sofa so good.

since we moved into our new home, renovations that are not essential have been postponed. the apartment was in good shape and all future alterations are matters of taste rather than necessity, and are, thus, transferred to a time undefined. we want time to think over what we really need and how we want to resolve whatever we deem fit to change.

nonetheless, as far as furniture comes, there was an essential upgrade that was needed. our sofa was my sweetie's good old ikea purchase – surprisingly stylish and otherwise in all right shape, but unfortunately rickety in places where sturdiness was required. in other words, we were constantly worrying the backrest would give in if one of our friends of greater magnitude decided to lean on it.

because we are homebodies and spend most of our time on the couch, this was no small issue. this summer we finally got ourselves together and ordered a new one.

although it was definitely well-used and already broken, i worried about destiny of the old one and what to do with it. needless to say, i do not believe in furniture upgrades to "freshen up" the home or whatever reasoning people sometimes have for redecoration when they have perfectly functioning and beautiful stuff. i was also painfully aware because of anu's posting last year that recycling centers are filled with little used furniture because people have started to redo their apartments regularly, and that they often do not accept oldies no matter how good a shape they're in.

thankfully our friends wanted the parts of the sofa that were still usable. there were bits and pieces that had to be tossed because they were shabby or completely broken, but a manageable sofa for two was still completed. it was a relief to know it would be loved till the very end.

now only our friends had to deal with the pressure of recycling their old, small couch. they were asked to bring it to the recycling center to be evaluated whether it was acceptable. although it was in great shape and clean, they were told they should just toss it. after relentless pressure and pleading about renting a van and driving all the way there, they had their way.

less than a week later they bumped into a familiar looking, half-burnt and still smoking carcass of a sofa at a park nearby. they told me it felt devastating.

i am all for affordable furniture. everyone deserves a living space that's soothing to the eye. i just cannot help but wonder when home renewal went so overboard that all this happened? it did not help that today i read that in order to support their domestic manufacturing, the owners of suomi-soffa are going to open another chain of cheap furniture stores based on selling inexpensive export crap to add to the heap. i salute the willingness to keep finnish jobs in the country, but am unsure of the price globally.

dunno. sometimes i think we have understood the idea of consumer democracy slightly wrong: the right to a certain standard of living should not imply a right to megalomanic and compulsive home decoration that requires upgrades every couple of years or so.

sofa by boconcept, throw by marimekko, cushions by missoni home and ikea, floor cushions by casa stockmann, vintage coffee table and serving cart from the 70's and 50's respectively, ghost candelabra by innermost, photo of the flatiron building by peikko viitala, screen-prints by annika dahlsten.

but yes, and the new lounge. here. somehow i feel we didn't deserve it, that we didn't wait long enough. that our wants are too easily disguised as needs – even when i feared for the safety of our friends who visit.

i want to take it slow and feel sure about every purchase. surely we will transform our new apartment into a more habitable space that's also to our liking. for good, i hope.