WHAT'S MISSING?...

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Can any of you guess what's missing from my living room?...

Yep, you guessed it...my new red furniture.  IT'S GONE!!!...and just when I was starting to really like it, WHAAAA... So what happened, you ask?

IT BROKE!!!  Yes that's right, after only five months the main frame of the sofa snapped in half.  We rarely ever even used it and certainly not enough to merit the main support beam to break.

Though I never shared this with you all, I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of this furniture from the moment it was delivered. There were several minor things that were just not right for something that was supposed to be new.  After just three days I called my furniture store to inquire about returning it but they said there would be a $150.00 charge to exchange it since it had already been "sat" on.  They said they had to charge that because they would not be able to resell our set at the new price.  They would have to sell it as used furniture and would lose money on it.  Truthfully, I wanted to tell them that it looked like they had sold US used furniture at new prices and demand that they take it back at no charge, but we have bought furniture and appliances from this store for more than 20 years and they have always been good to us, so we were nice about it and decided to keep the furniture.  Besides, for $150.00 I could cut off the stray threads that were hanging all over the place, deal with the cushions looking somewhat wonky and even add some batting to fill in the massive empty spot that was in one of the back cushions of the loveseat myself.

I did those things and everything was going good.  I was even getting used to the red color which, if you will remember, was the hubs choice.  I had been working tirelessly to get my main floor design plan that I talked about HERE in place.  I was almost done and then...THE BREAK!!!...

I called the furniture store immediately.  They told me there was a one year warranty but that they wanted to try and fix the sofa first.  I wasn't completely happy with that answer considering I had spent money on this stuff and had been unhappy with it to begin with, but I agreed.  A week later they called and said it was not fixable and that we should come down to the store and pick out a whole new set.  YAY ME!!!!!!

The only stipulation was that they would not sell us another Ashley brand set like we had.  We had to choose a set of a different brand.  When I asked why the sales lady said that they have been having A LOT of quality issues with Ashley furniture.  She said that Ashley's new line of furniture, though it's nice looking, is made cheaper so that it can be sold at a price that is affordable to more people.  Basically, you get what you pay for!! After this little experience, I can testify to that!  My thinking is; however, that it's not reasonably priced if you have to replace it more often, right?  Not especially every FIVE months!!!!!!!

According to the reviews of Ashley brand furniture on the Consumer Affairs site, I am not the only one dissatisfied with Ashley furniture.  Apparently ALL of it is just plain right down JUNK and I know one thing for sure, I will NEVER buy another piece of Ashley furniture for my home.  I would advise anyone I know not to waste their money on any as well.

Anyway, we custom ordered a set of Best Home Furnishings...it's more expensive (of, course)...but I think I am going to like it a lot better because...IT'S GRAY!!!  Gray was the color I had originally wanted but couldn't get at the time so I am considering this little disaster with Ashley furniture and blessing in disguise.

Here's a little peek at what my new sofa will look like...

I did a little photo editing to see how it might look with my wall color...

I know things look quite different on the computer than in real life but I think it's going to work great. Yayyyyy, I am totally excited!

The only bad thing now is the wait.  It will probably be another several weeks before it arrives.  I guess it's a good thing I am not hosting any holiday meals at my house this year.  LOL!!