When Eric and I bought the Ramshackle compound in 2002, our eight foot sofa did not fit our tiny new home. Despite being house poor, we took a trip to IKEA and bought a couch with some Danish inspired name. We didn't over think the purchase. The couch fit into our smaller house. It looked okay, but we didn't swoon. The couch seemed serviceable. We couldn't stretch out for the long indulgent naps like our previous sofa, but it fit in the living room without stretching into the dining area or covering any doors.
Two years later, kids entered the picture. As they grew, the couch became a jumping couch. Not just little jumps but big catapult jumps from the bookshelf down, flips, dives and more. I looked for one of the many jumping couch pictures but was unable to find one without a naked kid.
After years of steady jumping, it began to develop a serious squeak when you sat down. Eric and I figured the couch was a goner, being a cheap IKEA couch. Eric flipped it on end, found that the frame could be tightened (no doubt with an allen wrench, but I don't remember exactly). When he righted it, the squeak was gone, the jumping resumed.
In addition to being sturdy, the cover is completely removable. I thrown it into the washing machine many times, always amazed how well it cleans. The fabric has started to give at the impact zone of the jump, however. I continue to patch it and be thankful for my cheap IKEA couch.
Let the jumping resume.
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We have an IKEA couch too! But it's actually two chaise longues put together and is great for watching movies together.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I doubt very seriously it would handle bouncing children as well as your couch has.
Now that you have a two-tone grey effect, the next patch needs to be a bright red. You could patch some other parts of the couch and make it look like it's 'sposed to be that way. It would certainly give you a custom cover, at the very least.
amazing..we have an ikea couch as well and two of the three kids love to get airborn on it..the cover has been washed an insane amount of times--it does have some tears in the cover
ReplyDeletei am amazed you have time to do patching
IKEA couch comrades!
ReplyDeletePaula, the patching, although it may be hard to believe, is inspired by Prince Charles shoes. He patches his shoes with similar leather so the patches blend in, although my gray match was the best I had with materials available.
A red patch would make a nice bold shot of color though. Although we seem to be quite colorful...different shades of dirt, leaves, twigs, etc.
Mr. Lentini, I try to keep up on patching, otherwise the slide to to slovenliness is a bit to steep and shockingly rapid around this house. I find if I patch, the recycled home aesthetic appears maintained. I try to throw in some patching time between other things. It's a great opportunity to sit down.
I am enjoying the statement "looked for one of the many jumping couch pictures but was unable to find one without a naked kid"
ReplyDeleteI strongly suspect I would have the same problem if I looked through our iphoto archives to find one of our boys jumping on our couch. When ours is not being jumped on the boys are usually using the cushions to build a fort/space shuttle/boat/dragon trap.
We have a brown microfiber couch which has turned out to be an excellent fabic/color choice for children.