Finding a New Couch for the Living Room

A new couch has been on our wish list of items since we moved into the house. This is our current couch that we put in our living room after we moved in.

We have had this couch for a few years now, and it has been holding up great. It’s originally from Levin furniture and we got it for a steal on one of their big sales. I think we paid a little over $300 for it. We loved this couch in our apartment. It was the perfect size and was (and still is) super comfortable. Once we got it into the new house though, it was no longer the perfect size. At around 6 feet long, which is a standard size for a couch, this was looking a little too small in our new and much larger living room. We knew we needed something larger to not only fill the space better, but to have extra seating when we have guests over. So, our hunt for a new couch began.

Before going out and buying the first new couch we saw, Ben and I sat down and did some brainstorming about what we were looking for. Couches, like other large furniture items, can be really expensive! It was really important for us to do a little planning to determine our top priorities for a new couch. We can up with these “wish list” features:

Extra Seating

This was a main priority on our list for a good reason. The current couch only had seats for three people. Whenever we had guests over, we always had to bring in seating from other areas around the house. Even when it was just Ben and I on the couch, there wasn’t enough room to put your feet up or stretch out without getting in the other person’s way. With this issue in mind, we decided we wanted to look for a chaise sectional couch. A chaise sectional would not only provide the extra seating and space we were looking for, but it would also fit the size of the room better.

Budget Friendly

The price of the couch also made the top of our list. Because we decided on a chaise sectional, we knew that this would increase the overall price range for the couch. Even considering this, we still didn’t want to spend a huge amount on a couch for a few reasons. If we were to spend a few thousand dollars on a couch, then the couch would be considered “expensive furniture” in our home. I feel like we would be afraid to “ruin” it. I’m not saying we normally destroy our furniture, but I don’t want a piece of furniture that we are too afraid to use because it’s expensive. I want furniture that fits into our everyday life. I want to be able to sit down with coffee in my hand and not be paranoid about spilling it because it would hurt the “expensive couch.” At this stage in our lives, I don’t think a really expensive top of the line couch is practical or necessary.

Modern Shape (without sacrificing comfort)

Over the past few years, we’ve been able to do some more research on home décor and our style has changed. Our current couch is a traditional design and looks great, but it isn’t really our style. Ben and I prefer clean lines and a more modern shape. We also wanted a couch with exposed legs, which is more casual than a traditional skirted couch. Taking all of these into consideration, we didn’t want to sacrifice the comfort for style. Some modern looking couches are not comfortable at all, so we wanted to find a more transitional piece that is also super comfy!

Durable Fabric

I have a secret to share – we have a chair in our home that has been destroyed by our cat Widget. I found this chair in the clearance section at Target, and it just so happens that the fabric is easy for our cat to scratch and rip apart.

Thankfully, it’s the only piece of furniture that she scratches, but I’m not going to take any chances with the upholstery on future furniture purchases (especially ones NOT on clearance). With that in mind, we wanted to find a couch that had durable fabric that will withstand everyday use and also will be easy to clean.

Neutral Gray Color

Our current couch is a dark brown color, a product of the beige obsession in homes from years past. When we bought it there were only a few other color options, none of which were neutral, so brown is what we went with. The problem with a brown couch for our home is that it is the wrong tone. We prefer cool tones over warm tones, so we gravitate towards grays and blues. For the new couch we still wanted a neutral color, but this time we decided on gray. I like having a neutral couch as a base that can be accented with colorful accent pillows.

With our list of priorities on hand, we started searching for our new couch.

Ben and I love Crate and Barrel, but we just can’t justify the price of their furniture. This chaise sectional looked amazing, but the price tag of over $3000 knocked this off the list right away. Additionally, the fabric selections looked somewhat similar to the infamous scratchy chair, and we were not going to spend that kind of money on a huge scratching post.

Overstock and Wayfair had a number of chaise sectional options. We found a few styles that we liked, but were kind of worried about not being able to sit on the couch before we bought it. Again, a lot of the couches that I liked were on the higher end of the price spectrum.

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I’ve heard lots of bloggers rave about Ikea couches, so we took a trip to our local Ikea to see what we could find. While Ikea has some great prices and awesome items, I can’t get over the quality of some of their couches. They seemed a little cheaply made, and some of the prices were higher than I was expecting for Ikea couches. They have the style we were looking for, but were missing the comfort factor.

After having no luck with any of these stores, we ended up at a store that might surprise you……

Costco!

We have had a Costco membership for a few years now and love shopping there for a variety of reasons (which could be a post on its own). In our search for a new couch we didn’t plan on going to Costco, but on a normal shopping trip one weekend, I spotted a huge selection of furniture. There were couches, dressers, dining room tables, beds and more. You might be thinking, “Wait, Costco doesn’t sell furniture,” and you would be partially right. Most of the year, Costco doesn’t have furniture for sale. After talking to a sales associate, I found out that every January and July, Costco gets a shipment of furniture. Unfortunately, once they are sold out, they don’t get any additional shipments.

One couch that caught both mine and Ben’s attention was this one.

[sorry about the bad web photo quality]

Initially, we both noticed it because it was gray and had the shape we were looking for. Once we got over to the display we discovered the best part – the price was amazing! This couch was $850!!!* We both sat down on the floor model to test it out, and it was SO comfortable. I think we were both amazed at how comfortable it was and that it had every aspect we were looking for! As a bonus, it included a storage ottoman. The ottoman fits up against the couch to turn it into a large lounging area for movie nights, or can double as extra sleeping space for guests.
We had found our winning couch!

The couch came in three HUGE boxes, and we assembled it fairly quickly once we got it up the stairs and into the living room. In the large Costco warehouse environment, we didn’t realize how large this couch actually was. The couch is 10 feet long! The little bonus ottoman is the same size as our old couch. Thankfully, it was perfect for our large living space.

At $850 this couch was even less expensive than some of the Ikea couches, and in my opinion was a much higher quality.

We love our new couch and think it fits perfectly into the room. I can’t wait to see what kind of furniture Costco has in July.

*P.S. This couch is no longer in stores at Costco because the January furniture sale has ended. It is offered online at Costco.com for $1099.99, and that include the shipping and handling. Still a great deal in my opinion!