Why I Love Wooden Couches (& Dressers) in the Living Room

I may have hinted previously at my miniscule skill as a housewife. I also like to move furniture around and change out the décor. Often, my attempts at a simple housecleaning task turn into a whole room remodel. Much to my exhaustion and horror: as I look around and realize that really, I just needed to dust and sweep and now it’s four hours later and I’ve pulled every single thing I own into the middle of the floor. But I digress with my confessions.

Wooden couches are so incredibly easy to keep clean and if you want to change the look of your room without spending much money or buying new furniture – this is the way to go. If you have pets or children that spill things or both, wooden couches are a great option for you.

The dressers are an answer to prayer if you’re into storage (or hoarding, but let’s pretend I didn’t say that).

AFFORDABLE

My two wooden couches cost me about $20 total. So three cheers for affordability.

Actually, only one cost me that, the other was free. Someone was tossing it out because let’s face it, it didn’t look like the newest rage in home décor. It had some very ugly cushions and matching upholstery stapled, with padding, around both wooden arms. If you’ve ever seen that, you won’t soon forget it or cease to wonder who thought that was a great idea.

I took a pair of scissors to the freebie and got rid of the padded arms. I stripped the cushion covers off, and if you sew or know someone who does, you could always have new cushion covers sewn using the old ones as a pattern. However, I had other plans.

The wooden couch that I bought for $20 actually sat on the porch of an abandoned house for years. I would see it every morning on the way to church and fight the temptation to covet. (I’m just being real here.) It was back in the days when I was watching all those decorating shows where they’d make unattractive furniture attractive and I noticed the ‘great lines’ this couch had…underneath the cushions which boasted cracking, black, faux leather covers.

So if you, too, would like to have wooden couches in your living room the good news is, you don’t have to spend a fortune. Check out second hand furniture shops or antique malls or garage sales. If it isn’t love at first sight, don’t despair – with a little TLC, you can completely change the look of these couches.

DRESS IT UP, CHANGE IT OUT

I have sewn cushion covers for my couches in the past, but I love sewing about as much as I love painting.

I often start projects with enthusiasm and a spring in my step, but partway in, the sparkle in my eyes is gone and replaced with a glassy, dull stare.

Because of that, my preferred dressings for a wooden couch are pillows and sheets. As in, twin bed sheets.

Sheets are extremely inexpensive and easily changed out if there are spills or excessive cat hair.

Also, if you like to change the look of your room either seasonally or as your preferences change, being able to change the look of your couches and chairs makes a huge impact. But buying new furniture or even buying new furniture covers a few times a year is not in most people’s budgets. However, sheets are affordable! And available in many colors and patterns.

Even pillows are not budget-breaking. And you can make your own pillow covers affordably, without any sewing. If you do sew, pillows are probably one of the easiest projects. (Believe me, if I can sew pillows, you can sew pillows!)

I’ve always considered whitewashing the wooden part of my couches, but I’m a fan of dark stained wood (and it matches my current décor and I hate to paint…) so I’ve kept the dark wood look. But you could easily paint the couches themselves.

EASY TO KEEP CLEAN

No more scrubbing upholstery or worrying about spills or stains! Just throw the sheets in the washing machine.

If the sheets become too stained or dingy, you can toss them out and buy more, without spending lots of money. I use twin fitted sheets for ease of tucking them around the cushions, but I have used flat sheets as well. You can buy either fitted or flat sheets without having to buy a set and save more money.

If you’ve always wanted white furniture, but didn’t want to pay a lot just to weep in frustration the first time a French fry, smothered in ketchup, rolled the length of the cushions or the dog bolted in the house with muddy feet and made a beeline for the couch, here’s your solution! Buy a white twin fitted sheet for the seat cushions and washable white pillow covers for the back. You can even paint the wood white.

Here’s a confession: we have an older female dog who is occasionally incontinent. She enjoys lying on one of the couches. Because these aren’t upholstered couches, it was easy to add a twin-sized mattress protector on top of the cushions. I put a twin sheet on top of this. I can effortlessly change the sheets out to wash, and also when we have guests. My dog is happy and I am happy, because I never have to worry about stains or odor on upholstery. 

ONE MORE THING ABOUT PILLOWS

OK, so I’ve raved about how you can change out the pillows, how you can make your own pillows, how the possibilities of decorating with pillows are endless, how you can change the look of your room with minimal spending….do you get the idea that I love pillows?

Buying or making pillow covers for your existing pillows is affordable and allows you to change up the look of the room seasonally, or just for a different, fresh look now and then.

Here’s one more tip about the pillows: because I have pets that lie on the couches during the day while we’re working, I have a few plastic storage tubs that I can toss the pillows into so I don’t have to lint roll all the pet hair off of them daily. This tip would also be helpful if your dog likes to chew on or play with pillows while you’re out, or just if you’d like to keep a set of ‘guest-worthy’ pillows at the ready.

You can use plastic tubs or baskets or metal pails – then they also add to your décor.

NOW ABOUT THOSE DRESSERS

I cannot sing the praises of dressers enough. Yes, they hold your clothes, but they can hold so much more!

Dressers are attractive pieces of furniture and come in handy in any room of the house.

In the living room or den, they can store the extra fitted sheets for your couches, books, children’s toys, blankets, magazines, and DVDs.

In the kitchen or dining room, they can provide a junk drawer, hold keys, envelopes and stamps, cake decorating tools, paper and pens, phone chargers, baking dishes, plastic food containers, spices, towels & dish cloths, tablecloths, and cookbooks.

In the bathroom, they provide storage for towels, wash cloths, hand towels, extra soaps, toilet paper, and makeup.

Dressers are easy to find and purchase. Simple designs bought secondhand are inexpensive and can be spruced up with a coat of paint. If you’re really creative, try chalk or milk paint or stenciling. New knobs and drawer pulls can be purchased at any hardware, lumber, or general merchandise store.

ALL THE REASONS TO LOVE WOODEN COUCHES

Wooden couches work well for my family, and maybe they are the solution you’ve been looking for to furnish your home.

If you’re on a tight budget, but you love to decorate, wooden couches provide a great way to experiment with colors and décor ideas.

If you like the idea of hardy furniture with washable covers, and never worrying again about the dog or the kids destroying the couch, these are an excellent option.

Pillow lover? Here’s a reason to own lots of pillows. Need I say more?

For affordability, creativity, and durability, wooden couches make a great furniture choice.

And if you buy them because you just don’t have a lot of money to spend on furniture, that’s OK, too – hopefully I’ve given you lots of ideas and inspired you to enjoy the process of creatively dressing them up!