Frugal Babe

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Our new-to-us sectional and a homemade plyo box

August 21, 2014 By Frugal Babe

For the last few years, I’ve contemplated getting new living room furniture.  But there was nothing wrong with the furniture we already had, so I wasn’t in any hurry.  We don’t have a means of transporting furniture, and I didn’t want to invest a whole bunch of money in a replacement for something that didn’t really need to be replaced.  But the old set was a hand me down we had received several years ago, and it was 20+ years old.  The pieces were in very good shape for their age, but the patterned upholstery had never really been my style, and I was always drawn to the idea of a single sectional instead of three pieces arranged around the edges of the room.

But I had decided a couple years ago that I’d wait until I stumbled across just the right piece, at the right place, and with a convenient way to get it home.

Last month, we stopped at one of our favorite thrift stores to get an alarm clock for our son, and right inside the door was a fabulous chocolate brown sectional.  They had just put it out on the floor 30 minutes before we got there, and it was priced at $325.  An employee saw me checking it out, and I said how great it was but mentioned that I had no way to get it home.  To my surprise, he said that they would deliver it for $35, even though we live 15 miles from the store.  Score!  I bought it then and there, and four days later they showed up at our door with this:

second hand Ashley sectional
Our $270 Ashley sectional

We then sold our old set on Craigslist for $130.  Including tax and delivery, the new sofa cost just about $400, so our net cost was $270.  We love the new sectional, and we all agree that it makes the room more cozy, looks better, is more comfortable, and leaves more open space for basketball, kick boxing, wrestling, and all the other stuff that my guys like to do in the living room.  Definitely worth the $270 we spent, especially since this sectional is from Ashley Furniture and similar models sell for around $2500.  This one was flawless when we got it – it looks like nobody ever used it at all.  Maybe it was in someone’s second living room, or maybe they just preferred other seating.  Whatever the reason, we’ve got a practically new sectional that works perfectly in our living room, delivered, for about 10% of the cost of a new one.

IMG_3050

This is everyone’s favorite spot in the living room now:

Best seating in the house!

It’s right next to the window so you can look out on the backyard, and the chaise is super comfy.  With our old furniture, that corner was unused space that just had our plants in it.  They blocked a lot of the light from the window, and the room feels much brighter with them next to the center wall instead.  It also makes it a whole lot easier to clean that window now, since it’s not in behind a furniture blockade.

I was telling some friends about our sofa score yesterday, and one of them said “you’re the best bargain finder – you should start a blog!”  That’s not the first time a friend has told me that, but I’m too shy to let any of my real life friends know about my little corner of the internet.  But it’s nice to have their votes of confidence!

That plywood box in front of the couch is our jumping box.  My husband made it last winter so that we could do box jumps, and we both use it all the time.  We had to put it in our living room, because the ceiling in our basement gym is a few inches shy of eight feet, and especially when the box was set to its tallest height, you’d be hitting the ceiling with your head.  Our living room has a vaulted ceiling, so that’s where we do our box jumps.  The box can be used at 20 inches, 24 inches, or 30 inches, and it’s sturdy as can be.  My husband built the interior framework out of left-over wood from other projects, and it’s mostly 2x6s in there.  He over-engineered it for sure, which is a good thing for a box you’re going to huck yourself up on top of.  Those plyo boxes can be purchased online for around a hundred bucks – or more (!?), but all we paid for was one sheet of OSB, which I think was about ten dollars.  And we use it all the time.

So that’s our recent living room makeover.  A great new sectional that set us back $270, and a plyo box that cost $10 and doubles as a very sturdy coffee table.  Here’s to DIY projects and being patient about big purchases.  If you wait long enough, a perfect solution at a great price will eventually turn up!

 

Filed Under: DIY 6 Comments

Comments

  1. Casey says

    August 21, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    Awesome find! Love the box for box jumps and the way you guys always come up with cheaper ways to workout.

    Reply
  2. Kay says

    August 22, 2014 at 6:54 am

    That sectional – What a fab find! I love the idea if a double purpose coffee table and plyo box…

    Our garden this year turned to be still in Work in progress stage so we’ve changed our direction and getting the beds and soil ready right now for next year gardening … How’s your garden coming along, FB?

    Reply
  3. tess says

    September 1, 2014 at 11:39 am

    looks good in your space!

    I love thrift stores, any and all eras are represented. Our most recent sofa purchase was a large seafoam green with silver threads. the delivery person charged us double though, tried to bring up one way then the other.

    Reply
  4. Liz @ Economies of Kale says

    September 8, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    Nice find on the couch – it looks awesome in your living room.

    I also wanted to say I love the new look of your blog :)

    Reply
  5. Dividend Diplomats says

    September 15, 2014 at 4:51 pm

    Frugal Babe,

    WOW. I’m jealous as heck at your sectional! Looks big, comfortable and perfect. Ashley furniture similar model? Honestly, you cannot beat a $270 net price, given the value it brings not just to you, not just to the home, but the guests and the little ones. I’m pumped you went the extra distance and sold the older one on Craigslist and savored a $130 of value from that as well. Impressed and congrats on the new addition!

    -Lanny

    Reply
  6. Cathy says

    January 27, 2015 at 12:58 pm

    Way to go! Your couch looks fantastic. It’s awesome when you’re able to find great deals like that. My husband and I are always looking for ways to save money. We’d like to find a couch similar to this, but we definitely don’t want to pay full price. Looks like it’s time to start digging around for a deal! http://www.halfzeez.com

    Reply

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