I'm Having a Tom Cruise Moment

Instead of jumping on a couch because I'm in love with a starlet, I'm jumping up and down because I'm in love with a couch. This could only mean one thing...

MY COUCH IS HERE! The much anticipated replacement for the awful futon is now in my living room.

After months of searching (and arguing) the hubby and I finally decided on this couch. Here's a breakdown of why this one's a winner.

SIZE

When it comes to couches, I like 'em long and wide. That's what she said. Seriously though, both the hubby and I are big fans of lounging, napping and snuggling on the couch. We had to have enough length to accomodate a fully reclined adult and enough depth to allow us both to lay on it at the same time - and none of that space saving head-to-foot crap - have you smelled a foot lately? We're avid spooners.

What really sold us on the couch is its versatility. The (included and matching) bolster pillows can be moved around to make room for plenty of couch activities. Sitting up and chatting? Throw a bolster behind your back. In the mood for sitting with your feet on the couch? Pull the pillow out and lounge away. Feeling sleepy? Throw a bolster or two against the armrest and have a nap. Making a pillow fort? They work for that too.

STYLE

I was willing to admit that our couch needed to be comfortable, but I wasn't quite ready to concede on sleek design lines.

I wanted a couch that looked like this:

but hubby wanted a couch that was as comfortable as this:

We didn't exactly start on the same page, did we? Allow me to diagram why our couch was a great compromise for us.

A- Pillows, pillows and more pillows thus providing the necessary comfort factor.

B- Relative squareness. Not quite as dainty as my ideal couch, but the lines are clean are there isn't a pleat or cup holder in sight.

C- Feet. It was important to me that our couch sit off the ground - even just an inch - to keep it from looking so weighted.

COLOR

Color was perhaps the greatest challenge for me. As you know, I had already established a color palette of grays, yellows and shades of white. I really had my mind set on a nice nubby tweed fabric, in a gray that was darker and richer than my wall color but still on the warm end of the spectrum. As you can probably guess such a specific fabric was not available (at least not on my budget). I was really against the idea of microsuede, it just seems cheap to me. Unfortunately 75% of couches sold in mainstream furniture stores only come in microsuede. So that eliminated many couches right off the bat. When we were browsing at Z Gallerie I was beyond excited that they had a huge stack of upholstery options to choose from.

Other than no microsuede, the only rule we had to follow was no leather. We learned early on - our first couch was a leather hand-me-down - that cats and leather are not a good combination. Leather is great for furry pets, not so great when those pets have claws and like to leap off your furniture. Our sad old couch was so covered in track marks it looked like it needed an intervention.

Even with so many options, most of my fabric choices were in the warm sand/beige family. Don't get me wrong, I love a good taupe, but they just wouldn't have worked in our room. I came across the navy blue velvet swatch and said to the hubby "It's so crazy it just might work!" Several days after we ordered (and paid for) the couch I began to panic that the blue would look too foreign with my grays and yellows. Now that we have it in the living room, and have added some navy blue accents, everything looks nothing short of harmonious.

However, there was one major "Doh!" moment: about 30 seconds after the delivery men were out the door, the cats hopped on the couch and immediately set about their mission to coat the entire thing in fur. For those of you who say "Just train them not to jump on the couch," I say "Yeah right! Have you ever met an obedient cat?" Enter our two new best friends:

1) A navy blue throw blanket. We already had this laying around the house, but it just so happened to match the couch almost perfectly. We tucked it over the back cushions - this been claimed as a prime spot for bird/squirrel watching - and we can whip it off when company comes over and pop it in the wash.

2) The Fur-Zoff pet hair remover. The hubby found this after some internet digging and it works wonders. For just under $10, it has already earned its keep. No sticky, disposable rollers to deal with and it's made from 90% post-consumer recycled materials right here in USA - and it works like a charm! Who could ask for more? If you have cats, dogs or other furry critters I highly recommend ordering one of these bad boys to help combat your pet hair problems.

PRICE

While on our couch hunting expedition the hubby and I knew we were looking for a couch that was "only a little expensive" - yes, we actually agreed on something! We wanted to invest in something of quality that would stay with us for many years. We didn't want a cheap, but potentially flimsy, sofa from Target or Ikea. We also didn't want a huge $4000 couch from some fancy designer. So our Z Gallerie sofa was the perfect fit for us. The price tag said $1299 but with the fabric upgrade* and shipping it came out to around $1550. Don't worry, we think that's a lot of money for a young couple starting out and we thought long and hard before laying down the cash. In the end we think it was worth it to invest in a couch we love.

So there you have it. The how's and why's of picking our couch. Do you have anything in your home that you had to search high and low for? Do tell!

NOTE: The folks over at Fur-Zoff (or Z Gallerie, or BB&B) did not pay me or otherwise perk me for mentioning their products. They are all things the hubby and I found, paid for and are enjoying in our home. I just wanted to share the love with my readers.

*In what world does fabric cost more than leather?