the cowboy chair; cautionary notes on free furniture

last summer, whist searching for a place to live, i drove past an apartment building on my lunch break. we didn't end up living there, the apartment isn't the important part (though it is weird to note that we're now living a block away from that place after two moves), the important part is this orange chair.

it was love at first driveby. but i wasn't well equipped to get it by myself, plus i was on my way to feed a cat for a friend on vacation. there are several rules i've adopted when it comes to picking up free furniture. they pretty much require an accomplice be present. they are something like this:

the item in question:

1. must be free. make sure there aren't any moving vans, owners, or other signs of furniture rearranging in the area. you have to be sure someone is actually trying to get rid of the item. otherwise, awkwardness ensues.

2. must pass the sniff test. my parents warned me of this one. probably my dad mostly, he was a thrifty youth and could write a book on how to survive on almost nothing. anyway, jo and i lumped all of this knowledge into "the sniff test" - probably something we didn't coin but i'd like to think we did. basically, sniff that thing. if it stinks, it will ALWAYS stink. do not think you can shampoo your way out of anything. do not put that in the back of your car. i'm serious, don't do it. unless you want to pay a fortune in new foam padding and fabric. TST can be difficult to perform without feeling awkward and stupid, but you have to do it. if two of you do it at once, less awkward (spoiler alert: that was a lie. still awkward).

3. must fit in your vehicle. mine is very box-like and doesn't limit me much, which is actually becoming a problem.

4. must be movable in a timely fashion. if you're going to struggle with this item for fifteen minutes while trying to shove it into your too-small car with limited manpower, you're going to get embarrassed and harbor some ill feelings toward your future sofa. don't do that. plus what if the original owner saw you? laaaaaame!

back to the chair. i called jose on my way back to work to confirm that we were looking at apartment buildings that night. i mentioned the chair, she knew it'd follow us home if it was still there. it was! of course it was, otherwise, why the post?

i knew right away i wanted it upholstered in paint-by-number-esque cowboy fabric i'd seen (probably) years before. that fabric wasn't at the fabric store, so i found some other cowboy fabric, much to my little brother's disgust ("what about a nice paisley instead? or plaid?"). and because it was the orange corduroy that originally drew me to the chair, that had to stay too. viola, the cowboy chair:

had the tacky skirt removed and used for piping around the cushions. upholstery costs a fortune, i need to find a class and do this myself. luckily it's basically the most comfortable chair ever, otherwise it wouldn't live in the living room where it matches nothing and looks terrible against our slightly pink walls. also, sorry m&d for leaving this in your foyer for almost a year. it didn't match that space either.