New Family Room Furnishings

Bristol Sectional from Flores Design, CB2 Bengal Coffee Table (floor sample), Overstock jute rug

Previously, our family furniture was a hodgepodge of mismatched hand-me-down and Ikea pieces, a few that were probably 20+ years old. It was all a bit of an eyesore, plus not very comfortable for either conversation or tv watching, which was unfortunate since we tend to spend the most time in this room with the dogs. I've procrastinated long enough in getting new furniture for the room, but I finally had enough about a month ago and completely redid the room, getting rid of all the old furniture completely. I even bought a new vacuum cleaner, the Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless Upright (thanks Consumer Reports), an amazing vacuum cleaner for less than $100. I did a ton of online research, a lot of negotiating, shopped around a lot, and took advantage of many mid-year furniture sales including floor sample sales. I'm usually wary of purchasing floor samples, but sometimes it can be good as it's a good test as to the durability of the piece. June / July and year end is a great time to buy furniture. I've also found that a lot of retailers carry the same exact stock / catalog from big wholesalers like Flores Design, so it's definitely worth the time to do the research and price compare. A good tip is to call the wholesaler for a list of their retailers and price shop around those retailers. As an example, one place on San Vicente quoted us over $2,400 more for our sectional than what we ultimately ended up paying for the exact same piece. When possible, we tried to stick with real wood and natural fibers since we spend so much time in the room and wanted durability. We're very happy with the end result; it's not the most stylish looking room, but it's incredibly comfortable and functional, which was our priority in the first place. Perhaps too comfortable since we never want to leave the couch anymore.  We just need to accessorize a little bit, but otherwise we are done with the room (happily).

The best seat in the house, a double chaise. Alemeda laptop table from World Market. Also got a jute runner from World Market, which is slightly better quality, thicker, than the Overstock one, although both are quite good for the price

The Bengal Coffee Table from CB2 made of reclaimed Indian rail ties. It is unfinished, so we finished it with a few coats of Howard's Feed and Wax.

The dogs love the new rug; so much better than the cold floor tiles. Although it bears similarity to their rope chew toys which is not a good thing as we caught Otis chewing on the new rug.

SEI Virtuoso Walnut Media Stand. We bought it from Amazon which was cheapest at the time, although Amazon prices fluctuate strangely day to day. I think the stand is currently cheapest on Overstock, although it's still more than we paid. A bit of a pain to put together as it is 98 pounds and quality wasn't the greatest with some chipped edges, but it fits the space and all our equipment perfectly. It's the only piece in the room that isn't 100% real wood. I probably spent the most time looking for media stands; it took a long time to find a relatively cheap, simple, functional and not ugly media stand.