new couch || gus modern

Holy crap you guys!  I have a legit blog post for you today filled with new photos, and as a bonus, it has nothing to do with sewing!

I came across the company Gus Modern awhile back on Instagram.  The Spencer sofa, which is the one I purchased, popped up a few times through various handles.  I really liked what I had seen, so when I found out that a local company carried the brand I was excited.

This couch met most of my requirements, and out the year's worth of shopping I had done, this was the best pick.   I mentioned and shared a photo of my dream couch - the Coco sofa by Kim Salmela, in my previous post.  One day that couch will be in my home!  ;)  But I am happy to have this couch living with us.

By the looks of it the comfort level is questionable.  I mean, just look at this photo, right?  So I was really happy to know that a Spencer couch was in a local showroom for us to try out because I did not want to buy anything that I could not sit on.  It was actually really comfortable!   At 84" long, it is perfect for taking naps or watching a movie.  Matt is 6 feet tall, and he can lay on it without his feet touching the arms.   The cushioning is firm with a soft touch, if that makes any sense.  If this was Goldilocks, it would be just right.  There are future plans to take off the chrome legs and replace them with tapered wood legs when I can get around to it.  I was not too sure about those long rectangular pillows, and now that the couch is here with us, we use them all the time!  They are the perfect headrest/armrest.

One last look at what the room was like.  I talked about my feelings and why this room even looked the way it did in this blog post with more explanation here (which have even older photos -hehe).

Jan 2014

Here is where it is at today.  The floral chair is here to stay, at least for a little while.  It is down filled and oh-so-comfy, but yeah.  It totally clashes with everything else.  The color is okay, but the print is not, which clashes (but absolutely perfect for a traditional home!).  I would love to replace the fan as well, but for right now, it is not a necessity.

I always struggle getting proper natural light into this particular section of the house, and it has been mostly overcast for the week, which was not helpful and why this post was late.  But this lighting will suffice for now.  After checking out this photo above with fresh eyes, I want to move the bench over to the left more.  I can't help but to have everything look off-centered in this room from this point of view because the windows are off-centered, so I just try to deal with it.  :)

 Did you notice the new wall color?

If you are like my husband, your answer is no.  But to me, I can see a big difference!  It is Snowbound by Sherwin Williams.  I actually splurged and bought name brand during their half off sale over the holidays.  It is hard to find a perfect white, but I have found that a warm white works best in our home.  I believe the color on the window frame is the basic white that comes in the can off the shelf at Lowe's.

But I am pretty sure you noticed the addition of the wall shelf.  This is the exact same shelf we used in Owen's room a few years ago.  They are holding up great, so I placed one in our living room.  I also stained it walnut to help give it a little warmth and contrast to the cold walls.

 After finishing my book, I congratulated myself with the painting I talked about in this post.  It was originally intended for the dining area, but I had my eyes on this for a long time that I decided it needed to take center stage.  Very, very happy with that purchase and the shelf.  

You may have also noticed a big black thing in our living room that was not there before.  It is a new chair I got from West Elm.  I had been eyeing it for a while, and when I saw it on clearance in the store, I snatched it up.  I love it so much.  It's comfortable, kid friendly, and has the perfect place to rest your head.

The curves on it are pretty sweet too.  If you are interested in seeing close-up photos of my wall hanging, you can find that here in this post.

I'm loving it and loving it all.

HUGE progress, no?

xx nancy

One year ago: Unconventional way to remove Water Stains
Two years ago:  #7 quilt finish
Three years ago:  Fabric Silhouette Tutorial

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couch shopping

BDDW Grane Sofa- one of my dream couches

For Christmas in 2013, Matt gifted me living room furniture.  It was such a great present!  I do not really want to delve into too much of my couch shopping history.  It is pathetic and can induce eye rolling.  Let's just say I started off with a brown couch.  A brown living room for that matter.  Everything was so brown and neutral.

Since I have not blogged about the interiors of my home in awhile, let me speed this up.  Owen ripped out the right side of the curtain rod (thank goodness), and I sold my cream rug.  I found a black and white rug on Craigslist.

Christmas 2013

I sold couch and moved chairs in its place.

Hung a quilt and moved in a long bench opposite of the chairs.
These photos are from my personal Instagram account. (@nancy_purvis for my personal life // @owensolivia for my sewing life)

All the artwork from under the couch was now leaning up against the wall.

And then I painted my walls white about two months ago, which is not pictured in any of the photos above.  Those three simple changes made a big impact for my living room, in my opinion.

We kept our living room like this for almost a year.  It worked just fine for our small family, but I soon felt the need for a couch to lounge on.

I looked at so many couches before choosing one, and I will share with you the top picks.  I wanted a single cushion with a tufted back or a single cushion back to avoid that sloppy, slouchy pillow look that seems to happen after years of use.  I also preferred to have a couch that was at least 90" wide, but I believe the standard is anywhere from 80"-84".  At least, that is what it seemed like when shopping.   I didn't realize how hard it actually would be to find something within my criteria, and when I finally felt like I found the dream couch, it was way out of my price range.  

I narrowed it down to these choices.

West Elm  Crosby Sofa

Pros:  It was comfortable and long.  Customer service is great.
Cons: Two back pillows and their gray color was just okay.

Thrive Furniture Jefferson Sofa

Pros:  The right length and one seat cushion and back.  They had a good gray color.
Cons: Cannot test it out to check for comfort and didn't want to deal with return shipping if it didn't work out.

West Elm Ainslie Sofa

Pros:  Good color, tufted back one seat cushion.
Cons:  Cannot test it out for comfort.  Return shipping.  Too short in length.

Kim Salmela Coco Sofa

This was my dream couch (and still is).  It has everything I wanted, but the price tag was just too high.
Pros:  Very comfortable, handmade in the USA, long, tufted, and one seat cushion.  Legs can be customized.
Cons:  price

So what did I pick?  I actually chose none of these, and I will share my new couch in a different post.  It's okay.  I would scream and kick and hate me too for doing that to you.  :)   But it already took me  an hour to write up this short post, and this mama has a home to attend to!

Thanks for stopping in!!  No, seriously.  You are amazing, and I love you.  Are any of these your favorite?  Which one would you have picked?  Do you have hard time finding the "perfect" couch?

xx nancy

One year ago: The EM quilt
Two years ago:  A look at my vintage sound system
Three years ago: How to paint chevrons