Same Flat, New Flair - Part 1

Living room, seen from my bedroom

With Dave gone, and his futon, loveseat, and posters gone with him, I was left with a veritable tabula rasa of a living room. While there are still improvements to be made, some Craigslist dealings and trips to Ikea have finally resulted in a living room that feels, well, liveable. Here it is, piece by piece:




 







Table
I found this on Craigslist for $50. It has two leaves that fold down so that it requires as little as 13 horizontal inches, but it can open to seat six. In the picture, only one of the leaves is open. (Ha, I don't even have that many dishes...) Two of the legs are on wheels for easy moving.

Chairs
Found 4 of these folding wooden chairs (above) on Craigslist from the same guy who sold me the table (he also sold me the blue chair I'll describe later and a really cool mirror AND delivered it all for free. Seriously.) I think they were $30 or $40. The two I'm not using live in my closet. With Ikea chair pads, they're fairly comfortable.

Couch
My friend Cathy came with me on an Ikea trip and helped me pick this out. Ikea furniture comes in pieces for easy shipping, so you have to assemble it all yourself, which is actually kind of fun. It's fairly comfortable, but needs to be broken in a bit. The coffee table, really a chest for added storage space, came from Ikea as well.

Loaded down with loot from Ikea. My couch is actually in that large, flat box! I got it all delivered the next day for a flat rate of $89, which included transport up all four flights of stairs and into my apartment.

Cathy gazes at the yet-to-be-assembled couch. It took us only about 15 minutes from start to finish!

Voila! The finished product, set off by throw pillows and my useful "coffee table."

 Comfy Chair
Again, Craigslist. Eventually there will be a side table next to this instead of the less charming folding stool.

In addition to art for the walls, I intend to pick up some picture frames for photos, hang a shelf and possibly a mirror, and get a large plant to go next to the TV, but I'm very pleased with the way it's all coming together! Stay tuned for further improvements.