New neighbors moved in across the street a couple of months ago and during a meet-and-greet party they hosted, the lovely lady of the house and I got to talking about furniture and decorating. In the course of the conversation, she revealed that she had two white slipcovered love-seats that she was selling. I was in the market for the very same thing, so I jumped on them!

You see, my old white couch and chair, which has served my family well for many years, will be settling down into our basement video game room in a few months.

With that in mind, I knew their replacements should also be a white or cream color, as I wanted to keep the same color palette in there. I really also hoped to find a slipcovered piece, one that would come off entirely, so I could wash it occasionally. Why? Because I have a 5-year old and a dog that love to lay on the couch in this room and stare out the front window. Or wrestle. Or wipe dirty hands/faces on the cushions.

As luck would have it, the new pieces fit the bill. They are a pair of chair-and-a-halfs, from Crate&Barrel. They look brand new! And they gave me a great deal on them – how could it get any better?!

So, here they are in the room. Gorgeous, right? Then why does something feel wrong to me about the arrangement?

Here you can see this room is right inside the front entry. As I come inside the door, something feels amiss. Do you think its because the room layout used to be more open? In my mind, this couch-facing-couch layout felt very contemporary and symmetrical. However, after I emailed the photo to my husband he said it looked “old-fashioned.” What??????? As you can imagine, my doubts doubled and here I am fretting over how to lay out this space.

I love the new pieces, and do not think they look old-fashioned whatsoever. And in talking it over with hubby, I think he meant that the space looks more “traditional” than it had previously. I had considered moving one of the pieces against the window, but worry that Charlotte will want to sleep on it or get up on it to look out the window. I even went to far as to buy a bench at HomeGoods last night to put in front of the window for her.

But, its too wobbly for her to comfortably get up on. She attempted it once, and after falling off, she won’t get near it now. So, its going back to the store.

What do you guys think? Shall I turn both of them around to face each other in the opposite direction?
Maybe I just need to get used to a more intimate sitting space. Maybe its the fact that the one piece is “floating” and I’m used to the furniture against the wall. Maybe I am just PMS-ing.

Check back in a week. I’ll be in love with it!

UPDATE: 1/28/13

I consulted my design loving Facebook friends, and they gave me a bunch of suggestions. Here’s the space now:

I moved the couches to form an L-shape.

I moved the red trunk under the window.

I got rid of the large boxy-shaped end table and large lamp. Those pieces worked fine next to a full-size large couch, but these demure little chair-and-a-halfs (or settee) needed something smaller in scale.
So now there’s a glossy black stool-like table in its place.

I picked up a couple of grey pillows and that awesome gold-yellow rug, which turned out to be too small. (why do things always feel larger when they are folded up in the store!!??) So, I’ll have to return it. BUT – I so badly want another yellow-patterned rug for this spot. Let the search begin!

Overall, I feel much better about this arrangement. It’s more open, and “feels sexier,” as my hubby put it. Heck, if he thinks it’s “sexy,” I’m sold!