The Wall Couch

Over the past several years, Jason and I have slowly been working toward having a grown-up looking living room.  This is challenging, though not impossible, when all of your furniture is used, and some of it is free.  When we lived in New York, we had one couch that we bought for $99 from Cort Furniture.  About two years later, we obtained a second couch for free from a friend.  The first couch was purple; the second couch was navy blue.  They didn't really match, but we didn't care.

When we moved across the country, we gave away the blue couch, and "donated" the purple couch to the curb outside our apartment building (our cat had pretty much destroyed it - there was stuffing spilling from the arms).  My mom helped us buy a "new" used couch and recliner for our living room here.  They were both in the brown family, and looked almost like they went together.  However, any hope of having a grown up looking living room was dashed by our rolling kitchen cart that served as our TV stand.  It was pretty college.  

However, once Cy hit about 5 months we realized that he would soon be mobile and that the TV stand just wouldn't cut it anymore - it would only take one time of him pulling himself up on it for the TV to come crashing down on his head.  That's bad parenting, people.  So we searched craigslist until we found a nice entertainment center for $25.  Ahh, our living room was fast approaching grown-up status!

Look at that lovely, grown-up entertainment center!  There are even doors that can slide in front of the TV - you don't get more grown-up than a hidden TV!

Unfortunately, our semi-matching couch and recliner had become increasingly more uncomfortable, and we found ourselves favoring the floor over the furniture - even when Cy was in bed!  Buying new furniture just wasn't in the cards for us, so when someone from church offered a green leather couch, love seat, and recliner set for free, we jumped at the opportunity.  We figured we would keep the couch and recliner and put the love seat upstairs for the upstairs renters. (That reminds me, I'm not sure I've shared much about our current living situation - we live in the basement and rent the three bedrooms upstairs to college students - more about that in another post).  

The furniture is well-worn.  It is seventeen years old and has been well used and loved, but is still in excellent condition, all things considered.  (Although it does smell strangely of a taqueria...) Plus, the couch and love seat each have two recliners built in - sweet!  And, all the pieces are clearly part of a set.  (Don't worry, this is going somewhere, I promise).

We get the furniture to our house, move our old couch upstairs and move in the new couch and recliner.  The living room looks lovely, and, might I add, quite grown up.  The downside is that the love seat is slightly more comfortable than the couch because it was used less.  However, our living room is just too small to accommodate two couches on two separate walls.   And then, Jason gets what he deems a brilliant idea.  

Jason: Let's move the love seat in and line it up next to the couch!

Me: But then it will take up the entire wall!

Jason:  I know!  It will be a wall couch. 

Me:...

Jason: And, we could have five recliners in our living room!  Five!

Yes, every man's dream.  A room full of recliners.  I see my grown-up living room slipping away, with a college frat house taking its place.   So I tell him that he can try it out, but he has to do it himself - I will have no part in creating the "wall couch".  Giddy as a school girl, Jason moves the furniture around and creates his wall couch.  I figure that he can have his fun, and then I'll tell him I hate it, and the love seat will be gone. 

That, my friends, is a "wall couch"...

But here's the problem.  I don't hate it.  Not like I thought I would.  And, it is actually quite functional.  We each have a couch on which to lie - at the same time!  And, you know, at least they all match.  

So here's my question:  Does the fact that all of the couches match outweigh the fact that we have a line of couches in our living room?  Have I achieved a grown-up looking living room?  Or have I regressed to college frat house?  And, if I have regressed, should I care, or should I just enjoy the functionality, and novelty, of having a line of couches and five recliners in my living room?

Five recliners, in all their glory.