Tips for Choosing A Sofa

One of the rooms in our home that is on the “to-do” list is our living room. My style changes often however, living room furniture is something we live with for 10+ years so here are some things I like to consider and some inspiration from Havertys (click the images below for information on each specific sofa):

  • Size and shape – Do I prefer a standard size and shape? Smaller? L-shaped? Sofa and love seat or sofa chairs?
  • Furniture placement – I frequently rearrange furniture for a fresh new look as well as take Christmas time into consideration. Furniture against the walls… or defined/separate seating areas?
  • Room’s function – Conversational? Relaxing/lounging? TV viewing?
  • Color – I prefer to keep large furniture purchases neutral since I like mixing things up and changing things out often. How about you?
  • Material – Leather? Upholstered/fabric?

  • Style – What style fits our home? Classy and chic? Eclectic? So many combinations and options.

Because I can guarantee that within that 10+ year time frame, our living room will go through different stages, different color trends and styles.

I may have mentioned my indecisiveness a time or two so coming up with a couple of different ideas makes the process a little easier. When looking at purchasing large furniture, I have a small list of “must haves”. Large furniture purchases must be:

  • of good quality
  • durable
  • neutral
  • affordable

How about you? What is your decision making process when purchasing large pieces of furniture? How do you stay on on track with decorating/redecorating your home?

Share your Havertys purchases on Instagram using the hashtag #HavertysInspired – Havertys will be responding to reader shares! Visit and follow Havertys to stay up to date with the latest events, sales and trends: Website, Mobile Site, Blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter.

Havertys helps you bring your vision to life. Visit Havertys.com to find a store near you, detailed product information and design tools to guide you in your home decor purchases.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Havertys. The opinions and text are all mine.

 

DIY Cart Rescue/Furniture Makeover

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Elmer’s ProBond Advanced for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you have old furniture just taking up space in the basement, garage or attic? Or maybe with the start of yard sale season right around the corner, you’ll spy a fun furniture piece to flip…keep your eyes open! The other day I spied an old metal cart collecting dust so I decided to give it a purpose. It once belonged to my husband’s grandfather. Time to dust the cart off, give it life and make it useful.

cart makeover at diyshowoff.com

Materials:

  • Old metal cart
  • Pine planks (I purchased three 1x3s and one 1×4)
  • Wood stain and sealer
  • ProBond Advanced

What I did:

First I cleaned up the cart a bit. I was going to spray paint it but it really wasn’t in bad shape (finish wasn’t original – it had been spray painted in the past) and I sort of like the few scratches and scuffs, making it look old and not brand new. Sometimes imperfections are perfect, right?

before…

cart before

cart before

Then I set about measuring and cutting the wood planks to fit the top and what looks like support for a bottom shelf. 

measuring

After deciding placement of the planks, I marked, sanded and cleaned each one. 

I stained each wood plank a rich beautful color. I brushed the stain onto all sides with a foam brush (in the same direction as the wood grain) and wiped away with a clean rag then let them dry for an hour or two.

Last step! Just glue and clamp the wood planks into place. Elmer’s ProBond Advanced is designed for gluing mixed materials like wood planks to the metal cart (porous to non-porous materials) without expanding, creating a foamy residue and making a mess. Awesome! Let the glue dry 24 hours. 

I applied a sealer to the wood to protect the finish and add a little shine.

Loved once again…

flea market flip at diyshowoff.com

Beautiful new wood top and shelf:

wood plank cart makeover at diyshowoff.com

Now what was once just junk now serves as a side table (or would that be center table?) in our family room.

diy furniture makeover at diyshowoff.com

Sharing at Inspire Me Tuesday.

Are you a DIY’er? Find any recent ‘hidden treasure’? Find more DIY inspiration on Elmer’s Mixed Materials Pinterest board. 

 

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Design Style: Urban Classic

I’m often stumped when asked my decorating style. I tend to just do what I love. Our family room is a mix of modern with vintage, new with old, an “urban classic” style but with a bit more fun with pops of color.

I’ve recently been working on redoing the family room which is a mix of repurposed, thrifted, DIY and new. Vintage modern. Urban classic. It’s still a work in progress (I know. I know…I just revealed the family room makeover not long ago but it wasn’t feeling ‘just right’ so I’m slowly changing it. Again.) I love decorating. I love thrifting. I love DIY. But sometimes adding something new is just as important for achieving the look I love. Sometimes that means saving for a big ticket item but most of the time I’m working on a tight budget.

One of the elements you can’t miss in my family room is the set of Sauder Barrister Lane bookcases on either side of the fireplace surround. New but classic spin on the plain cubby-style shelving. I love the color/finish and the addition of vintage-looking name plates.

Two Barrister Lane bookcases give this wall and fireplace surround a built-in (but moveable) look.

I love the vintage vibe of the bookcases paired with a modern pattern like in this accent rug and colorful glass lamps:

And they’re versatile. So when I get the urge to rearrange, they’ll work in several other rooms in my home too.

Get the Look: For a bit of casual sophistication, Urban Classic reflects a smart, easygoing lifestyle through timeless decorating. Somewhat eclectic, this style focuss on mixing classic and found items to hint at a well-traveled taste. Urban Classic is full of sophisticated yet relaxed home design ideas with a healthy mix of materials. Colors are earthy and rich, while materials show age to suggest a loving history of use.

  • Find inspiration. Check out magazines, decorating blogs, ideas via Pinterest or a Google search. Sometimes inspiration can be found in art, fashion, one object, fabric patterns, catalogs, etc.
  • Mix repurposed, thrifted, DIY with new and modern (Sauder has a broad range of beautiful furniture at affordable prices) to create a room that reflects your style.
  • Personalize. Take what you love about your inspiration and put your own spin on it, making it fit your lifestyle, your personality.

Perfect timing: Before I even received this opportunity, I spied the Barrister Lane bookcases and knew right away that I wanted a set of two to flank either side of the vintage fireplace surround that you often see in my family room (sometimes I move it to the dining room). I couldn’t pass up the color, style, function and affordable price and ordered two of them online. THEN just a few days later, I received the offer to participate in the Sauder Get the Look campaign. Great timing, awesome coincidence! I purchased the product before the campaign became available to me. How perfect!

Purchase experience: The bookcases arrived and were simple to assemble by myself. The instructions were easy to read and the pieces clearly marked. There was however one piece missing from one of the packages. My first reaction was panic…would I have to box it back up and ship it back? (Sauder furniture is super heavy – not fun for shipping but definitely adds to the overall quality of product.) The answer: No. I simply went online to sauder.com and ordered a replacement part. Free-of-charge. It arrived within in a few days. No hassle! Great customer service – I was able to manage ordering the replacement part on a Sunday evening without even having to explain the situation to a sales representative or make an extra trip to the store or without having to return the product. Gotta love that!

What design style is most prevalent in your home? See more ‘Get the Look’ ideas from Sauder on Pinterest.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sauder Woodworking. The opinions and text are all mine.