The Lonely Red Couch

Jan 18 2012 Published by under Life & Times

So I have this red couch, right?

Copping this couch was a big deal for me. Though I’d lived on my own twice before settling at my residence on Cleveland’s West Side, I never owned a couch. Sans a television and television stand, my former apartments never had furniture outside of my bedroom. When I purchased a couch and a dining room table for my new place, this move felt more adult. More permanent. Like I was finally creating a home space where I could settle for a few years.

In the beginning, I recruited CT to help me give my space some character. Among the many areas of life where I’m not a girl is interior design. While I can appreciate nice visuals, I’ve got no idea what it takes to create an aesthetically pleasing home space. I just knew I wanted brown for my bedroom (because brown makes me feel warm and cozy) and purple for the bathroom (the color or royalty, and the place I primp should be royal). If left to my own devices, I would have bought some earth color couch that evoked a homey, warm feeling and gone on about my day. But when CT and I went furniture hunting and found the red, microfiber couch on sale for a hot $350, I went for it. Not only was it economical and of decent quality, but it’d give my living room an automatic “pop.”

I’ve been in my apartment for three months now and nothing about this place “pops.” It doesn’t sparkle. It doesn’t doesn’t scream “SBG.” It doesn’t say anything, except that its resident knows nothing about interior design.

Like any person in dire need of a clue, I went to the internet. I’ve spent the last few weeks occasionally perusing home design blogs for ideas about what to do with my living room, dining room, and kitchen spaces. I scan some pictures, think “Ooooh that’s pretty,” then “but I don’t think I have the budget to imitate that in my apartment.” Or “Is that really my style? What the hell is my interior design style? Oh that’s right. I don’t have one.” And like most pursuits that require me step outside of what I know, I get frustrated, flustered and think to myself “Oh, fuck it” and close out the window.

Meanwhile, I sit in this character-less 800 sq ft space. Which sucks, because if you know me, you know I’m a character. It’s just that anytime I have to depict that in a way that doesn’t involve words, I’m always at a loss.

*sigh*

Isn’t there some reality show ya’ll can sign me up for that will come remake my apartment or some shit?

Help.

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5 responses so far

  • Muze

    lol i swear we are nearly the same person. 

    i had a red couch. sigh. i miss Pomegrantina. lol. and a cozy brown and turquoise bedroom. and a purple bathroom! lol. and i, like you, had absolutely no clue what to do with that space. i had no furniture for months. it takes time, but eventually you’ll start to have a vision of what you want against this wall, and what would be great on that. 

    i’m a DIY chick so i spent a lot of time on those type of sites and apartment therapy. i took an old dresser my mom’s neighbor gave me and sanded, stained, and polyurethaned. after that, i knew what i wanted my bedroom to look like. 

    it’s easier to think in pieces instead of entire room design i think, at least for those of use without that natural interior design gene. just look at pieces you REALLY love, and build the room around that. and that is my totally nonprofessional advice. :)

  • http://musicmakesmehigh.wordpress.com/ Reecie

    I haven’t decorated in awhile, but I like to just walk around Ikea and Pier 1 or somewhere like World Market for fun pieces and ideas. oh, and Bed Bath and Beyond–its a good place to look at various color schemes. I coordinated my bedroom with my bathroom. Living room area was pretty stand alone, as was kitchen. When I decorated I had an idea of colors I wanted and just went from there. Muze’s advice about building around pieces is good. 
    my walls are still bare though because I haven’t found any art that I really like, or that I can afford LOL. I need to do better there. 

  • http://twitter.com/hiphopmuse Toi

    Maybe you should get some art. Hit up some yard sales or estate sales to find some unique, fun pieces. When I moved into my first apartment I decorated damn near the whole thing with cool furniture and art from estate sales and yard sales. My favorite is a rare sketch of Josephine Baker by a famous LA artist I copped for $10. The sellers had no idea of the value!

  • http://www.therealslimjackson.com/ Slim Jackson

    I been in my abode for two years now and I still don’t have any pictures on the wall. I still haven’t went through the closet to get rid of things I transported with the move that I don’t need. I think there’s still tape in the fridge from it being now.lol. Just a little bit though. 

    I don’t think I’ll ever be the person to make the magic happen. I don’t care enough about that stuff (right now at least) to put the effort in. Maybe I’ll get some large chunk of cash and make all my decorative dreams come true…even though those involve plains walls. Pause. 

  • Anonymous

    Tyra Banks had a good idea on a show I was watching the other day. For the walls, print some photography you admire from the internet and make a collage in a frame. I can’t wait to try that!