Family Room Makeover Phase III: New Chairs!

This has been a VERY slow process, but we are finally on phase III of our family room makeover! This phase involved replacing our old, worn out, out of style chair & half with two new chairs. Well, the new chairs arrived last week and I am SO IN LOVE! They are comfortable and beautiful and totally transform the room. 

These are the Lorraine Chair from Restoration Hardware. I've gotten a lot of questions about them being "kid friendly." My response here is two-fold. First, I tried to make them slightly more kid friendly by getting them upholstered in the Perennials Textured Linen Weave fabric (in sand). This is supposed to be extremely durable, stain resistant, and supposedly you can even clean it with bleach! We shall see how they do! ;) Second, I have bought so many things that I didn't LOVE with the mindset that I need to get something cheap and kid friendly, and for once I just wanted to get something I really really loved. I know we're hard on stuff and the chairs won't last forever, but I was to the point I'd rather have us beat up something really beautiful! 

Also, in case you were wondering, the color wood I selected is Burnt Oak. 

As a recap, here are links to Phase I and Phase II:

Phase I: New Built Ins
Phase II: New IKEA EKTORP Sectional Couch

Next.. deciding what to do with paint.... 

Family Room Makeover Phase II: New IKEA EKTORP Sectional Couch

If you read this post, you will know that Evan and I are on a mission to transform our living room into a space we love and utilize.

One of the issues I mentioned is how LONG and narrow the space is, followed by another issue that the openings are in weird spaces and therefore making furniture configuration a bit of a challenge for two reasons: 

1) Typically I would like the couch centered across from the mantle and the TV, but the way the openings align, to have the couch against the wall puts it about 4 feet off center from the TV. Hate it!

2) We tried floating it in the middle of the room, but the room is so narrow that then it just feels like you have no where to move around in the room. Hate it! 

Thankfully we thought of a great solution - to get a sectional couch! We can push it up against the wall so we can  easily see the TV, while the extending leg provides visual weight and additional seating without taking up too much walking space. (Of course, the other side of the room will need something to balance it out... but that is a topic for the next phase/post!) 

After weighing numerous options, we decided to go with the Ikea Ektorp sectional for several reasons. 1) Washable slipcover 2) Great price 3) Lots of good reviews from other friends/blogers.  While it may not be 100% my dream couch, we decided it was perfect for this phase in our life when our kids beat up EVERYTHING! We are so incredibly hard on stuff and the washable slipcovers and price were huge selling points. 

We ended up choosing the Nordvalla Dark Gray Slipcover. I really wanted white in terms of aesthetic appeal, but completely Evan put his foot down on that idea! He basically said it was him or a white couch, and I had to choose. So obviously, I chose the gray and my husband ;)

Here are my thoughts on the couch after having it for almost 8-months now:

1) SO GLAD we went with something affordable. The kids jump on it 24/7, it is the basis for numerous forts on a weekly basis, and it has been the recipient of more spills and sticky handprints than I can count. 
2) Going along with the above, SO GLAD we got washable slipcovers. I wash them. A lot. Also, I hate washing them. It is a PITA! Tip: Don't wash more than a few at once! It is so hard to figure out where they go because some of the cushions are like 99% similar but just different enough that you'll have wrestled it onto the cushion only to realize it doesn't fit, and lose your mind. Matching the covers to the cushions is like doing a master jigsaw puzzle if you try to do it all at once!
3) SO GLAD we got the gray. The hubs was right on this one! Even with washing the slipcovers, it hasn't been that easy to get all the stains out and I am GOOD at getting stains out of things. I think the white would have driven me crazy! 
4) I typically like really deep sofas. This one is NOT deep, but we got the matching ottoman so we can pull it right up to the couch and extend the seating/leg area when we are cuddled up and reading or watching a movie. Such a good decision - love this ottoman! Worth the $149!

Overall, super happy with the decision to get this couch even if it isn't my all time dream couch! Lord knows we are getting our money's worth out of it! It is cute, comfortable, and most importantly, functional. 

Good reviews aside, this room and the couch are still missing something.

#1: There is way too much gray going on in this room. I need to break it up with new paint, throw pillows, or SOMETHING.  There is not enough contrast, yet none of it matches so it just feels like a sea of gray. Not working for me! It drives me crazy actually! 

#2: The room still needs something to balance it on the other side. Right now we have a super old chair-and-a-half that has seen better days, has NEVER been comfortable, and doesn't match the room at all. I can't wait to get rid of it and replace it with something else! In fact, I just put the order in for that "something else" else last week! That will be my next post :)

Anyway, phase II complete! Stay tuned for more!