or grayness of the pattern from the seats to the back. Sigh. It would have been much better as a blue-gray pattern to start with! I guess when it really starts to bug me I can just buy a new slipcover at ikea....
ReplyDeleteYou could overdye the removable cushions so they were a navy/grey or navy/pink or whatever print! They would contrast with the rest but still be fun!
DeleteI have been drooling over the Henry sofa for a year. Knowing that it is 15% off right now might be the push I need. So glad you like it!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great couch! I know it is a lot of work now, but once you are finished you get to enjoy your own house!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the design in your living room!! And the couch looks fantastic! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pirateandlilac.com
It is a great looking couch and versatile like you said! Lucky you for the extra discount, thats awesome!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Such a great discount. My boyfriend and were actually looking at this sofa on the West Elm website this weekend. I can't wait to get rid of our brownfrumpy leather sofas.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone! I am excited for the new couch and can't wait to style it for us!!
ReplyDeleteI just purchased my first home (yay!) and have been searching for the perfect gray sofa. Needless to say its been a tough search! I always assumed West Elm furniture was out of my price range but after exhausting big box retailers and local design stores I figured it couldn't hurt to check out west elm and viola! My nearest West Elm is about an hour and half(ish) away so I'm headed there tomorrow to check it out in person to see if its really as fantastic as I think it is. Glad to see yet another great review of the West Elm Henry sofa!
ReplyDeleteDo you still like your Henry sofa? I've read some bad reviews about how the stuffing gets clumpy and flat and how the fabric spins around the pillows so the piping gets out of alignment. I'd love to hear how yours has worn for you in the past few months as I'm considering buying one.
ReplyDeleteGood question!! I don't really know, since we've only had it a few months and haven't been very hard on it. Don't have kids destorying or anything but my husband does tend to totally squash pillows... I see how the piping could get off-center on the back cushions but I've been able to punch/fluff them back into shape! Try it out at the store!
DeleteSave your money. I've had mine for 2 yrs now. The piping is totally out of alignment, the fabric has stretched and so its a battle EVERY.SINGLE.DAY to pull it back around the cushions to make it look decent. The back cushions look like very long BODY PILLOWS and I"ve had to put extra stuffing in them to fill them out as the stuffing DID get clumpy and made them look squashed. It is easy to clean. I've managed to scrub peanut butter fingerprints out of it with a babywipe, but its really not a good long term couch. Pass on it.
Deleteso now that it has been a year, how do you like your sofa? and how does the velvet hold up? i have been looking at west elm sofas but don't know anyone who has owned one.
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