The Red Couch // VOID-STAR.NET

Whew. So it’s been a kind of a productive long weekend. On Saturday, mum and I went out to look at furniture for The Apartment. Mat and I had kind of made a vague list of what we needed, which turned out to be pretty much everything except a bed (he’s got one of those). For some reason, mum and I started by looking at bedside tables. They’re one of those things Mat has down on his list as ‘optional’ but he doesn’t wear glasses… and he’s not afraid of the dark. Let me tell you, when you wear glasses and are afraid of the dark, a bedside table (plus reding light) is absolutley vital. Somehow, we ended up looking at dining tables, which was another thing down on the list of Stuff To Get.

We eventually found a nice one in Freedom Furniture, which had a matching coffeetable, and was on special (floorstock clearance, yanno). Mum said she would go halves in the table with me, which put the coffeetable plus half a dining setting at about $600; not too bad. However, by the time we got back to the shop they’d sold the floorstock item. Sad. When we got home, however, dad had Words with mum and suggested that they should buy the table at full price for me, and I’d buy the coffeetable. I was not going to say no to this offer; a coffeetable and dining setting for $299? Bargain. So on Sunday morning (before the raid), we went back and ordered it. It’s not going to arrive for, like, months because they have to order new ones in and blah blah blah but, um yay, sexy modern-looking trendytables.

They’re chocolate and frosted (tempered) glass. That look is So In Right Now, and — I dunno — call me a sucker but I like it. Actually, I just like buying nice furinture. It’s a vice, okay, I’ve never been able to indulge it before.

On Monday, Mat suggested we go back out and look for a sofabed, which would be his parents’ present to us both. It was going to be a dishwasher — which I intially thought would be better — but I admit it, I let myself get talked around and in retrospect that was a damn good idea. We did the round of the shops again, sitting on dozens of the most uncomfortable bloody sofabeds you’ve ever seen. Thus did we learn the First Truth; 99% of all sofabeds are not really for sitting on. They’re for folding out when guests come. Which is partially why we want one, because although The Apartment has two bedrooms, one is for the computers to sleep in. Though mostly we actually, like, need a lounge. For our coffeetable. Yanno how it is.

Eventually we wound up back at Freedom again and inspected their Design-a-Couch brouchers. I methodically highlighted all the couch models that had 2.5 seat sofabed options, and we went around the floor looking for examples to sit on. In the end, it came down to a choice between three; one ultra-modern with square arm-rests, one with small rounded armrests, and one more classic-looking with flared out rolled arm-rests. I kind of liked the (admittedly somewhat impractical; I sleep on the couch watching TV a lot) ultra-modern one. :userombat: liked the more classic one, the Cordeaux, mostly — I think — because it was extremely soft and squooshy. One of those lounges that feels like sitting on a marshmallow. I agreed; Cordeaux it was.

Then came the rigmorole of selecting the fabric. We weren’t keen on the default fabrics, mostly because this kind of heavy-weft linen-looking stuff is really in right now and Mat said it made him sneeze just looking at it. I like microsuede, so I suggested that, and he counter-suggested leather. Problem; they were expensive. So we rang his mum and double-checked; she was keen on ultra-expensive leather, which it turned out the Cordeaux didn’t come in (and the leather sofabed was really, really uncomfortable). So suede it was. Expensive suede, at that.

I got the swatch book out and spent half and hour agonising over it. I was kind of keen on the idea of getting some burnt-orange couches, since burnt-orange is so hot right now. Freedom Furniture stuff isn’t going to last forever — mum reckons about ten years — so by the time it’s up for replacement we can buy something more sedate. The other options were black and chocolate to match the table. In the end, I decided black wouldn’t really go with the not-quite-black wood, and chocolate would look too plain. Mat’s mum was initially a-okay with orange or red, then changed her mind saying it wouldn’t go with Mat’s hair (which is orange); how about purple? Except there were no purples I liked the look of. I briefly considered that dullish lime green which is very vogue right now, but figured it would probably date faster even than burnt orange. In the end, I had two colours I liked; one orange, and one red called ‘Flame’.

With a name like that, though, how could I resist?

Bright red it was.

So in approximatley eight weeks’ time we will be the proud owners of an obnoxiously red suede sofabed.

Cool.

So for those of you who have been paying attention, I own a dreadwig. I bought it back in second year, mostly because I like synthdreads but don’t really want them actually in my hair permanently (especially now since I work). I’ve never been 100% happy with my wig, plus it’s kind of hard to wear. Before I bought it, I briefly experimented with making some wool falls, but had to stop when, um… look, every time I worked on them, little wool fibres were getting where no little wool fibre should get and it hurt, okay? So I stopped for OH&S issues. I never worked on ‘real’ fake-hair dreads because i always kinda thought it would be hard.

I don’t think it is anymore. I think I’m going to experiment with making my own wig. I’m going to need, well, a wig, some loose fake hair and a steamer. I’ve got no idea where to (cheaply) buy these things, especially in Tuggeranong on lunch break; I might have to look further afield. Like on eBay.

I reckon I can handle it. I’ll keep you posted…