Sofas, So Good

We recently saw an ad in the Morelia_Connect email bulletin for a sofa, loveseat and a "puff", (Whatever that was. It's what we call a hassock.).

We had been wanting for some time to furnish our living room with more than the Lifetime brand plastic folding furniture we'd purchased up to now.

We immediately emailed the seller to put a hold on this alluring sofa set and to make an appointment to see it.

When we arrived at their Morelia home, it was something of a surprise that the furniture was not in use in the owner's living room, but rather, jammed upright in a storeroom, and partially hidden by other furniture.

We got a glimpse of the handsome vinilpiel covering, and a better look at the zippered beige fabric cushions. The price was very reasonable, so without hesitation, we made a partial payment on the furniture. We already had a passing friendly acquaintance with the family, so were willing to purchase the set semi-sight unseen.

Over a week we hauled the pieces back to our country home near Pátzcuaro. Once all the pieces were in the house, we tried various configurations that were both pleasing and practical.

It is not possible in this house to have a both a good view out the window and a pleasing arrangement of the furniture. The many swing-inward windows of the dining room threaten the risk of a blow to the head when comes a gust of wind. Thus, there were some constraints.

When the sofa and love seat were lined up, the room looked like a doctor's waiting room. We tried several configurations over two days, and then hit upon an L shape. (See photo below)

I then decided that the dining room table (not seen, behind and to the right of the sofa in above photo) had to be turned 90º from the previous placement. That freed up more space for the new sofas and gave an aesthetically more pleasing feel to the room. But this new arrangement deprived Doña Cuevas of her accustomed view out of the window. She now has to sit at the narrow end of the table. She is adaptable.

It was quickly apparent that the "new" furniture, although attractive enough, was somewhat stark and needed some color accents. We made a fast search in Costco and Wal-Mart for possible throw cushions So far, nothing ignited our attention.

Fortunately,we have a collection of serapes and rebozos originating in Oaxaca and Michoacán to lend visual interest. Before you know it, we'll be out browsing local talleres and galerías, looking for artesanías.
(No; never; not us!) But we might paint the stark white interior walls something bright and cheerful, during the dry season ahead.

In the few days since we set up the sofa and love seat, we've so far given them limited use. We have to retrain ourselves to change from our usual lounging spots to take advantage of them.

We'd no idea that buying this sofa set would be such a life-changing experience.