Monday, October 6, 2014

31 Days of Cheap & Free Decor: Day 6-Know Your Limits

Anyone remember this post from last year?

Yeah- in trying to save us money- I bought a leather sofa for £100, which isn't too bad. But it's big-- like really deep and wide big. Yep. I'd not been here long enough to know really just how small the doors are in England. And the halls. And the stairways. The only way to get that baby up was hoisting it with ropes... it ended up being a bit more difficult than we expected.

Looking back, I'd rather have spent more money to just buy an Ikea sofa that we had to assemble. (I know- did those words really just come out of my mouth?!) But I didn't know my limits.

Same with this chair, which I love. 

I didn't know my geographical limits in London yet. So when I saw that it was only 5-6 miles away, I didn't realise that is REALLY far in London! So, we took the tube up to Southgate, found the chair, and then realised that sucker wasn't coming back on the tube with us. My £30 chair turned into a £65 chair with the large taxi we had to hire to get it back.

At least I learned my lesson.

Right now, I'm considering reupholstering a few pieces. I have this leather-ish chair that has great bones, but is too cold and crinkly to be comfy.

But I haven't a clue where to start with reupholstering this baby. I need a solution for the meantime- till I can figure out how to recover it properly.

Fortunately, I had an old poncho the hubby got in Mexico that's just the right kind of cozy. A few folds and tucks, and voila! It's slipcovered!

Know your limits. If you can't change a lightbulb without complaining, don't take on a fixer-upper chandelier! When you look at an item- know how much work it will take to get it 'presentable', and know whether or not you're willing to do the work.... or be willing to live with it a bit shabby.

My mom told me not to date guys for their 'potential', and the same rule can apply to furniture. If you're not willing to do the messy work of getting it up to par, don't make the investment!

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