I love you, Craig. You and that list of yours.

I think I'm doing pretty good with my self-imposed rules of decorating our house in nothing but thrift, gifts & what we already have. I'd like to add major clearance to that list. You should see the lamp I just found on clearance from TJMaxx. But that's for another post.

This one is all about Craig and his magnificent list. Since we returned from overeseas last summer I've discovered the thrifty joy of craigslist! The bathroom vanity that's still in process was from the list, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Our living room is...petite. The giant sofas we had in our last house probably won't even fit through the doors of our little house. Knowing that we would need flexibility, I started lurking around on Craigslist weeks before we bought our house.

I was specifically looking for a sectional sofa that could be moved around however we wanted. Stop picturing that giant hunter green pit group in your best friend's basement that you spent hours on watching MacGyver.  Sectionals now-a-days are streamlined and contemporary, and they are perfect for small spaces! I was inspired by this photo from Brooke over at Velvet & Linen:

Except on a rather less grand scale.

After viewing lots and lots of horrid puffy 1980s sectionals, I found this:

What? You don't think it's fantastic? Have a little imagination. Picture it in a home with beautiful hardwood floors. Throw some pillows on it. Add a nice coffee table. And eventually a neutral slipcover. Trust me. It's fantastic.

It has clean lines. It's quality construction. It is in pristine condition. It doesn't smell.
I'm not super wild about the flame-stitch, but I don't absolutely hate it. I googled "flame stitch" and found that it is making a comeback in interiors. Yay for me!

Bonus: look what you can do with it!

Talk about pit group.

There are six individual pieces that can be arranged lots of different ways. Three corner pieces and three slipper chairs. I'm not sure what decade this thing comes from. Anyone know? If it's from the 80's, I'm impressed at how streamlined it is. I'm thinking 70's, but it's in such good shape!

And best of all, it was only $150.

Seriously!

When our floors were finally finished, this was the first piece of furniture we moved it. Here it is as it looks currently:

It's really comfy & lets both of us stretch out & still sit together. We have one of the slipper chairs in the guest room and one in the corner of the living room. I have no idea where that one will go when we get our piano in... But when we have company & we all want to watch a movie, we just add in a chair to expand the sectional.

Since I bought a new sewing machine, I've started the long process of making slip covers for all six pieces and the cushions. Daunting! But since the lines of this piece are straight, and I'm not using piping, I think it will be pretty easy (famous last words). I've made slipcovers before here and here, so I know what a pain it will be.

I'll let you all know when the slipcovers are finished. I'm using natural cotton duck. I'm excited to be able to replace the winter-y sweater pillows add summery throw pillows with pattern!

I'm currently trolling Craigslist for the perfect daybed with a pop-up trundle bed for our guest room. I know he won't let me down.

So, all my love to you, Craig. Thank you for making a list.