On Boxes and Chairs

I may have mentioned that I wanted to get new chairs for my family room. The recliners we had in there were only 10+ years old, falling apart, and I hated them. So, I undertook the perilous job of shopping for new chairs. I liked something like this
or this
and I looked through a catalog at chairs like this , but then you have to pick out fabric and a chair site unseen, and I didn’t know if I could visualize that.

Finding those fancy furniture stores just too expensive, I decided to go to IKEA and check their selection of chairs. I liked the Ektorp chair, and thought it was great that I could just get slipcovers that come off and can be washed, or even changed up when I got bored with the color, but I kept in mind that Ryan was really set on having recliners. Even though I tried to convince him that we could get grown up people chairs and still be happy, he insisted that these would be tv watching chairs for the family room, and therefore they should recline.

I immediately fell in love with the most expensive leather recliner that IKEA carries, the Vreta. OK, maybe it’s not the MOST expensive, but it was quite a bit more than the old Ektorp over there. Isn’t that a beautiful chair? And it reclines, swivels and rocks! But maybe I was just drawn to the chair because of the great color. And I already have a dark red leather sofa in my family room, so I wasn’t sure how that would work out. Overwhelmed with the task of picking out the chairs by myself, I even called Ryan at work, and he made the long long trip to IKEA (in 10 minutes or less) during his lunch break. He tested my favorites and soon found that my favorite was also his favorite.

But what color? Could I pull off that much red in my family room, and would it match? Or could I possibly do white chairs? Yes, it’s lovely, but it’s white, and I have kids. Oh, the decisions!

In order to compare the reds, I took a picture of my red purse with the red recliner and then at home I compared the red purse to the red couch I have. No, they didn’t match.

I let all this circulate in my mind for a few days, and then when I thought I had it figured out I went back to the Swedish store, this time with my kids. They think we just go to IKEA for the fun of it. They all three (I only took three) got into the playland, and had a grand time there while I was deciding on chairs. I decided to go traditional, and picked out two of the brown Vreland chairs. Brown being my least favorite of the colors (I would have loved to buy the red, or the white), but seeing as the kids will be sitting in the chairs, and the close proximity of the family room to the kitchen, I decided that brown was the best choice. Conservative and practical, yes, but still really cool chairs. After ordering the chairs, I had to arrange for delivery, since they are not a chair that they keep in stock. As I was waiting for the delivery person, my pager went off and I had to go and pick up the kids. They were red faced and happy. Jumping into that ball pit wears you out. But they were also hot and thirsty! Next stop, snack bar! So, being the good mom that I am, and happily relieved to have finally made the big decisions, I sprung for hot dogs, ice cream and a soda! Woo-Hoo! That’s how you know it’s an outing, and not just a shopping trip, folks. If there’s ice cream involved. After the kids cooled off and finished the snacks, I went back to the delivery desk. The sweet lady working there was very relieved to see me. “Oh, THERE you are!” she said. “When I was done with the other customer I looked for you, and I thought that was you over there on the chair. I’m afraid I woke her up to ask her if she was ready to arrange delivery, and she looked up at me and said, ‘I’m just so tired, can I rest for a minute more?’ And then I felt so bad!” Oh, this sweet lady had been looking for me. How sweet. Not so sweet that so woke up that poor lady asleep in the chair in the corner with her tiny baby in the carseat. Her husband is probably shopping, and she took a moment to rest. I felt bad for her. Anyway, we arranged for delivery, and my kids and I were off on our merry way.

About a week and a half later, I got a call from the delivery company telling me they had my chairs and could they come the next day? OF Course! I cleaned up the family room, we moved the old recliners out of the way, and waited for the delivery truck to bring my new chairs. About 2:00, the truck came! It’s so exciting waiting for a delivery, isn’t it? I managed to get this out of the box, and then Cole came home from school, and I had him help me do the assembly. As you can see from the instructions, it’s pretty complicated. Since he did the “assembly”, he got to be the first to recline in the new chair
and then for an added bonus, he got to have one of the boxes. Think of it as a birthday present, son.

I can’t tell you how much fun the kids have had with these two boxes! The girls took theirs and decorated the sides, cutting out windows and doors, and even used the foam sheets that came in the boxes as ‘carpet’. Cole wants to save his box intact so that he can use it for a future magic show. As it turned out, the boxes came at a convenient time, because the next day I was to host a playgroup for john plus seven of his little compadres. Because we have 8 in our group, we’re all thrilled that our turn to host only comes along every 8 weeks, but when it does, we wrack our brains on what to do with 8 rambunctious little boys for almost two hours. Especially when the weather is cold. Well, among other things (like making cookies, decorating cole’s failed birthday cake, playing with play-doh and puzzles and trains), I let them play in the boxes. and at one point had seven of them inside the box. Maybe I should have just taped it closed then, and seen how long it would take them to get out–ha, ha. Just kidding! Don’t go and report me for child neglect or anything, I’m kidding! So, aren’t they cute, the boys in a box?