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I was going to originally title this post “Sofa King” because Tyson and I are pretty much unable to have a discussion about sofas without one of us referencing the completely inappropriate and wickedly funny SNL skit spoofing a late night commercial for a furniture showroom called Sofa King. Have you seen it? It features Shia LaBeouf with a really bad unibrow and the cast sharing such brilliant zingers as “That deal is Sofa King, great!” Maybe it’s because we don’t use that word or the way that SNL gets away with essentially dropping the F-bomb a dozen times without being censored, but we end up giggling like a couple of 8 year olds saying the word “fart” every time we think about it. We are so juvenile… I know. What I didn’t know until writing this is that Sofa King is a whole thing in the Urban Dictionary and there are sites dedicated to merchandising this phrase. Friends… I’m so naive. And old. Good grief… if you’re still interested, read on…
Now that all the Christmas decorations are down, everything in our home looks clean and bare. Normally I find it a little depressing, but this year I’m finding it incredibly inspiring. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get things looking closer to what we’ve envisioned. 2012 saw us able to take care of some long overdue needs and we are hoping that this year will allow us to enjoy some long overdue wants. And one such “want” is a new sofa for our family room.
So the Sofa King came up this morning over coffee as we discussed goals for 2013. Our current sofa is 16 years old and has been a major workhorse. Could it get us through a few more years? Probably. Would it be nice to have something new and updated? Absolutely.
We spent the morning brain storming ideas. And just like that, we shifted from goal setting to shopping… because let’s face it, shopping is WAY more fun than financial planning.
Our family room is long and narrow and we’ve decided that we would love to have a sectional in the space. We are still trying to decide if we should go with an L-shaped sectional or one with a chaise. I think we are leaning toward a chaise style since it keeps the room feeling more open, but that is always up for discussion.
We are also looking for the best bang for our buck. We really need something that can handle two large dogs, two teenagers… plus their friends, our friends… you get the idea. We don’t want to pay through the nose and we are still trying to figure out what is “reasonable” for a good quality piece.
We’ve narrowed our style search down to these possibilities:
Sectional #1
We really like the chaise style of this sectional with it’s clean lines. The color is beautiful, but could be problematic for the traffic it needs to handle.
Sectional #2
This sectional from Crate & Barrel is really cool too. It feels more like a sofa and less like a sectional and could really work out nicely in the narrow room.
Sectional #3
My butt got to actually “test-drive” this one at our local Pottery Barn and I’m not gonna lie… it was niiiiiice! It’s more of a traditional sectional so I’m not sure if it will cut off too much of the room, but the fabric is really durable making it a definite contender.
So we could really use your input. Do you have a sectional and how has it worked for your lifestyle? Have you purchased a new piece of furniture and found a specific time of year is the best time to buy? Is there an SNL skit that makes you laugh like no other? Juvenile responses are completely acceptable.
Storypiece 
I was deep into your SNL intro paragraph before it hit me… so fa-king great. HAHAHAHAH. I’d never heard that particular line, and I’m curious what Urban Dictionary has to say about it, but now am kind of worried about googling it. Should I be scared?
Also, I don’t know what the chances of me actually having a brand new SNL skit I love since I haven’t watched the show since… high school? (Although have seen all the good ones via youtube or when people email them to me.)
This is um. Inappropriate. But I found it delightful. It’s a spoof on the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey/what to get your mom for mothers day (I didn’t read the books, but did read an excerpt online when the hype was beginning) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK8Lr_HL3eY
Also, More Cow Bell. And D**k in a box… love
Anyway. Sofa. We bought a new sofa when we finished the living room… it was like discovering the cure for polio, that’s how satisfying it was. We got the Restoration Hardware English roll arm— at the outlet, where it was somewhat less insanely expensive. I LOVED that sofa, and they happened to have the exact one I wanted the day I made the trek, so it kind of seemed like fate.
At the time I wanted a white sofa. But now I think I was under the influence of WAY too many luxury-design blogs. It’s so nice… but I was compelled to wrap it in a giant slipcover so you can’t see how pretty it is.
Bwhahaha!! It took us a minute to get it too and now we can’t NOT see it. The google search wasn’t too bad, I just had no idea it was a thing and it made me feel like I was trying to use a phrase that a person of my age shouldn’t have in rotation. More Cow Bell is classic and my favorite JT skits are The Barry Gibb Talk Show and Omletteville. If you haven’t seen them, you have to! Your life is not complete until you do.
I looked up your sofa and love the low arms and the color too. Why do light sofas have to be so gorgeous? I can’t even keep a white t-shirt clean, how am I suppose to keep that yardage looking amazing?! We currently have a slip cover on our old sofa and it’s okay, but I’m really hoping we can live without one.
Thanks for sharing. I’m all about the more info, the better on major purchases.
We have a chaise one. It was great for our condo. In our home it’s just WAY too small. I have wanted an L shape sectional forever. But and I mean a big but, I do not want one with a chaise end. It must must must have arm rests on both ends. I am so picky about that. I don’t really know why either.
Which is why I keep going back to the Karlstad even though I refuse to get a couch from IKEA b/c enough is enough you know? There’s a great store called EQ3 that has a couple of modern ones. If I could I’d be hanging at Restoration Hardware. You guys have way more couch selection than we do up here in Canada b/c we don’t have West Elm, etc hanging around in Ontario. I really look forward to seeing what you get. I’d go bigger. I’d get the L shape with a chaise at one end. With armrests.
That’s so interesting that you feel that way about the chaise. The Pottery Barn one comes in an armless version and both Tyson and I felt like it needed armrests. I’m not sure why either… I guess it just looks like you can really relax on it more; prop a pillow, that sort of thing. It definitely helps hearing what others take into consideration… thanks!
I’m really impressed at your ability to write a totally hilarious post about replacing a 16-year-old sofa. Like Victoria, it took me a while to get the joke. Very phonetic. Leave it to those SNL’ers to put one totally past the censors.
And you’re so kind to ask my opinion! We have a sectional like the Pottery Barn model and it’s been the best piece of furniture we ever bought. We’ve had it since ’99… but I’d rather recover than replace it. One of its best features is you can push the sections together and make a bed… perfect for sleepovers!
It’s been hugely helpful getting everyone’s opinion, so thanks for weighing in. We don’t make large furniture purchases very often and I like to feel well informed before we do. Interestingly enough, as I’ve been talking with everyone on the blog and in our non-internet world, we are leaning toward the Pottery Barn style sectional. It seems like the most functional for the long haul. Thanks for sharing!