What should I consider when buying a couch at Ikea?

[Moonbear]

Is this the high power lawyer?

Yeah, one of them (I have three friends working at the same law firm...I joke that I should start collecting headhunter fees if my friends keep going to work there...these are all friends I know from different places, so they didn't even know each other before working there...of all the firms in NYC, I don't know how or why they all wound up at the same one, not even like any of them asked me about it before they applied there). Though, I'm not sure how much of the decorating is his taste and how much is that he just gave up and let his wife have her way since he hardly ever sees the house anyway.

I agree, it has to be the right combination of color and material. I really like the colors in the last pic I posted. That coffee table is great with the black, red, yellow, and light stain on the wood.

See, I lean toward dark woods. I don't like those light woods. They look bare to me. I'm not criticizing your taste...I see the aesthetics of it, and can appreciate the look, it just wouldn't suit my personal tastes for what I want to live in. Looks more like something for an art museum (and, well, that one condo floor plan is looking WAY too much like the lab I used to work in...minus hardwood floors of course...that building was pretty to look at, but lacked functionality...too much wasted space).

And, I prefer backs on my bar stools...otherwise it's too easy to fall off!

 

[Cyrus]

Yeah, one of them (I have three friends working at the same law firm...I joke that I should start collecting headhunter fees if my friends keep going to work there...these are all friends I know from different places, so they didn't even know each other before working there...of all the firms in NYC, I don't know how or why they all wound up at the same one, not even like any of them asked me about it before they applied there). Though, I'm not sure how much of the decorating is his taste and how much is that he just gave up and let his wife have her way since he hardly ever sees the house anyway.

See, I lean toward dark woods. I don't like those light woods. They look bare to me. I'm not criticizing your taste...I see the aesthetics of it, and can appreciate the look, it just wouldn't suit my personal tastes for what I want to live in. Looks more like something for an art museum (and, well, that one condo floor plan is looking WAY too much like the lab I used to work in...minus hardwood floors of course...that building was pretty to look at, but lacked functionality...too much wasted space).

And, I prefer backs on my bar stools...otherwise it's too easy to fall off!

Thats odd, because you said you like a 'warm furnishings', but dark woods does just the opposite. Its old and stuffy. (Look at the cow condo, appears dark with those dark brown wood floors).

I really really like the colors in this house though, and could see myself living here:

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/web2/beocustom/images/project/135/135_1.jpg​

I retract the cow house. Its too gloomy (But I like the modern style, that's all I wanted to show).

Side: what's that red devil cat thing off to the right? TRASHHHH.

Oh, and NO pets. I don't need a cat clawing the expensive furniture, or a dog taking a sh$% on that nice red carpet. Pets are a disaster on a house.

 

[Moonbear]

Thats odd, because you said you like a 'warm furnishings', but dark woods does just the opposite. Its old and stuffy. (Look at the cow condo, appears dark with those dark brown wood floors).

No, dark woods are warm, not old and stuffy. It can be overdone if it's overly ornate and large, but that wouldn't be modern styling. Like in the first picture you posted, that's all dark woods. I'd just swap out the sofa for something other than white (white isn't good for a sofa anyway...it looks really dingy with just a short time of use), maybe a dark tan, or the sage color of the furniture in the cow house (I could do without the fuzzy pillows in that one too).

Oh, and NO pets. I don't need a cat clawing the expensive furniture, or a dog taking a sh$% on that nice red carpet. Pets are a disaster on a house.

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No they aren't, not if you properly train your pets. I've NEVER had a dog that soiled inside the house once we had it more than a week (and even then, the puppy accidents were really rare because we'd watch and catch them before they had an accident). My cat doesn't claw my furniture either. She's been properly instructed on what is and isn't a scratching post (some aren't so good at this). She does occasionally think my pants are for scratching...while I'm wearing them ...but my furniture survived her kittenhood.

 

[lisab]

Oh, and NO pets. I don't need a cat clawing the expensive furniture, or a dog taking a sh$% on that nice red carpet. Pets are a disaster on a house.

But Cyrus - so are children!

And I guarantee you, you really will love your kids--once you have them--way more than you love your couch! It's just hard to see that now.

 

[Cyrus]

No, dark woods are warm, not old and stuffy. It can be overdone if it's overly ornate and large, but that wouldn't be modern styling.

No they aren't, not if you properly train your pets. I've NEVER had a dog that soiled inside the house once we had it more than a week (and even then, the puppy accidents were really rare because we'd watch and catch them before they had an accident). My cat doesn't claw my furniture either. She's been properly instructed on what is and isn't a scratching post (some aren't so good at this). She does occasionally think my pants are for scratching...while I'm wearing them ...but my furniture survived her kittenhood.

Our cat used to be an outdoor cat, she would run and jump up trees; however, she would nap all day, wake up on the nice comfy couch, and start clawing it as she stretched out. You would hear, 'tatt tatt tatt'. If my mom caught her she would spank her on the butt hard so she flew off the coutch. Every time she would do this, and didnt care one bit about the consequences. Pretty soon the expensive couch had threads hanging off the arms, so my mom wrapped the couches in heavy towels and tucked them into the cushions so she would do damage to the outer layers and not so much on the sofa. If you walked into our house all the couches had towels all over them, the things we do for our pets .

Oh, then there is the times they barf all over the floor, which leaves nice green or brown stains on the white rug, which have to be steam cleaned out. It only happens a few times, but see how good one or two barf stains look in your nice white rugs before it gets old. Once they get old, they make even more of a mess. I know one person who has a dog that's getting old and sometimes pees on the rug by accident. Sorry, pets are nice, but not if you have stuff in your house you want to keep nice.

 

[Cyrus]

But Cyrus - so are children!

And I guarantee you, you really will love your kids--once you have them--way more than you love your couch! It's just hard to see that now.

I was a good child. My mom says I never wrote in the walls, and when I was done playing I always put my toys away. We know a family who has kids just like this. They came over and played with old toys I had in the basement. When they were done (two brothers), the older one (about 5) packed it all up in the box and said thank you. His mom did not tell him to, he just did it.

Whats good about the modern style is that there's not really much small kids can break. Its very simple. (But there are lots of sharp steel edges, and razor sharp chef knives).

I think kids that do bad things, like throw a book at a TV and break it, are just a reflection of bad parenting.

http://www.statesman.com/shared-gen/blogs/austin/360bazaar/media/MessyKids.jpg​

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Ebay, for sale, two brats. Needs slight cleaning.

 

[Moonbear]

Our cat used to be an outdoor cat, she would run and jump up trees; however, she would nap all day, wake up on the nice comfy couch, and start clawing it as she stretched out. You would hear, 'tatt tatt tatt'. If my mom caught her she would spank her on the butt hard so she flew off the coutch. Every time she would do this, and didnt care one bit about the consequences. Pretty soon the expensive couch had threads hanging off the arms, so my mom wrapped the couches in heavy towels and tucked them into the cushions so she would do damage to the outer layers and not so much on the sofa. If you walked into our house all the couches had towels all over them, the things we do for our pets .

I've never had that problem with Ember. When she was a kitten and started scratching where she shouldn't, I never spanked her though (that doesn't work at all), I just picked her up and put her paws on the scratching post. Once shown the right place to scratch, that's where she runs to when she wants to scratch.

Oh, then there is the times they barf all over the floor, which leaves nice green or brown stains on the white rug, which have to be steam cleaned out. It only happens a few times, but see how good one or two barf stains look in your nice white rugs before it gets old. Once they get old, they make even more of a mess. I know one person who has a dog that's getting old and sometimes pees on the rug by accident. Sorry, pets are nice, but not if you have stuff in your house you want to keep nice.

Well, don't get a white carpet then (that's so dated anyway...reminds me of my grandmother's house...she had white carpet and white furniture). Ember had a few hairball incidents (especially with one type of food that I quickly stopped feeding her), but I just cleaned the carpet quickly and there aren't any stains (it's a medium-beige carpet). One spot required getting out the carpet cleaner and not just the spray-on stuff, but even that's clean now (and the rest of the house too, since I did the whole house while I had the cleaner out). Hardwood floors are even easier to clean and are cat-scratch-proof too.

And, yeah, as lisab points out, kids are FAR worse than pets. My friends' and relatives' kids do more damage to my furnishings than any pets (I don't even bother inviting one set of friends to stay with me anymore...if they want to visit, they stay in hotels, because their kids are too destructive and I can't stand it).

 

[Cyrus]

Our cat used to belong to the neighbors. They had another cat and two dogs, which she hated. So she decided it would be more befitting for a cat of her status to live alone with us, and not with 3 other pets. We got her a few years old, so she was well past training. When we tried to take her back to her owners house, she would start clawing you like mad to run away. Finally, they said you can keep her. She doesn't want to stay here anymore.

More to the point, I don't want to be cleaning up cat doo-doo/voimt on my furniture. There are fun to have once, but then you get tired of it. I don't want to walk a dog, and I don't want to run around the house with a cat. And It would be cruel to have a pet and not keep it busy or active. I am selfish

 

[lisab]

I was a good child. My mom says I never wrote in the walls, and when I was done playing I always put my toys away. We know a family who has kids just like this. They came over and played with old toys I had in the basement. When they were done (two brothers), the older one (about 5) packed it all up in the box and said thank you. His mom did not tell him to, he just did it.

Whats good about the modern style is that there's not really much small kids can break. Its very simple. (But there are lots of sharp steel edges, and razor sharp chef knives).

I think kids that do bad things, like throw a book at a TV and break it, are just a reflection of bad parenting.

http://www.statesman.com/shared-gen/blogs/austin/360bazaar/media/MessyKids.jpg​

[/URL]

Ebay, for sale, two brats. Needs slight cleaning.

The thing is when (if) your kids do this, you'll still love them...you might even think it's funny. If the parents of these two weren't a bit amused, why then did they take the picture?!?

But, like you, I was a pretty good kid too - and my daughter was almost from another planet, she was so well-behaved. When she was 3, she would get up in the morning and make her bed. Then she would go make my bed, and then come out to greet me with a good morning hug. Yeah I know...strange, very strange!

 

[Cyrus]

The thing is when (if) your kids do this, you'll still love them...you might even think it's funny. If the parents of these two weren't a bit amused, why then did they take the picture?!?

But, like you, I was a pretty good kid too - and my daughter was almost from another planet, she was so well-behaved. When she was 3, she would get up in the morning and make her bed. Then she would go make my bed, and then come out to greet me with a good morning hug. Yeah I know...strange, very strange!

Theres nothing strange about that. No offense, but I mostly see American kids acting bratty (And probably because parents don't have the balls to discipline their kids anymore). Kids of foreign parents are much more well behaved and respectful because if there not there going to get it when they get home. I think your daughter simply reflects good parenting on your part.

However, I was at an event for a family day down in dc where kids would come in and make paper helicopters. They were all VERY well behaved and interested. It really depends on the kids parents keeping them in line.

If my kids put paint on the tv, I would NOT find that funny. I would hit them, and tell them if they ever do it again they won't live to see another day. That kind of behavor is beyond unacceptable.

 

[oedipa maas]

Save your money and buy something that's nice for 300 bucks, like an end table, or lamp or whatever, and keep it forever.

I already have a cardboard box that is working out rather nicely as an end table. It draws the eye away from the incredibly ugly bedside lamp.

Or you could just drive around the neighborhood early in the morning on trash day and watch for someone to put out a couch...then you don't have to worry about moving it when you're done, just put it back to the curb for the next needy student.

This is also a rather nice idea - I hope it doesn't rain on garbage day!

I forgot to mention: I don't have a vehicle. In fact, most people don't have cars in town here. It's just much easier to get around on bicycle. Cyclists move at least as fast as cars do and parking is a huge headache (150 euro/month for a space?) Even the professor that I work with doesn't have a car! And I feel a lot of admiration for anyone who can parallel park on a canal.

 

[Chi Meson]

It really depends on the kids parents keeping them in line.

If my kids put paint on the tv, I would NOT find that funny. I would hit them, and tell them if they ever do it again they won't live to see another day. That kind of behavor is beyond unacceptable.

Ironic. Tis true that kids' behavior reflects the parenting. And the worst behaving kids I get as students in high school are those who have parents that hit and threaten them.

I first wondered what idiot of a parent left an open can of paint near a toddler. Anyone who hits a two-year-old in diapers after an escapade such as this should be removed from the child. But since the four-year-old in the picture (I'm guessing the ages, and I'm pretty good at it) is smiling broadly, I think the parent must be also, and they know who's fault this really is.

I don't have a vehicle. In fact, most people don't have cars in town here. It's just much easier to get around on bicycle. Cyclists move at least as fast as cars do and parking is a huge headache

Do you have a friend with a bicycle that has a sofa basket on the handlebars? That might come in handy!

 

[Chi Meson]

http://www.statesman.com/shared-gen/blogs/austin/360bazaar/media/MessyKids.jpg​

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Isn't that the Ikea Vraadl couch on the left?

 

[Moonbear]

Ironic. Tis true that kids' behavior reflects the parenting. And the worst behaving kids I get as students in high school are those who have parents that hit and threaten them.

I've noticed that with kids too.

I first wondered what idiot of a parent left an open can of paint near a toddler.

Indeed, lack of supervision was the problem there. The kids probably had a jolly old time finger painting! You never know, they may have also witnessed their parents getting a bit silly with the paint while painting (aw, c'mon, we've all given someone a swipe with a paintbrush while painting, especially if they're being way too slow just to stay clean...that's what drop cloths are for!), but didn't know they needed to do that in a room prepped for painting.

As long as it's latex paint, it might take a while, but it'll clean up with some soap and water and elbow grease.

 

[Cyrus]

Ironic. Tis true that kids' behavior reflects the parenting. And the worst behaving kids I get as students in high school are those who have parents that hit and threaten them.

I first wondered what idiot of a parent left an open can of paint near a toddler. Anyone who hits a two-year-old in diapers after an escapade such as this should be removed from the child. But since the four-year-old in the picture (I'm guessing the ages, and I'm pretty good at it) is smiling broadly, I think the parent must be also, and they know who's fault this really is.


Do you have a friend with a bicycle that has a sofa basket on the handlebars? That might come in handy!

Who the heck hits and threatens their high school aged kid? They should have enough respect NOT to talk to you that way by the time they are that age. I wouldn't dare speak back to my father they way I see some kids do. The majority of respectful kids I met in school growing up were from foreign parents. One thing that was always foreign to me was 'time out' and being 'grounded'. My parents never did anything that stupid, they basically taught me to respect them at a very early age so that it was never an issue as I got older.

I remember being on a field trip in high school one time and the kids were acting just awful. I told one of the parents, these kids need to be smacked silly by their parents so they don't act this way in public. The guy looked at me funny, and I just shrugged and walked away. HIS kid was one of those. Even growing my, my friends and I simply shook our heads in disgust at the kids that acted like morons.

 

[Cyrus]

As long as it's latex paint, it might take a while, but it'll clean up with some soap and water and elbow grease.

...and child labor.

 

[Moonbear]

...and child labor.

I can tell you haven't been around many children. Believe me, a 4-year old trying to "help" clean something only makes it take three times as long and spreads the mess 10 times as far. The best approach in that situation is one parent picks up the children and places them into a bathtub or shower without allowing them to touch anything in between, and the other parent (the one who left a paint lid loose), gets to start scrubbing the room.

 

[Cyrus]

Seriously though, I am not talking about beating a 4 year old, but spanking him on his butt so he gets the message. I don't know, how old is old enough to hit a kid if he acts bad? 5?

 

[lisab]

I see spanking as an admission by the parent that they are just clean out of ideas of how to deal with their kid. I never hit my daughter - giving her a 'look' was all it took to get her in line.

Now, that's easy for me to say...I have just one kid, and she's always been amazingly well-behaved, as I've mentioned earlier in this thread. But I've never met a parent who is completely level-headed and rational as they spank their kid. They're always angry...how rational can you be when you're angry?

CM and MB are right, the person who left the paint available to the kids, then didn't monitor them for a while, is at fault.

My sister-in-law would smack her kids two constantly. When those kids started school, they were little terrors. Why? They quickly figured out that no one is allowed to spank them in school!

 

[Cyrus]

I never really did anything that warranted getting hit when I was young, but my mom would have hit me if I did act horrible. One thing my mom and I take issue with when we go out are kids that don't behave. One time I was at a restaurant with my two friends and there were kids running around the damn place. I was starting to get REALLY annoyed. There was a family at the table next to us with a boy and a girl, both sitting quietly eating their food. Meanwhile, these other brats were running around. In that situation, I would want their parents to smack them and tell them to sit down and shut up. No, 'please stop running', 'please don't chase your sister', more like 'Sit down and shut up NOW!' Thats exactly how my mom would have phrased it, no 'please' in there. What I also don't like is parents that don't teach their kids how to hold a knife and fork. This translates to adults who hold a knife and fork with a fist grip - no class. Kids need to learn tableside manners.

I do agree; however, that a small kid really does not know any better (Under 5).

 

[Chi Meson]

My sister-in-law would smack her kids two constantly. When those kids started school, they were little terrors. Why? They quickly figured out that no one is allowed to spank them in school!

BINGO! No one is allowed to do anything to students at school these days. The same parents whose first instinct is to smack, spank, hit their children are sometimes the worst defenders of their child's egregious actions at school. "What were you doin' gettin' in my boy's face?" is what I've heard too many times in my short career.

 

[lisab]

Yes - I, too, have a real issue with misbehaving kids in restaurants. The parents never seem to have a clue...they often seem dead behind the eyes. They just look at their kids without any sort of reaction...almost like they can't believe that those kids are, in fact, genetically THEIRS.

I have sympathy for the restaurant owners. They feel uncomfortable asking parents to reel in their little demon seeds, but they really should take into consideration the other patrons in the restaruant.

 

[Cyrus]

They should be made to pay for their food and leave right away. Order a pizza if your kids can't behave in public.