LCAM's Profile

The median (i.e., typical) family income in this country is about $50,000. For a family, I repeat. How many of those families will treat their furniture as an "investment" and buy a $5,000 investment-piece sofa? We have terribly low rates of saving in the U.S. because wages are flat and people spend money on things they don't need. Promoting the idea that furniture is an "investment" reflects how out of touch you are with reality for the vast majority of families.

Don't pack. What I mean is, don't spend a lot of time packing up everything tightly, with newspaper wrapping, tape. The worst part of moving (esp. to a smaller space) is filling it with so many boxes that you can't really unpack. After 4 moves within the same city in 4 yrs, I've found that if you can spread out moving over 1 month, you can just put things in boxes, transport them and then immediately put them away in your new place. Start with the kitchen. Then closets. I do furniture last. Get a storage unit and put things in it that you question whether you may want/need. Then you can purge at the end of a year when you find that you don't need all that stuff. Also, have you thought about 2 twin beds used as daybeds/sofas during the day and real beds at night? I think these w/ reclaimed ceiling beems are gorgeous. http://www.casacullen.com/2011/01/interior-inspiration-peek-inside-fitzhugh-and-lyndsays-home-on-the-nate-berkus-show.html

If you want durable, go with Sunbrella. They used to be an outdoor fabric company, but now they make indoor fabrics in a range of textures, patterns and colors. Many of them are washable, too. I got my sofas reupholstered with Sunbrella (we have 3 large dogs) and have washed the sofa pillow covers about 10 times and they still look great.