01 April 2007
Closets and Couches
I have experienced some improvements in living conditions of late.
For one thing, the blasted Schränke (closets) are built. so now my clothes hang up.
Ta-Da!
Before I left Detroit I threw out my third-hand couch, the one that was at least 20 years old and didn't owe me a thing. In fact, there was a little debacle with the apartment complex who would get charged a fee by the dumpster service for furniture removal. I gladly paid the $35 so i wouldn't have to haul the thing to the dump in my pool-car in my last 2 harried days of getting ready to leave.
Ok, so that was the old couch. and i thought, "I will get a new couch when i get to Germany" hah. that was before i figured out i'd have to buy my own light fixtures and build closets.
in the interim i was going to lounge in my eames chair, which, after 7 weeks is still at the furniture repair joint. so i've been here with hardwood floors, 90° dining table chairs, and chilling out on my good america bed (german beds are usually 2 twin mattresses in a queen bed frame).
finally, i have the most basic things taken care of. i have had time to do a little bit of real furniture shopping (aside from Ikea).
you would not believe some of the crazy things they sell in furniture stores these days, the couches were so weird. a bunch of them looked like leather minivan bench seats. they had whiplash headrests and stuff. what's that about? then there were some with adjustable arms or backs, where the frame was on some kind of ratcheting catch/pawl system. I don't know. I liked one of them, but just couldn't figure out how I'd live with it. a couch is such a central piece of furniture, it has to be formal enough for entertaining, but comfy enough for those days when you stay home sick and watch crapTV in your pajamas all day.
I sat on a bunch that looked great, but had no spring in the seat, or were too low, or felt like I just plunked down on cardboard.
I settled on this one, because it felt like a couch is supposed to feel, and i think it looks pretty classic. I ordered it in dark cocoa leather, with an ottoman for extending the lounge-surface. i can't wait. but it's going to take 10 weeks to get here.
10 weeks is a long frickin time to continue to be without a couch. I was going to order a sofabed off the ikea website, but they wouldn't let me order the one i wanted. Friday i got so fed up and motivated, that i went to the ikea and picked it up.
I should say, Picknick and I went and picked it up. She is both my best imaginary friend and favorite internal combustion vehicle.
I was wrestling the box containing the steel frame off a pallet onto a cart when a nice german guy came up and asked me (politely in german) if i would like some help. I wanted to say, "I have to do this myself, because if i can't get it onto the cart and into the car, there is no way i'm hauling it up 2 flights of stairs myself." but i wasn't really prepared, and i couldn't find the words just on the fly... i kind of stuttered something and he asked, "What do you want?" in clear english. "Nothing. Thank You." I replied.
I did manage to get the frame (6'x3' and about 70 lbs) onto the cart. I scored the last red corduroy couch-cover, and found the cushion/mattress that i wanted. Everything checked out fine, and then it was onto the task of getting it into Picknick. Another kind german offered to help me load the big box into my car, and this time i accepted the offer graciously.
With the back seats down, and the front seat leaned all the way back with the headrest removed, I was able to get the frame into the car and close the liftgate. Woo!
Picknick and I drove home and I hauled that crazy box up my 2 flights of stairs. One. Step. At. A. Time.
Now, it is assembled, and I have lounge surface again! i can veg in front of the TV. I even watched a DVD this weekend to celebrate.
When the leather couch gets here, this interim sofa will be in the guest bedroom/library and function as secondary sleeping arrangements. How grown up! I'll have a guest room!
At the very least, it's getting more comfortable around here. Gott sei Dank!
For one thing, the blasted Schränke (closets) are built. so now my clothes hang up.
Ta-Da!
Before I left Detroit I threw out my third-hand couch, the one that was at least 20 years old and didn't owe me a thing. In fact, there was a little debacle with the apartment complex who would get charged a fee by the dumpster service for furniture removal. I gladly paid the $35 so i wouldn't have to haul the thing to the dump in my pool-car in my last 2 harried days of getting ready to leave.
Ok, so that was the old couch. and i thought, "I will get a new couch when i get to Germany" hah. that was before i figured out i'd have to buy my own light fixtures and build closets.
in the interim i was going to lounge in my eames chair, which, after 7 weeks is still at the furniture repair joint. so i've been here with hardwood floors, 90° dining table chairs, and chilling out on my good america bed (german beds are usually 2 twin mattresses in a queen bed frame).
finally, i have the most basic things taken care of. i have had time to do a little bit of real furniture shopping (aside from Ikea).
you would not believe some of the crazy things they sell in furniture stores these days, the couches were so weird. a bunch of them looked like leather minivan bench seats. they had whiplash headrests and stuff. what's that about? then there were some with adjustable arms or backs, where the frame was on some kind of ratcheting catch/pawl system. I don't know. I liked one of them, but just couldn't figure out how I'd live with it. a couch is such a central piece of furniture, it has to be formal enough for entertaining, but comfy enough for those days when you stay home sick and watch crapTV in your pajamas all day.
I sat on a bunch that looked great, but had no spring in the seat, or were too low, or felt like I just plunked down on cardboard.
I settled on this one, because it felt like a couch is supposed to feel, and i think it looks pretty classic. I ordered it in dark cocoa leather, with an ottoman for extending the lounge-surface. i can't wait. but it's going to take 10 weeks to get here.
10 weeks is a long frickin time to continue to be without a couch. I was going to order a sofabed off the ikea website, but they wouldn't let me order the one i wanted. Friday i got so fed up and motivated, that i went to the ikea and picked it up.
I should say, Picknick and I went and picked it up. She is both my best imaginary friend and favorite internal combustion vehicle.
I was wrestling the box containing the steel frame off a pallet onto a cart when a nice german guy came up and asked me (politely in german) if i would like some help. I wanted to say, "I have to do this myself, because if i can't get it onto the cart and into the car, there is no way i'm hauling it up 2 flights of stairs myself." but i wasn't really prepared, and i couldn't find the words just on the fly... i kind of stuttered something and he asked, "What do you want?" in clear english. "Nothing. Thank You." I replied.
I did manage to get the frame (6'x3' and about 70 lbs) onto the cart. I scored the last red corduroy couch-cover, and found the cushion/mattress that i wanted. Everything checked out fine, and then it was onto the task of getting it into Picknick. Another kind german offered to help me load the big box into my car, and this time i accepted the offer graciously.
With the back seats down, and the front seat leaned all the way back with the headrest removed, I was able to get the frame into the car and close the liftgate. Woo!
Picknick and I drove home and I hauled that crazy box up my 2 flights of stairs. One. Step. At. A. Time.
Now, it is assembled, and I have lounge surface again! i can veg in front of the TV. I even watched a DVD this weekend to celebrate.
When the leather couch gets here, this interim sofa will be in the guest bedroom/library and function as secondary sleeping arrangements. How grown up! I'll have a guest room!
At the very least, it's getting more comfortable around here. Gott sei Dank!
